katalog_ENG_20080221.indd 1 2/26/08 3:26:36 PM - Semenarna ...

40 Mini Mini Valentin
Mini Valentin:
for a childrens’ garden
A kitchen garden is a place where vegetables, flowers, herbs, as well as weeds are growing. This
garden can be small, very small, or as big as a field. On the garden beds, lettuce, carrots, beetroot,
cabbage, cauliflower, peas, beans, and much more are growing. Of course, there must also be a
beautiful flower or two, for example zinnia, which is blooming a long time and the butterflies like
visiting her. On the kitchen garden, the life is very colourful. There is always something going on.
WE ARE SOWING AND LAUGHING
Early in spring, we cover the garden beds with Valentin envirofleece or with low tunnels.
Because the soil is warmer under the cover, this stimulates seed germination. In a sunny spring
day, when the air temperature draws nearer to 20°C, we should ventilate the tunnels. This is
done in the way that on both ends, we lift the foil. During the growing time, the soil should be
covered with young mown grass, straw, or leaves to prevent the water from evaporating. Such
soils are even in the summers pleasantly cold and moist, and do not need frequent watering.
“AND A LOT OF EVERYTHING,
MINI VALENTIN WISHES YOU FOR THE END!”
Carrot
A carrot is very healthy. Among other things, it has favourable
effects on the eyesight and bones. Young carrots should be
plucked when the outside leaves start turning yellow.
Sweet corn
Sweet corn is a young vegetable which likes warm soil, so it
is advisable to sow it onto the garden bed as late as in May.
The corncobs are suitable for cooking and grilling when the
grains are soft and a bit yellowish. Corncobs stripped off of
their husks can be preserved in a plastic bag in the refrigerator
for a week. After that time, they must be used. The entire
corncobs are cooked or grilled. In the freezer, whole corncobs
or just grains can be preserved.
Beetroot
A beetroot is the best natural medicine against anaemia. Its
juice reduces body temperature and protects us from various
virus diseases.
Beetroot bulbs are pulled out of the soil when they are approximately
3 centimetres in diameter.
The giant pumpkin
The giant pumpkin can only be the one which forms an extremely
big head. The Prizewinner pumpkins are those which
are red-orange, ribbed, and more or less round. They develop
more than 5 metre long sprouts. They can weigh even 100 kg!
On the inside, they have orange flesh which is used for the
preparation of vegetable soups, various pies, and strudels.
Radish
A radish grows so fast that we are calling it a monthly radish.
This means that from the sowing time to the harvest time, it
is less than a month. The radish increases the appetite.
If we do not hurry with plucking radishes, they turn spongy,
empty, and spicy. They can be sown more times per year, but
each time only as much as we can eat in a week.
Sunflower
Sunflowers are blooming from July to October. They grow very
well on sunny places with dry soil fertilised with compost. In
the summer, they should be watered and from time to time
also fertilised.
Lettuce Lollo Rossa
& Lollo Bionda
The Lollo Rossa and Lollo Bionda varieties are excellent lettuces
which will variegate your dishes. You will cultivate red
and green leaves. However, you should not forget that you
can plant the young plants to an empty garden bed. The
planting distance should be approximately 25 cm, and this
applies also to the space between the lettuces in a line.
Zinnia
A beautiful zinnia grows from half a meter to one meter in
height. Flower bouquets are red, yellow, orange, cream white,
violet etc. We can admire them from July to the beginning of
October. Take a look at the butterflies and see how intensely
they are courting the beautiful zinnia! For fresh summer bouquets
the flowers with completely opened flower bouquets
should be cut.
Spinach
Nowadays, spinach is very popular and even children in their
earliest time of life eat it. When preparing it for a dish, we
throw away the leaf stems and use only the leaf surfaces.
Spinach is very recommendable to eat also for diabetics and
exhausted people. It should be eaten only freshly prepared,
warming up of already prepared dishes with spinach should
not be done.
Helycrisum
White, red, orange, yellow, or pink flowers (flower bouquets)
decorate the flower bed from the summer to the beginning of
autumn. A dry flower “blooms” also during the winter. For this
purpose, the flower stems should be cut right before the flower
bouquets open themselves. Then, these should be bound
into bouquets and hanged in a garden shed or airy attic facing
downwards.
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