Chance's Chop N Drop Gallery (Drop yours too)

Hey friends,

I love chop N Drop. I love the fertility it provides, the soil biology it supports, the moisture retention it provides, and I love using my resources rather than wasting them.

I also love chop N drop because I find the process deeply soothing and gratifying.

So, I'm just gonna share before and after photos of my chop N drop in case anybody else feels similar.

Here are the first set of photos:

Some more photos of chop N drop.

Have you been eating any of that mallow? They are one of my favorite greens.

M Ljin wrote:Have you been eating any of that mallow? They are one of my favorite greens.

Just the blossoms and the cheese wheels.

Tell me what you like about the greens.

Chance Lunceford wrote:

M Ljin wrote:Have you been eating any of that mallow? They are one of my favorite greens.

Just the blossoms and the cheese wheels.

Tell me what you like about the greens.

I don’t know what is not to like! They are mild, nourishing, tender, soothing to the digestion, and high in calcium. I have some by the doorstep and pick some most days.

M Ljin wrote:
I don’t know what is not to like! They are mild, nourishing, tender, soothing to the digestion, and high in calcium. I have some by the doorstep and pick some most days.

Do you just munch a little, or do you harvest a significant amount and use it in salads or smoothies?

I mix with other leaves like dandelion, comfrey and horseradish, and cook with egg and/or cheese. Sometimes I eat them raw too.

M Ljin wrote:I mix with other leaves like dandelion, comfrey and horseradish, and cook with egg and/or cheese. Sometimes I eat them raw too.

Now we're talkin'.

Oh, hey, have you ever tried blanching your dandelions before picking? They're much more tender and mild. Not always what I'm looking for, but superior for a salad for sure.

Chance Lunceford wrote:

Now we're talkin'.

Oh, hey, have you ever tried blanching your dandelions before picking? They're much more tender and mild. Not always what I'm looking for, but superior for a salad for sure.

I have picked them from underneath a leaf pack, where they’ve naturally been blanched—they are quite good. But I haven’t done it intentionally. I’ve thought about doing it with pokeweed, though, which is supposed to require less cooking that way.

I like to simply put an empty pot over the dandelion, with a rock on top, and then come back and harvest in a week or so.

Here's my end of season chop N drop on the hillside above my property. I still manage it (including the digging of the swales and demilunes), and this year's growth was significantly more than in previous years. This hillside seeps fertility into my yarden.

Wow, that is well vegetated compared to the surrounding countryside! Do you irrigate much, or is it all earthworks and soil?

M Ljin wrote:

Chance Lunceford wrote:

M Ljin wrote:Have you been eating any of that mallow? They are one of my favorite greens.

Just the blossoms and the cheese wheels.

Tell me what you like about the greens.

I don’t know what is not to like! They are mild, nourishing, tender, soothing to the digestion, and high in calcium. I have some by the doorstep and pick some most days.

That last bit about calcium makes me wonder:  would mallow be a good chop'n'drop around apple trees?  Is the calcium in a form that would benefit my fruit yeilds?  Or am I completely off base?