the Garden Rake

Fit Fem’rs, it’s fantastic fun food Friday and today we’ll highlight a splendid green leafy vegetable: cabbage. Do you remember the cabbage patch kids….ugh not to date myself but I grew up on the cabbage patch kids…I digress…So few appreciate this awesome food but you’re missing out if you don’t.  It deserves recognition among it leafy veggie colleagues broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower with its powerful cancer fighting properties. Losing weight and prevent cancer, can’t go wrong here!

Putting things into perspective.  In addition to the character of fighting cancer, cabbage is plentiful of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, potassium, fiber, and other nutrients. So what’s the pay off for Fit Fem’rs looking to lose weight and shed fat? Well, its soooo low in calories – about 16 calories per half a cup.

There are two types of cabbages: (1) savoy and (2) bok choy. Both are antioxidants that help fight cancer and heart disease – full of beta-carotene. Bok choy, specifically has a lot of calcium which as we know helps prevent osteoporosis (yes ladies, something to consider as we get older) and maintaining balanced levels of blood pressure. Hypertensive candidates should really consider including cabbage in their diets.  Steaming cabbages is great for lowering cholesterol levels in the body. The bile acids in the digestive tract can bind better with fibers of cabbages. Eating raw cabbages will also have the effects in the lowering of the levels of cholesterol in your body. Glucosinolates contents in the different verities of cabbages are not in the same level so it is a recommendable idea to include cabbages in your diet a few times a week.

Fit Fem’s, read closely to what I’m about to write to you.
Cabbage also contains phytochemicals called indoles.  Indoles have the ability to change an estrogen hormone called estradiol  into a safer form of estrogen which helps fights specifically breast cancer. Let’s save our boobies with cabbage, whattya say?

This leafy vegetable is a versatile one. Because there are literally hundreds of cabbage types, you can assume there are several ways in which cabbages are included in recipes. Cabbages can be part of main dishes or can be made into salads or soups. Some types of fishes and meat can be matched with cabbages in certain cooking recipes. The cabbage soup is a vital food preparation in a quick weight reduction dietary plan. Yes, there’s even a diet named after the vegetable…you guessed, the cabbage soup diet!

Of course anything in excess isn’t healthy. Cabbages are said to cause goiter to individuals who are consuming excessive quantities of the vegetable.  And yet, there are opposing recent studies that are showing cabbages are not interfering with functions of the thyroid glands. There is an opinion stating in the contrary of an age-old belief that cabbages are the cause of thyroid diseases especially to women. Do your research, please!

Overall, cabbages are every dieter’s favorite veggie simply because of its low calorie content. There are a number of important nutrients that the vegetable can provide to a person, especially to a woman who is aiming to keep a healthy and beautiful body.  Allow your body to obtain all the healthy “stuff” your body needs.

Sylvia N. has 1453 articles online and 170 fans

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I’m going to tell you that using vertical space inside your garden area can produce a wonderful organic garden of any kind. We are going to go over a few vertical vegetable garden suggestions to grow your organic vegetables in small spaces. Urban gardeners use many strategies to grow their gardens and this is a great system

Vertical gardening uses wall planters, arbors attached to some walls, old palets, or trough planters fitted having a trellis to grow your plants. Think vertical, plants grow upwards so it’s natural and productive.

Vertical Vegetable Garden Fundamentals

Planning for a vertical garden begins like every other garden. Start by determining fundamental garden needs:

•Locate the site.
•Determine the sunshine exposure.
•Determine water access, drainage and watering tools needed.

Next, the urban garden enthusiast needs to make the decision on the kind of vertical container(s) that’ll be used. Vertical vegetable garden ideas, can be found in garden centers that incorporate a planter made to grow a tomato plant while suspended from a hook, a trough type planter package which includes a self-watering reservoir system or perhaps a vertical hydroponic garden planter.

Vertical gardeners will discover many different ways for growing vegetables in small spaces. Other ideas include developing an espalier, the industry planting technique that enables a garden enthusiast to develop a fruit tree inside a narrow vertical space.
Or use a piece of chain-link fencing to aid climbing plants.

Vertical Wall Planters

An outdoor wall, constructed with 2 x 4’s, plastic-covered chicken wire, and black plastic, installed on a wall or built onto a free standing frame, is a superb vertical garden idea. Large trough formed planter boxes mounted on a wall make a great vertical garden, too. In most cases, plan the way the planters is going to be maintained after the summer season or taken apart for winter storage.

Planting A Vertical Vegetable Garden

Plants grown outdoors in vertical gardens may include flowers, natural herbs or wonderful organic vegetables. Plants that climb, trail, creep or ramble are candidates for any vertical garden. Avoid climbing plants that sucker onto a surface when the wall planter is near a brick surface.

Vegetable plants produced for small space gardening, that naturally trail or cling, work nicely but consider patio, grape or cherry tomatoes are great vegetables to grow. Herbal treatments that creep (think about thyme), or are sheared frequently (think chives or basil), are great options.

Flowering plants for example impatiens, moss roses, annual lobelia, sweet alyssum or sedum are only a couple of good examples of plants that complete mass making the planter seem like a colorful carpet. A butterfly garden, edible garden or perfumed garden can be created in a vertical garden simply by selecting the right plants.

Your vertical vegetable garden is much like any garden style, home gardeners and urban gardeners will attempt to grow many plants to determine what works well with them. Urban gardeners should keep track of achievements and failures throughout each garden season to improve on next years vertical vegetable garden.

paul empey has 169 articles online

Click Here: To get all the garden products, supplies and information the Urban Gardener could ever need. Vertical Vegetable Garden.com
 

Time lapse of some bush beans growing from seeds. The video was shot over a 24 hour period using a Canon GL2 video camera, and sped up 3000x.