Posted by rachel on May 6, 2011 in Garden

Essential tools and tips for the gardener part 2

This high tech piece of equipment might break the bank. It cost me a whopping 50 cents and it was so worth it.

Its a scrub brush. I keep this one away from soap and use it for my root vegetables. I wrote “veggies only” to remind the hubs to keep the chemicals off my scrubber. I don’t like that stuff on my food.

You know what else I don’t like on my food?

Dirt.

I’m always amazed how dirty my sink gets when I scrub veggies. You take a carrot that looks pretty clean, give it a good scrub- and you can visibly see the dirt come off. Gross!

Question: Did you know that root vegetables are grown underground?

Hey, YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED at how many people don’t realize this.

(I’m not hating here, just educatin’ my peeps)

When you dig potatoes, they are covered in dirt. You have to wash them…and they must be washed well.

Other veggies that need this scrub brush are: Radishes, turnips, anything heavy that lays on the ground (cucumbers, squash, watermelon), sweet potatoes, carrots, ginger, root artichokes, celeriac….

Here’s a bowl of freshly dug and washed potatoes. I usually wash them once when they are harvested, and again before cooking them.