Grow your own …low carb veggies for summer
Keep slim and trim this summer by growing your own low-carb veggies.
Crispy salad cucumbers, gem squash and heirloom zucchini are all low carb, low calorie veggies that are delicious in salads and other light summer dishes. Even better, they are easy to grow, ideal for beginners.
Just to whet your appetite, a serving of cucumber is about 8 calories (also packed with vitamins and minerals), one cup of gem squash has 25 calories and negligible carbs, and for a cup of chopped zucchini with skin, you will get 3.9 g total carbs, as well as vitamins A and C.
Although these plants spread far and wide, cucumbers and gem squash are vining plants that can be grown vertically or along a fence, solving the problem for small gardens.
All have the same basic requirements: full sun, well composted soil that drains well, ample water during hot, dry periods, and adequate spacing for good air movement.
A good tip is to sow two to three seeds per hole. This encourages germination and if all three seeds germinate the excess seedlings can be transplanted or cut down to the base.
Bees pollinate the male and female flowers so steer clear of any harmful insecticides. Feed with a general fertiliser once a month, but not too close to the roots or it will burn them.
Cucumbers are a long lasting salad vegetable that grows throughout summer.
When growing them vertically, consider planting climbing nasturtiums with them. The nasturtium flowers attract bees to pollinate the cucumber flowers. Both nasturtium flowers and leaves are edible, adding a peppery flavour to the salad bowl.
If you don’t want to trellis them, pinch the growing tip once the plant has developed six leaves and this will encourage it to bush. The side shoots can also be pinched, and this will encourage further fruit bearing laterals. As soon as a fruit forms, cut back the stem to just beyond the fruit so that the plant’s strength goes into forming that fruit.
Cucumbers should be picked as soon as the mature length is reached. Leaving mature fruit on the plant causes it to lose its vigour.
Cucumbers are relatively pest free but powdery mildew is prevalent during dry periods. Use a broad-spectrum fungicide like Coppercount N.
For a traditional cucumber, try Kirchhoffs ‘Ashley’ that has trim, slightly tapered fruits with a deep green skin, or ‘Sweet Burpless’ that is a thick skinned variety with medium green, long, cylindrical and smooth fruits on vigorous plants.
Cucumber “Crystal Apple’ (RAW) has the shape of a Granny Smith apple with a pale, greenish-white skin, but the taste is pure cucumber with a tang. The smooth, creamy fruit is best eaten young, and is a bright, crunchy addition to salads. It is a compact growing plant
https://www.kirchhoffs.co.za/product-category/vegetables/cucumber/
Gem Squash Rolet (little Gem) from Kirchhoffs Seeds is a South African favourite. The gem squash has a creamy, pale orange flesh with a lovely texture. Easy to grow, each plant can produce 15 or more fruits grown on trailing vines.
Pinch off the tips to contain the spread of the plant and produce better quality fruit. This helps the root system to sustain the plant.
Because gems are very susceptible to mildew, be careful not to wet the leaves when watering. Growing them upwards helps to keep the leaves dry. Support the fruit as the stems are brittle and snap easily.
Gem squash can be harvested as baby gems, which are soft-skinned with a delicate flavour, or left to ripen so that the skin becomes hard. Such squash have a delicious, nutty flavour.
https://www.kirchhoffs.co.za/product/squash-rolet-little-gem/
Zucchini Striato d’Italia (RAW seeds) is a dark green, pale striped Italian heirloom veggie with tasty flesh and large edible flowers that can be stuffed with a soft Italian cheese, dipped into batter and deep fried. There are a multitude of ways to prepare the marrows: spiralled or sliced into salads, grated for baking (think muffins) or roasted, stir fried and steamed.
The bushy plants have a spread of 90cm and should be spaced 60cm apart. Grow more than one plant to assist with pollination. It is best to water the plants deeply around the base so that the leaves remain dry and mulch to keep the leaves off the moist soil.
Feed twice during the growing season with a potassium rich fertiliser (3:1:5.). The squash form quickly once the female flower has dropped. Remove the fruit by cutting it off the stem with a sharp knife or kitchen scissors.
https://rawliving.co.za/products/squash-scallop-blend/
