Summer is winding down, but not the heat. Spring planted greens are long gone so it would be great to have some heat-tolerant greens to enjoy. It may be too late this season to be enjoying some of these greens that can tolerate our summer but make a list for next year.
Three suggestions for uncommon heat tolerant greens that may have a place in your garden:
Amaranth. (Amaranthus tricolor) For many gardeners Amaranthus is a noxious weed known as pigweed. It can appear overnight and grows unbelievably fast in the heat. Left to go to seed and there will be hundreds of babies showing up next year. The weed Amaranthus is edible as a potherb. However, the Amaranth known as Chinese spinach or yin choy, is desirable as a heat tolerant, nutritious green. There are several varieties with a range of color: from all red leaves (All Red Leaf) to red leaves with green margins (Red Beauty) perfect as a microgreen or in salads, to burgundy stems and fuchsia-tinged green leaves (Red Garnet) also great for microgreens and baby leaves, to green leaves with red stripes (Red Leaf) and finally a white variety (White Leaf) of a different species, Amaranth mangotanus with round, tender, light green leaves.
Komatsuna. (Brassica rapa var. perviridis) A heat tolerant large leafy Asian green grown in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. It is also call spinach mustard for its dark green, glossy leaves, but it is not in the same family as spinach. It can be prepared like spinach when young, developing into more of a cabbage habit when mature. It has a mustardy, spicy, flavor that increases with age. It can be stir-fried, pickled, boiled, added to soups or can be used fresh in salads. It grows spring to fall
Swiss Chard. (Beta vulgaris var. cicia) This wonderful vegetable is not as unusual as Komatsuna and Amaranth, but not including it would be an oversight, as it a favorite in summer gardens and an almost year-round green. A little-known variety, however, is the Japanese chard, called fudanso, which is also known as leaf beet, spinach beet, leaf chard, or perpetual spinach. It has shorter stalks but still has the glossy deep green wavy leaves. Fudanso excellent as a baby green in salads and in stir-fry.
Information from Kitazawa Seed Co., Oakland California, (510) 595-1188
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.
