Thanks again to you all. I'm narrowing down my list of things to try.

Silvia, I've never heard of wasabi arugula. We love arugula--especially the wild type--and we love wasabi, so it sounds really good.

Good to know about the white malabar spinach, Christine. If I try any malabar, it will be the white. It was the red type I tried years ago.

The moringa is still tempting me (even though I really don't have room for it). Maybe it's flavorless--or peppery--but from what I read it seems very productive and easy and I figure it has to be better than the bagged spinach I too often resort to during the hot months. Maybe it would be good back up.

My goal is to have greens all year.

Thanks again.

Bill

Bill, you are in luck, I have the wild Italian arugula and I will mail you together with the heart tomato seeds. Do you like chicories? I have those too. Let me know...

For further knowledge and reading, I will recommend you a book unless you already have it, is called Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeir, they have descriptions and how to grow.

Silvia

Thank you, Silvia.

I'm growing a type of wild arugula now (Diplotaxis, I think: the one with yellow mustard-like blossoms). It has a strong, peppery flavor, with a pine nut taste mixed in. Is this the same as yours? Or does yours taste like wasabi?

I'd love to try the tomato and the chicory, but you shouldn't go to the trouble. Just tell me the good types and I'll include them on my next seed order. I've been wondering which chicories to try.

I checked out "Perennial Vegetables" from the library a few months back. I do remember him writing about katuk and moringa, water spinach and other unusual things. I'll have to get it again. Thanks for reminding me.

Bill

Thanks so much, Silvia! I found the seeds in my mailbox last night. I'm planting the chicory and rocket salad TODAY, and I can't wait to try the Hat Heart tomato this spring. And Valerian! I'm going grow it, make some tea, and try to calm down! Thanks again. So nice of you to send them.

Bill

Bill, you are welcome! About the seeds that I sent you, the heart tomato is from saved seeds from the tomato I just harvested this season. The chicory mix of different varieties and colors, valerian and rocket are from a gift that Donatella the winery owner that I visited when I was in Italy sent me, she said "have a salad on me", she also said that they are her favorite and plant them every season. You know chicory is a very popular green in Italy where they served them usually grilled as a side dish.
The arugula that I planted is a wasabi arugula with white flowers and I bought it in Renee seeds, everyone like it in the house, so I will be growing it again. And I just planted in my garden the same trio of Italian herbs to see how we like them.
If you go to the library, another good book to read is 100 vegetables and where they came from, the author is Williams Woys Weaver, he includes sometimes recipes and how they are used.

Silvia

Wow Christine, your yacon looks great! How long have you been growing it? My two plants purchased in the spring are in 6" pots and have not grown much.... I gave one away to a GW'er in Tampa to try in his garden but you have me considering taking the other one and putting it in the ground since I rarely get frost. I'd really like to have this one survive and spread.

Silvia, what has yours done? Are they in the ground?

Tom

I just planted the chicory, rocket and valerian. Can't wait to see what they're like. It's neat that they're from an Italian winery! I will be sure to try the chicories grilled.

I love William Woys Weaver's books. I read 100 hundred vegetables a couple of years ago, and I read--and re-read--his "Heirloom Vegetable Gardening." I'm going to check out 100 Vegetables again now that you've reminded me.

Thanks again.

Bill

Tom, mine is doing well in the raised bed, I had it all the time with insect barrier cloth and has been growing through that, I will have to take it out and see how it is going and maybe harvest some before the frost...
Here it is some of the descriptions in the book:
"Yacon - Its long, yamlike tubers are sweet and crunchy like snappy apples, and when you bite into them they literally drip with juice that tastes like nectar, can be used as a beverage. Yacon is a perennial where the ground does not freeze. The most common practice for increasing the plants is to take cuttings from the tubers or offshoots from the crown of the tuber. Full grown yacon reaches four or five feet tall."

Bill - Donatella,was a great cook, she herself prepared the dishes to be served with different wines. I should asked her for recipes but I was busy tasting the wines,lol.
I think that Valerian (Valeriana locusta) she uses for salad mainly, it says in the description "large plant with broad, tender-dark green colored leaves. Rich in vitamins and minerals. Depurative, digestive.

This morning one of the potluck dishes, Indian Stripe, Monokah's, Neves, Georgia Streak, Angolan tomatoes. They will be served with a sun-dried tomato dressing.

Silvia

Is there any chance that it's Valerianella eriocarpa--"Italian Corn Salad"? I grow several types of V. locusta, and the seeds are smaller--but then the seed sizes of different varieties of V. locusta seem to vary a good bit, so it very well may be another kind of V. locusta. I just thought because they actually came from Italy there might be a chance it was the Italian corn salad--and the fact that it's described as large: almost all V. locusta are tiny. I have read that the Italian type is rare here. I've never tried it. Either way, it should be very interesting growing them. I'm going to plant more this afternoon.

Beautiful salad! Bet it tastes wonderful with sun dried tomato dressing.

Bill

Bill ~ I ordered both of the books that Silvia recommended from the library a few days ago. There were several copies available so hopefully you'll get a copy soon and don't have to wait.

Silvia ~ That salad looks great. That's my kind of salad - forget the lettuce! LOL

Tom ~ I started mine from one cutting about 3 years ago. It is planted in mostly compost, decomposed mulch. It does get some filtered sun in the summer when the sun is high. The area stays moist. The clump has grown at an incredibly fast rate. The stems get to at least 6-7 feet before they start to bend from their own weight. I have never had any problems with insects. But, I do get some fungal damage when the weather cools down. Who knows, it could be some kind of blight.

I think that you should plant your yucon in the ground and see what happens. I have zillions of corms that I can share with you if you ever want more. So, don't be timid because I'm your back-up source.

Christine

Thank you Christine.

Bill - Thank you, I love the sun-dried tomato dressing that I make. I brought with me some sun-dried tomatoes from Italy, they have a real good smoked flavor!

And you are right about the seeds being corn salad, I guess that is what we will be growing this season.:)

One of my favorite places to eat in Italy was the mozarella bar, with different varieties of fresh, homemade cheese served with grilled vegetables, chicories and arugula.

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: corn salad

Silvia, can you share your recipe for sun-dried tomato dressing? That is, if it is a vinaigrette. It would be nice to have a variety of favorite recipes. I read the corn salad link. I've tried to grow it a couple of times but I started them when it was still too warm for them. It looked similar to baby spinach.

Christine

I enjoy okinawa spinach and katuk.

I am surprised how few people know of katuk. It is super easy to grow and is very tasty. I eat the leaves and flowers in salads and use the new growth stems in stir fry or out of hand. It has a nutty taste but is not overbearing. The thing I have found with katuk is that it needs to be eaten right after harvesting. The leaves get soft and unappealing quickly.

Okinawa spinach is very tasty as well. I only use it raw in salads or on sandwiches. It stands up very well in the fridge. The plant is also quite pretty with its leaves bearing purple on the undersides.

Basil can be grown almost year round and makes a good green to add to things.

I dont remember hearing of quail grass before, anyone have pictures or experience?

I enjoy okinawa spinach and katuk.

I am surprised how few people know of katuk. It is super easy to grow and is very tasty. I eat the leaves and flowers in salads and use the new growth stems in stir fry or out of hand. It has a nutty taste but is not overbearing. The thing I have found with katuk is that it needs to be eaten right after harvesting. The leaves get soft and unappealing quickly.

Okinawa spinach is very tasty as well. I only use it raw in salads or on sandwiches. It stands up very well in the fridge. The plant is also quite pretty with its leaves bearing purple on the undersides.

Basil can be grown almost year round and makes a good green to add to things.

I dont remember hearing of quail grass before, anyone have pictures or experience?

Silvia, please post a picture of your yacon, I want to see how much it has grown.

Christine, thanks for the offer, I will take you up on it if this little fellow doesn't make it.

Tom

Tom - Here are some pictures for you, originally one of the plants did better than the other. And because I was going to put the cloth on top, I drastically cut it. It was growing fine, I didn't put anything on them after planting, they only get water when it rains and 2 times a week with the sprinkler. The stems of the one are little bit bended from the cloth that I took it out this morning.
Yours look good in the raised bed, they will do fine there. If you get any bugs later on, just put the insect barrier cloth and they grow bug-free.

Last night we went to Citricos at the Grand Floridian, the food was excellent! I had the Florida grouper with roasted tomatoes and pasta. I was happily surprised that their style of roasting the tomatoes is similar to mine

And for the holidays they made a giant gingerbread house, they said that after the holidays are over they compost the house.:)

Silvia

Silvia, the mozarella bar looks great. Now I have a serving idea when my chicories are ready.

I did a post on my blog about growing and eating corn salad a while back (see link below, if you're interested). It's a gourmet green in Spain, so I'm excited about the one you've given me.

Keiki, thanks for the information on Katuk. I hope to try it this summer. I haven't grown the quail grass, but I'm going to try unless some one warns me against it. You can find descriptions of it on the ECHO website.

Has anyone out there tried quail grass? I think it's an edible type of celosia. Sounds like it would be an easy summer green.

Bill

Here is a link that might be useful: corn salad

Bill - I think that we have a winner with the valerian/corn salad from Italy. If it was on the list of Donatella's favorite salad greens it has to be good.
Thank you for the link on your posting, it does sound very good and I will try it with your dressing when my greens are ready.

Yesterday we had a big pot of green glaze collards, this one has smoked turkey leg. Each time that I make collards, I use a new recipe.:)

Silvia

Keiki ~ I also found some info about katuk from ECHO website. They praised it highly. It's not for sale because they don't have many seeds. Where did you get your plants? ECHO recommended plants from cuttings because it is quicker. ECHO does sell seeds for quail grass.

Silvia ~ I often cook my green glaze collards like that. It's one of my favorite ways but I often have a hard time finding the smoked legs.

Bill ~ I didn't realize that you had a blog. Your soups look so good - I can't decide which one I'm going to make first. Probably the ones that will help me use up my garden veggies. I saw that you give credit to Ana for the photos. Does she help with the cooking too?

My husband was listening to a talk program that had a guest speaker, Marjory Wildcraft. She has some interesting YouTube videos. During my googling I came across recommendations for growing (and eating) 'Magenta Lambs Quarters'. I ordered some seeds so I will be ready for late spring. They are a heat tolerant salad green. Does anyone grow this summer green?

Christine

Those collard look good, Silvia! Do you put hot pepper vinegar on them? We always did in Georgia, and I do it here too--though I never figured out what type of hot pepper my grandmother used to use for the vinegar.

Christine, Ana does not cook. She helps me with everything else, but I do the cooking.

I'm trying two types of chenopodium this fall, one of which is "Lamb's quarters."

The lamb's quarters didn't like being planted in fall. The germination rate was low (I have read this is normal) and the plants went to seed very quickly, even though they are still tiny. I'm going to try again in early spring and then again in the later spring. I'm not sure how much heat they can take. Should be interesting.

I'm also growing Huauzontle--Chenopodium nuttalliae, I think--which is native. This one is much easier. It has a much higher germination rate than the regular lamb's quarters. It grows fairly fast. It makes a pretty good spinach substitute, and supposedly you can eat the tops when they form buds--like broccoli raab. So far I'm enjoying it. I'm eager to see how much heat this one can take too.

Silvia - thanks for the yacon pictures ;-)

Keike - Katuk looks interesting, I was surprised to note it contains high levels of papaverine but it appears that would only be a problem with excessive consumption.

Bill - I'd love to try some corn salad over here in the Zone 10 heat and humidity ;-) I'd also like to try any and all chenopodium....

Tom

Christine I have had my katuk for about 10 years now, sorry I don't remember where I got it. In the spring I will take cuttings and root some for anyone interested.

Tom that is news to me, never heard about the papaverine. Our katuk grows in a huge patch we nibble from. The leaves don't hold up well so I pick a few and throw them on our salad once or twice a week and use new growth stems in stir fry once in a while. I probably eat most of it while walking threw the yard, it is a great snacker to me. I do the same with cherry tomatoes :o)

...In the spring I will take cuttings and root some for anyone interested.

Cool! I'm looking forward to trying to grow some things in the summer that I actually like :-)

keiki - Thanks for the offer. I'll gladly pay postage when the time comes. I love having food to nibble on when I'm outside working in the yard too. If you ever want any yucon tubers, let me know.

Christine

Tom and Christine I will make a note to root you plants this spring. I get runner plants all the time but they transplant horribly.

Chrstine I have wanted to try yacon but heard it gets 6' tall and wide. Where in the world would I put it? :o) Would love to hear your experience.

Well, I have Corn Salad seeds on their way :-) Seems I remember reading somewhere that radish leaves could be eaten too, my icicles need thinning, anybody eating them?

Tom

keiki - As you can see from the pictures that I posted earlier, the clump can get rather large, but that can be easily controlled. Yes, they get 6' but if that is a problem I guess you could try pruning them slightly shorter. The result may be less to harvest but, honestly there is so much to eat that I give much away and leave the rest in the ground. Some of the tubers are as large as cassava (yucca).

Tom - I did a quick google search and I found that lots of people eat radish greens. They say that the greens taste like mustard greens - Used in sautees and soups. I don't eat radishes so I can't speak from experience. Those greens sure do look good enough to eat!

Christine

Tom many people eat radish greens, they are strong flavored. My chickens absolutely love them. Thanks for the reminder to grow some for them.

Christine I was worried about the width, my book says 3' spacing which is fine if I only need one. Your plants look beautiful, will I need that many for 2 people? I think I would like to take you up on your offer for a tuber or two to try, thank you.

I thought of a couple of other greens I have grown - water celery and water mimosa. I don't have either right now as my koi got the last of them. I meant to get more to grow out of their reach but it just never happened. I have trouble over wintering the mimosa but it is really beautiful in the pond.

keiki - I've tried several times to add my email address back into the personal info area but I just can't seem to do it. It was there at one time. Send me your mailing info. christineyoung at iag dot net.

Christine

Callaloo grows all year round in my yard and is delicious sauteed with onion and garlic.

subtrop - Do you leave the older, tougher leaves and just cook the newer leaves, near the tip of the growth end?

happy_fl_gardener- Yes, the older one's will get too tough too eat. So I use them for mulch.But there are enough fresh leaves along the stem, not just at the top. I do cook the stems though. Of course only the soft bendable ones. You can feel it when you cut them, if they are somewhat tough or still soft. And they taste as good or better than the leaves. Just make sure you strip them from the outer tough fibers. I do this by stripping from the cut end to the top. Also I soak the leaves and stem in salt water 10 minutes to remove all hiding insects.

Very interesting read. All of you on this post have educated an old Florida gardener, and introduced me to a few greens I've never heard of before. To that I thank you. I'm very new to this web site and forum, but already have learned so many things, like when the sun is shinning don't get on the computer or go to this site, you'll spend hours of daylight reading!! Very interesting all!!
Thanks for posting pictures, that is the most important part!!

This is an update of my callaloo. Subtrop, mine sure don't look as lush as yours possibly because mine are growing in colder temps. They wanted to go to seed at a small size. I'm growing them to save the seeds . If they mature before a freeze, I'll have quite enough! With all of the greens that I have in my garden right now, I haven't made any attempt to eat any of the leaves.

Violet - We are all learning from each other. That's what makes it fun.

happy_fl_gardener, I believe we have a different amaranth. Yours look, to me that is, like Amaranthus powellii. Mine looks different when it goes to seed (I'll try dig up a pic). I also have some which go to seed when little, the transplants do that. When mine Amaranthus dubuis, go to seed, they are not good for eating anymore, to tough. I cut them before, they store wrapped up ok in the fridge and then they regrow from the main stalk. Last summer I had to dig some out with a shovel, the trunks were so large.

subtrop - I ordered the seeds from Baker Creek. This is whatever they call Calaloo. Mine don't look very tender. I'm going to feed them to the chickens to see if they like them.

Hope they do like it and lay some tasty eggs for you ;-) Make sure you don't miss when the seeds start falling out, this is reseeding itself like a weed.

Make sure you don't miss when the seeds start falling out, this is reseeding itself like a weed.

I think we'd all like to have some of YOUR seeds ;-)

Tom

Tom, are you wanting my seeds or subtrop's? Looks like I'll have plenty to share for anyone that wants some. Hopefully they will mature before the first freeze comes.

Christine

Maybe a step by step is helpful to those who are interested how to clean and cook this veggie:
This is BEFORE cutting of the old leaves, the bug eaten leaves and the hard stems. You can see how much you actually need.

That's what's left for cooking.

Stripping the fibers. Some stalks hardly have some and are soft enough. Some are still too hard and I discard them. Then I soak it all in saltwater for 10 minutes. Fry a small onion, add 1 minced garlic clove, then the cut up callaloo and 1/3 cup of water and some salt and pepper and steam until soft, but not overcooked.

This post was edited by subtrop on Mon, Dec 17, 12 at 19:54

The pot is full, it's a stockpot size....

Finished and it quite is not so full anymore. I have it in the fridge for up to 2 days, by then it's gone anyways, not sure how it would freeze. You can add salt fish before steaming to make it even a true Caribbean breakfast ;-)

subtrop - Thanks for posting the demo. It REALLY helps a lot to see how to properly prepare the greens with stems. It looks delicious.

Tom, are you wanting my seeds or subtrop's?

Subtrop's! Mine is like your's Christine, not the broad leaf stuff ST is growing....

Thanks for posting the demo. It REALLY helps a lot to see how to properly prepare the greens with stems. It looks delicious.

I agree, now I just need that cultivar to try. For Zone 10 it sure looks to be a lot less buggy. ST, do you treat it with anything to control the bugs?

Tom

Yeah, subtrop, may I have some seeds too? Yours looks better than what Tom and I have.

Christine

Just checked to make sure I have some seeds! Email me your mailing address and I'll send some your way.
The plants would even look better, but I keep them low on the nitrogen, because they store nitrates in the leaves, so watch out with that, because it can lead to oxalic acid in the greens and then it'll be like biting on a sand particle one in a while. It's harmless in that concentration, but I still don't like it. Best for me is that in my nematode infested soil, which almost every veggie gets killed sooner or later, this isn't affected. And personally I like the taste better than spinach, it doesn't have that funny aftertaste.
The pic is how I cut it then then it regrows right away multiple times.
If I see bugs I spray pyrethrin or Pt, but not on a regular basis, just don't have the time....

subtrop - I would like some seeds of your variety of calaloo: christineyoung at iag dot net I chewed on a stalk of the variety that I have and it has more of a flavor than I expected. It was woody and pithy though. I'm going to dedicate a large space for these greens in the veggie garden next summer.

Christine

Of course, I would've sent some with the passion fruits anyway, got some fresh ones today! Thanks again for sharing some of the yucon. Looking forward to them.