Root-To-Stem

Thrifty gardeners like to use every part of the vegetable.

- Alice Spenser-Higgs

Why throw away luscious beetroot tops, colourful Swiss chard stems or crunchy broccoli stalks? If you use what everyone else tosses away, then you are a ‘root-to-stem’ gardener. This is the latest trend in a world that’s conscious of waste and the rising cost of food.

Creative gardeners/cooks are taking this trend even further with recipes for carrot-top pesto, radish greens chimichurri and roasted cauliflower steaks.

It has also been discovered that the parts we throw away (hopefully on the compost heap) are just as rich in nutrients, if not richer, than the parts we eat, such as broccoli stems, beetroot leaves and more. There are plenty of summer veggies that can be eaten root-to-stem. Here are our suggestions:

Beetroot: The leaves have eight times the nutritional content of the roots, and the plants were first grown for their leaves. In gardens with heavy soil that produce poor roots, plant beetroot closer together as a leaf crop. When thinning, plant the seedlings from the second thinning as a row or two of greens for the table or use them as small salad leaves.

Beetroot leaves can also be harvested sparingly while the beets are growing, or the whole plant can be harvested and used when the beets are ready.

Beetroot leaves have a milder taste than Swiss chard and can be cooked in the same way. Mix the two together to make the leaves go further.

Growing tips: Beetroot like relatively poor soil and will grow in a lightly shaded position. Don’t add manure to the soil but do break down soil clumps because the roots need a fine, stone-free soil to develop good roots.