Growing & Using Good King Henry

By G. Scott Graham

G. Scott Graham provides is a detailed guide for growing the herb/vegetable Good King Henry. Graham also outlines growing conditions, maintenance requirements, harvesting and uses for this little-known plant. There are many common names, but the one that will give you the most appreciation for what this plant is like is this: perennial spinach.

This book also includes curated recipes from classically trained chef Matthew Dyment to inspire you to grow and prepare this incredible plant:

Good King Henry Stuffed Squash
Charred Good King Henry with Beets and Potatoes
Sauteed Good King Henry and Fiddleheads
Good King Henry Pesto with Candied Walnuts
Good King Henry and Dandelion Greens Salad with a Maple Vinaigrette
Good King Henry and Pulled Turkey Tacos

• Language: English
• Publisher: G. Scott Graham
• Release date: Jun 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005921798

G. Scott Graham

Scott Graham is a career coach and business coach in Boston, Massachusetts. Scott is driven to help clients follow their "true azimuth," which is different from "true north." It means coaching clients to identify the true focus of their life -- something that speaks individually to them. It means recognizing the forces that push our lives off course and adjusting to them so you get where you want to go. It means that when you are 90 years old and you look back on your life you have a sense of pride, accomplishment, and meaning -- with no regrets.

Book preview

Growning & Using Good King Henry

G. Scott Graham

Chef Matthew Dyment

True Azimuth Coaching

Copyright © 2016 G. Scott Graham

All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

To Susan Williams, a walking, talking gardening resource who introduced me to perennial vegetables (Oh, and she’s a good friend, Long Trail hiking buddy and fellow vipassana meditator).

Contents

Preface

Musings

Introduction

Good King Henry: A Brief History Of A Forgotten Plant

Who Should Grow Good King Henry?

Quick Facts: What Do You Need To Know

Planting Directly Outside In Spring Or Autumn

Planting Directly Outside In The Fall

Planting In Containers

Starting Seeds Indoors

Harvesting

Storing

Cooking

Musings

Growing Good King Henry

Planning

Growing Requirements

Exceptional Specifications

Primary Concerns

What Good King Henry Likes Best

Growing Good King Henry in Beds

Making Your Beds

Some Rules For Digging

Raised Beds

Tips for Maintaining Beds

Growing Good King Henry in Containers

Where Is It Suitable To Use Containerized Good King Henry?

How Can You Enhance The Growth Of Containerized Good King Henry?

Starting Plants

Tips For Starting Plants

Caring For Good King Henry

In-season Mulching And Fertilizing

Dead-leafing

Watering

Fertilizing

Thinning

Winter-mulching

Division

Troubleshooting: Insects & Diseases

Troubleshooting: What if the Bed Is Not Producing Well?

Key Troubleshooting Questions

Harvesting Good King Henry

Rules For Harvesting

Musings

Uses Of Good King Henry

Preserving Good King Henry

Dry The Leaves

Apply Oil Or Butter

Use Vinegar

Freeze It!

Add Sugar Or Salt

Storing Seeds

Cooking Good King Henry

Recipes

Good King Henry Stuffed Squash

Charred Good King Henry With Beets And Potatoes

Sauteed Good King Henry And Fiddleheads

Good King Henry Pesto With Candied Walnuts

Good King Henry And Dandelion Greens Salad With A Maple Vinaigrette

Good King Henry And Pulled Turkey Tacos

Musings

The Voice Of Experience: A Summary Of Musings And A Bit More

What’s Your Experience?

Appendix

Sources for Good King Henry Seeds

Sources in the United States

Sources in Canada

Sources in the United Kingdom

Sources in Ireland

Sources in Holland

Sources in Germany

Sources in Australia

Other Sources

About Matthew Dyment

About Scott Graham

Other Books by Scott Graham

Contact Scott Graham

Preface

When I turned 50 years old in 2013, I started evaluating my life, my lifestyle, my values, my purpose and my vision for the remainder of my life.

I hiked the GR20 in Corsica, ran a number of half marathons and completed a full marathon just to prove that I was far from being an old man.

Part of this process was to create a bucket list, In fact my spouse and I both worked on our bucket lists (he turned 50 in 2016).  It was a transformative process and I was inspired to write a book about what we did so others could benefit too.  While going through the bucket list and values-clarification process that we integrated with our list-making, I discovered that living a simple life, close to the earth, eating as low on the food chain as possible with as little work as possible so I would have time to meditate, hike, run, swim and otherwise play.

An asparagus bed was my first project, quickly followed by two strawberry pyramids.  These two projects were driven by my goal of doing as little work as possible.  I knew that time spent getting the plants established would result in years