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MASTER GARDENERS
Dig It!
October 2016
Hi Gardeners!
With autumn here, if your containers, like
mine, are looking a little worse for the wear,
you may want to spice things up a little with
some plants and decorations that say “fall”.
Chrysanthemums are always a favorite, and
for good reason; they come in so many
colors and forms and are at their best this
time of year! Other plants you might want to
consider are flowering kale, foliage plants such as licorice plant, Vinca vine,
English ivy, Sprengeri fern, and dusty miller because they stay looking nice
well into the fall.
In addition to live plants, you can add interest with dried flowers, seed
pods, pumpkins, gourds, grapevine, indian corn or even sprigs of straw.
According to Martha Smith, Extension Educator, When you are picking
gourds or pumpkins, wipe them down first with a household disinfectant
or a weak bleach solution to kill any organisms that might cause rot.
In this issue of Dig It! Sughandi is sharing her experience with growing
yard long beans. Rita has researched Purslane and explains that it is
indeed more than a weed! While Sherry contemplates the reasons that
we take up gardening in the first place.
Learn & Enjoy!
Val
P.S. If you enjoy writing, learning and sharing gardening information, consider joining the Dig It staff. You can work at
your own schedule and research topics that interest you. Your time spent researching can be counted as education hours
or volunteer hours—your choice. If interested, contact Val Waring.
For program information or to register for events:
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/hmrs/
For additional events and up to date information:
Master Gardener Calendar
1
Purslane: Weed or Food Source?
By Rita Brautigam
Purslane sprouts from sidewalk cracks, invades gardens and earns
contempt from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which classifies it
as a "noxious weed." It also happens to be a "superfood" high in
heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids and beta carotene, one tasty
enough to be found in farmers' markets and fancy restaurants.
For most of us, it comes as an unwelcome guest. Formally known as
Portulaca oleracea, and informally as little hogweed, purslane looks
like a miniature jade plant. It has fleshy succulent leaves and stems
with yellow flowers.
Purslane is native to India and Persia and has spread throughout the
world as an edible plant and as a weed. Many cultures embrace purslane as a food. While it has
long been considered a weed, it is increasingly showing up for sale in bunches at farmers markets. Mexicans have known about its healthful properties for hundreds of years and they eat it
both raw and cooked. In Mexico it's called verdolagas. Cooking mellows its tang and shrinks it,
which means you can eat more of it! Paired with avocado and a tomato relish, this is a superhealthy vegetarian snack or main dish.
Early Americans appreciated it, too. Martha Washington had a recipe for pickled "pursland" in
the “Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats”, the collection of hand-written family recipes
she received as a wedding gift, according to mountvernon.org
The stems lay flat on the ground as they radiate from a single taproot sometimes forming large
mats of leaves. It is closely related to Rose Moss, Portulaca grandiflora, grown as a "not so
weedy" ornamental. Check out University of Illinois' Midwestern Turfgrass Weed Identification
website for some great pictures of purslane.
Purslane is an annual reproducing from seeds and from stem pieces. Seeds of purslane have
been known to stay viable for 40 years in the soil! You may find that fact either depressing or exciting.
If you are trying to control purslane the number one rule is don't let it go to seed. About three
weeks after you notice seedlings, the flowers and seeds will be produced. Also plants or plant
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Purslane cont.
pieces that are uprooted but not removed can
root back into the soil. Again depressing or exciting depending on your point of view! Running a tiller through purslane is also known as
purslane multiplication.
Purslane grows just about anywhere from fertile garden soil to the poorest arid soils. A rock
driveway is nirvana to purslane. It's succulent
characteristic makes it very drought tolerant.
Purslane prefers the fine textured soils of
seedbeds as in vegetable gardens or open soil
areas in paths. It doesn't germinate well when
seeds are more than 1/2 inch deep. Tilling
brings seeds to the surface where they quickly germinate. Mulching will help to control purslane. Purslane seeds germinate best with soil temperatures of 90 degrees, so mulching may again
help to control it. Since it germinates in high soil
temperatures also means it doesn't appear until
June when pre-emergent herbicides may have lost
their effectiveness.
Now if you are in the "if you can't beat 'em then eat
'em" category, you won't go hungry this year! There
are plenty of purslane plants out there and I'm sure
your neighbors would love to share theirs with you.
But please be very careful that there have been no
pesticides sprayed on or near the plants you will be
eating!
If you are a connoisseur, you can also purchase purslane seeds. The cultivated forms offer
better flavor and easier harvesting. They tend to grow more upright than the wild types.
With purslane aficionados the preference is in eating fresh young plants, and especially young
leaves and tender stem tips. The taste is similar to watercress or spinach. Use purslane in salads or on sandwiches instead of lettuce or pickles. Purslane can also be cooked as a potherb,
steamed, stir-fried or pureed. It tends to get a bit slimy if overcooked. It can be substituted for
spinach in many recipes. Seeds are also edible.
Before grazing in your yard though make sure that no pesticides have been used in the area
and be sure to wash the purslane thoroughly. As with any new food, don't over indulge.
Following are a couple of recipes you may want to consider trying .
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Purslane cont.
RECIPE
Purslane and Avocado Tacos with Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
For Pico de Gallo:

1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup chopped white onion

1 tablespoon lime juice, or to taste

2 teaspoons minced fresh Serrano chile, or to
taste

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Salt

Freshly ground pepper







For Tacos:
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb purslane, including tender upper stems, chopped (about 6 cups)
8 fresh corn tortillas
2 avocados
1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese (about 3 ounces), or to taste
cilantro sprigs and lime wedges for serving
Preparation
1. Make Pico de Gallo: Combine tomatoes, onion, lime juice, chile, and cilantro in a bowl and
season with salt and pepper. Let it stand while assembling the tacos.
2. Cook garlic in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, until pale golden. Add
purslane with salt to taste and cook, stirring, until wilted and tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a sieve set over a bowl and let it drain.
3. Have a folded kitchen towel ready for the tortillas. Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat until hot, then heat a tortilla, keeping the others covered, flipping it occasionally with
tongs, until it puffs slightly and gets brown in spots, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer tortilla, as
toasted, to towel, enclosing it, and repeat with remaining tortillas. Keep them warm in towel.
4. Quarter avocados lengthwise and remove pit, then peel. Cut each section into thin slices
(lengthwise or crosswise, it doesn't matter) and season with salt.
5. Assemble tacos by spooning some purslane into a folded taco and topping it with avocado
slices, cotija cheese, cilantro sprigs, and pico de gallo. Serve with lime wedges.
4
Purslane cont.
Recipe
Verdagas with salsa verde tacos.
Ingredients
1/4 large white onion, cut into 3-4 pieces
2 tomatillos, tops sliced off
1 serrano pepper, top sliced off
3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 cups purslane, washed and chopped*
Feta cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Corn tortillas
Directions
Put onion, tomatillos, serrano pepper, and garlic in a
blender and blend until ingredients reach a salsa-like
consistency. You may need to add a water to help it
blend. Set aside.
Simmer purslane in water on stovetop for 5-10
minutes. Drain.
Take purslane, wash it well, chop it into 2 or 3 inch pieces and boil it for about 10 minutes.
Drain.
Pour tomatillo mixture into a sauté pan, add purslane, and sauté for about 5 more minutes, or
until purslane is soft.
Add salt and pepper.
Serve mixture on corn tortillas, sprinkling a bit of cheese on top.
Or try this even easier version: Steam the purslane, drain it, then put it in an oil-slicked pan with
minced garlic, a chopped onion, a chopped tomato and a chile pepper. Stir in some crumbled
queso fresco. Now stir in a couple of beaten eggs and scramble them very loosely. Fold into
tortillas and eat.
.
Sources :
Sandra Mason, Extension Educator, Horticulture,University of Illinois
Linda Naeve, Horticulture, Iowa State University
Jean McGuire, Continuing Education and Communication Services, Iowa State University
By: Sherry Holmstrom
5
Reasons We Have Gardens
Sitting by our garden with a cup of coffee, I’m pondering
why we gardeners love to grow things and the reasons
people decide to have a garden. It is early and the chickens have been fed along with the ducks and they are all
leisurely walking around. They are happy and don’t have
a care in the world. Our border collie Banderas is sitting
protectively next to me with his happiest possession
which is a blue-handled ball. The only care he has right
now is every once in a while he gives a fierce warning
“stare” to our Rooster ( King Tut- who gets extremely irate
if anyone comes to “his” garden). Our six barn cats
(actually, much to my husband’s dismay, heated garage
cats!) come to see what is going on. Lucy rubs against me while
Butterscotch, Moon-foot, and Lola half-heartedly look for varmints
and Augie just sits around lazy and fat and bored with the world.
His only care is what he will have for
his next meal. I notice the zinnias look
beautiful with the mixture of colors and
I see a praying mantis on one of the
rose plants. All the plants look so still
and serene. That’s when I realized one of the reasons I have this
garden and why a lot of people have them is for a little bit of serenity!!! In just a few minutes time, our home office phone will start
ringing, the kids will be getting ready for school, and the men will be here in the yard with the
roar and beeping of farm machines that signals harvest has begun!
The more thinking I do, I realize there is never a time when I am in my garden that I don’t think
of my grandparents Dorothy and Joe. They were farmers and the seeds of gardening were
planted in my growing mind when I was quite young. My parents divorced when my siblings
and I were quite small. Our mother worked a lot and my mom’s parents became a very important part of our lives. I can still smell the peonies, lilacs, and rose bushes that Dorothy had
all over her yard. I still remember that defining moment when Grandpa Joe took my brother
and I past that amazing apple orchard, holding onto our hands to view his garden. I still remember the awe I felt when I saw those tomatoes and the strawberries and they were not in
the grocery store! They were in his yard!!! That’s when I truly became a gardener! That’s also why I and maybe others love having a garden. It brings back happy memories!
Perhaps the most obvious and wonderful reason people have
gardens is for harvesting and putting to use what they have
grown. All of the weeding and hard work have paid off and
there are endless things you can do with your harvest! Gardening is sustaining and a healthy way of nourishment. It is
aromatic and comforting.
Following are some bath and body ideas and recipes for some of the plants we grow in our
gardens.
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Reasons We Have Gardens cont.
Lavender Essential Oil
Things you will need:
coffee filters
lavender buds
grain alcohol/vodka
mortar and pestle/bowl and spoon
two jars, one with a tight-fitting lid
To Make:
Place Lavender into mortar(or bowl) and use the pestle(or back of spoon) to
crush the lavender buds. This releases the oil. Add crushed lavender into jar
and cover with alcohol. Screw the lid on tightly. Shake the jar a few times a day
for several days. The longer the lavender steeps, the more oil you will extract.
Use a coffee filter or cheesecloth to strain the liquid from the lavender into the
second jar. Let this sit undisturbed to allow the alcohol to completely evaporate
from the jar. This can take about a week or so. When all of the alcohol has
evaporated, you now have your essential oil!
Lavender Tub Tea
large, empty tea bags & string
(there are reusable as well as disposable varieties)
epsom salt
½ cup lavender petals
½ cup ground oats
2 TB. rose petals
10 drops lavender essential oil
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and fill tea bags. Toss into your hot bath.
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Reasons We Have Gardens cont.
Garden Steam Bowl
You Will Need:
1 handful dried rose petals
1 handful dried chamomile
1 handful dried lavender
1 handful dried calendula flowers
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
To Make:
Combine herbs in a basin and pour hot water over them. You can do this by heating water in a tea kettle on the stove and pouring it over the herbs in a shallow bowl. Position
the bowl of steaming herbs so that you can comfortably sit over them for 20 or 30
minutes.
This is helpful to do before bedtime! Once you finish steaming, you can strain the herbs
and compost them!
Bath Salt Scrub
You will need:
½ cup lavender, fresh
2 TB. lavender buds, dried
1 TB. mint, finely chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
coffee filter
½ cup epsom salt
½ cup sea salt
essential oil
glass jar w/ lid
computer generated label
To Make:
Wash fresh lavender and mint; pat dry. Chop lavender stems and flowers and set
aside. Pour oil into saucepan and slowly heat stirring occasionally. Do not let the oil
boil. Stir in the chopped lavender and ¾ of the mint. Let the mixture cool, and then
place a coffee filter over the jar. Gently pour the oil into the coffee filter and strain all of
the lavender and mint pieces out. Mix in the Epsom salt and sea salt. Add 8 -10 drops
of essential oils and stir together. Gently fold in the mint and lavender buds. Place the
mixture in a glass jar with a lid and adhere the label to the jar.
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Here are a few recipes for cooking with garden harvests:
Reasons We Have Gardens cont.
Mushroom Salad
¼ lb. chopped mushrooms
1 lettuce
4 sticks celery chopped small
2 tbls. fresh chopped lemon balm leaves
½ cup cheese, grated finely
2 chopped apples
a little finely chopped onion
salt
a little finely chopped sweet red pepper
Mix apples, mushrooms and salt with celery and onion. Place on a bed of lettuce, sprinkle cheese and a little chopped sweet red pepper over the top, and
garnish with lemon balm leaves.
Thyme Vinegar
(for marinades, salads, and sauces)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 sprig thyme
2 ½ cups white wine vinegar
Crush the thyme leaves in a mortar. Heat the vinegar to almost boiling point
( do not allow to boil) and pour over the leaves. Pour into a wide-necked bottle, seal tightly and stand in a dark place for 2-3 weeks. Strain into a clean
bottle, add a sprig of thyme and stopper the bottle with a cork. Herb vinegars
make ideal gifts as well.
Chive Butter
½ cup butter
4 tbls. chopped chives
1 tbls. lemon juice
salt and pepper
Cream the chives and softened butter together until they are well mixed. Beat in
the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cool the butter in
the refrigerator until ready to use. It will keep for several days.
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Reasons We Have Gardens cont.
Cucumber, Yogurt, and Mint Dip
½ cucumber, peeled seeded, and finely chopped
10 fresh mint leaves, preferably spearmint, very finely chopped
1 ¾ cups yogurt
Salt
In a bowl, mix together the cucumber, mint leaves, and yogurt. Season to taste
with salt and serve with pita bread as an hors d’voeuvre.
Potatoes with Bay Leaves
olive oil
2 lb. potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch slices
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
4 large bay leaves
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken stock
Brush a shallow, flameproof casserole with olive oil. Make a layer of half the potatoes, garlic and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle
with 2 tbsp. olive oil. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, garlic, bay leaves, and
2 tbsp. olive oil, and salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken stock, bring to a simmer, and cook, covered, over low heat until the potatoes are tender and the liquid is absorbed, 25-30 minutes. If any liquid remains, pour it off. Discard the
bay leaves before serving. Bay leaves should be shredded before use.
There are many reasons people decide to grow gardens. When you have a garden you not only
grow plants but you can also grow ideas! I often think that if you have a garden to sit by in the
early morning and a great cup of coffee, you can handle anything that the day brings your way!
Sources:
Willow and Sage Homemade Bath and Body (volume 2, issue 1 summer 2015, and volume 2, issue 3, winter 2016.
The encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices, and Flavorings/Elizabeth Lambert Ortiz,
The Macmillan Treasury of Herbs/Ann Bonar
10
Yard Long Beans
By Sugandhi Sivakumar
Vigna unguiculata subsp. Sesquipedalis is a legume cultivated to be eaten
as green pods. It is known as the yardlong bean, long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, pea bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean. Despite the
common name, the pods are actually only about half a yard long; the subspecies name sesquipedalis (one-and-a-half-foot-long) is closer to the name
representation.
For the last 4 years, we have planted three different varieties in our garden
– a pale green, a deep maroon/purple and a dark green variety. The pale
green and the purple varieties are about 12 – 15 inches long whereas the
dark green variety can be over 24
inches.
This plant is of a different genus from the common bean. It is a subtropical, vigorous climbing annual vine most widely grown in the
warmer parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and southern China. A
variety of the cowpea, it is grown primarily for its strikingly long (35to 75-cm) immature pods and has uses very similar to that of
the green bean. The many varieties of yardlong beans are usually
distinguished by the different colors of their mature seeds.
The plant attracts many pollinators, specifically various types of yellow jackets and ants.
The pods, which can begin to form just 60 days after sowing, hang in groups of two or more. They are best for
vegetable use if picked before they reach full maturity; however, overlooked pods can be used like dry beans
in soups. When harvesting, it is important not to pick the buds which are above the beans, since the plant will
set many more beans on the same stem. The plants take longer to reach maturity than bush beans, but once
producing, the beans are quick-growing and daily checking/harvesting is often a necessity. The plants produce beans until frost.
The crisp, tender pods are eaten both fresh and cooked. They are at their best when young and slender. They
are sometimes cut into short sections for cooking uses.
The plant is easy to grow in areas with hot and humid summers where other green bean varieties may succumb to heat damage in summer, and as such is worthy of more cultivation in these areas. It does very well in
our warm, humid, Midwest summers. It actually thrives in July-August when the bush beans start dwindling
due to the heat.
They are a good source of protein vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus, and potassium, and a very
good source for vitamin C, folate, magnesium and manganese.
11
Yard Long Beans cont.
You can use the long beans in Chinese stir fries with other vegetables or by itself. They are good in Thai
dishes cooked in coconut milk.
Below is a simple South Indian recipe.
Recipe: Mixed vegetables in a Coconut-Yogurt sauce
Ingredients:
Long Beans – cut into 1” pieces (1 cup)
Carrots – cut into 1” long thin strips (1/2 cup)
Potato – cut into 1” long thin strips (1/4 cup)
Desiccated or Frozen coconut – ¼ cup
Jalapeno or serrano peppers – 1 or 2 (based on spice requirement)
Plain yogurt or fat free sour cream — ½ cup
Method:
1. In a sauce pan add the long beans and ½ cup of water. Cook till half done.
2. Now add the carrots and potatoes.
3. Cook till the vegetables are almost fully cooked.
4. Grind together coconut, hot peppers and yogurt/sour cream.
5. Add the ground mixture to the cooked vegetables.
6. Bring to a boil and turn off heat. Do not overcook as the yogurt sauce will curdle.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigna_unguiculata_subsp._sesquipedalis
https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_viuns2.pdf
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/07/seriously-asian-the-yardlong-bean.html
Check out this lindk for buying seeds – http://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/beans/long-beans/
12
Dig It!
Newsletter Staff:
Rita Brautigam, Julie Hanger, Sherry Holmstrom,
Alice Maslanka, Sugandhi Sivakumar
Facilitator, Val Waring
County Director
Jenny Garner
Horticulture Educator
Martha Smith
Program Coordinator
Tracy Jo Mulliken
RI Cnty Master Gardeners Officers
President
Lanny Leppo
Vice Presidents
Jayne Booth
Secretaries
Barb Skinner (AM)
Julie Keehn (PM)
University of Illinois Extension
Rock Island County
321 W. 2nd Avenue
Milan, IL 61264
309-756-9978
web.extension.illinois.edu/hmrs
309.756.9978
Fax: 309.756.9987
If you need reasonable accommodation to participate in an Extension
program, please contact Rock Island County Extension at (309) 756-9978.
University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment.
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