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Garden Advice

10 Heat-Tolerant Greens to Grow All Summer

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Leafy greens are underrated workhorses in the garden. They’re nutritious, easy to use, and highly productive. Unfortunately, the hot weather that arrives all too quickly in southern gardens causes many greens to bolt or start flowering, making them bitter and inedible.

While we enjoy growing and even overwintering tender greens like spinach, endive, lettuce, and Chinese cabbage, we still want to enjoy greens during the summer. These are a few of our favorite heat-tolerant greens that you can grow all summer long to use for salads, sandwich toppings, smoothies, quiches, stir-fries, and more.

Malabar Spinach

The fleshy leaves and ruby-red stems of Malabar spinach make it look like a stunning ornamental, but it’s tasty too! This Asian green makes a wonderful summer spinach substitute, ideal for salads, stir-fries, and thickening summer soups.

Malabar spinach is quite hardy, will regrow even if severely cut back, and will readily self-seed. Thanks to its vigorous, vining nature, it performs best when grown on a trellis. We like to sow them at the base of our spring pea trellises. As the peas start to die back, Malabar spinach begins to flourish in the warm weather, climbing the trellis. It’s the perfect companion plant.New Zealand Summer Spinach plants

New Zealand Summer Spinach

Introduced to the U.S. in 1772, New Zealand summer spinach is a good spinach substitute for hot weather. While it enjoys similar soil conditions to traditional spinach, New Zealand summer spinach is exceptionally heat and drought tolerant. It’s best as a cooked green.

Before sowing, soak your New Zealand summer spinach seeds for 4 to 24 hours to help speed germination.Watercress

Watercress

Watercress is a leafy, aquatic vegetable with a delicious, peppery crunch that makes it a popular choice for salads and finger sandwiches. While it’s not technically the most heat-tolerant, you’ll need cool water and a bit of shade; it is possible to grow it in summer.

We recommend starting watercress in spring through midsummer. In hot weather, grow your watercress in at least partial shade. The traditional option is to plant watercress into a cool stream of fresh water, but you can also grow it in pots of water or trays in a cool spot; you just need to change the water daily. Use enough water so that the crowns float.Callaloo Amaranth Greens

Callaloo Amaranth Greens

We received this delicious Jamaican variety from Melissa DeSa in Florida. It’s a quick-growing, self sowing hot weather green that’s popular throughout the African diaspora, as well as in Asian cuisines. Usually folks enjoy the greens cooked.

After your last frost, direct sow or transplant 3-week-old seedlings. For continuous harvest, plant every 2 to 4 weeks. Space plants up to 18 inches apart. The upright plants can reach 6 to 8 feet tall in favorable conditions! Harvest greens before the plants flower.

Callaloo is tolerant of poor soil, root-knot nematodes, and bacterial wilt. It’s a great green for almost any garden! It also self-sows. Cucumber beetles may occasionally snack on callaloo, but it’s rarely enough to slow down the plant’s growth.Golden Purslane

Golden Purslane

Golden purslane features fleshy orange stems and large, succulent leaves that help it survive hot, dry weather. It’s cut-and-come again and offers a slightly tart, lemony flavor that’s perfect for salads. You can also pickle it for later use or use it medicinally. Herbalists sometimes use purslane, and it’s high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Transplant or direct sow your purslane after all chance of frost has passed, and the soil has reached at least 70°F. Purslane needs full sun to thrive.Magenta Magic Orach

Magenta Magic Orach

Add some color to any salad with magenta magic orach. Magenta magic is the deepest, darkest red of all the orach varieties available. The leaves are slightly spicy and good for salad mixes or sandwiches.

Direct sow your orach after the danger of frost has passed, about 2 inches apart. As the plants grow, thin them to 9 inches apart. You can enjoy the thinned plants. The plants hold their flavor even as they mature in the summer heat. You can continue to harvest leaves as the plants go to seed.Jewels of Opar (Fame Flower)

Jewels of Opar (Fame Flower)

A relative of purslane with panicles of little pink flowers, this elegant plant has many uses. The mild, succulent leaves are great in salads, on sandwiches, and as a spinach substitute. The seed stalks are attractive in dried arrangements with seedpods that dry down through shades of orange, red, brown, gold, and grey. Herbalists also use the plant medicinally.

Jewels of Opar is native to parts of the South and the Caribbean. It tolerates poor soil and will grow in full sun or partial shade. Perennial in zones 8 and up, Jewels of Opar also self-sows readily and may naturalize.

Prismatic Rainbow Chard
Prismatic Rainbow Chard

Swiss Chard

Just a few Swiss chard plants will provide plentiful greens through spring, summer, and fall. In warm climates or with a greenhouse, you may also overwinter Swiss chard, as it withstands light frost.

Swiss chard leaves have an earthy flavor with a hint of bitterness, while the midribs have a slightly sweet crunch that’s similar to celery. Cooking gives chard a mellower flavor, making it ideal for stir-fries.

In the Southeast, blister beetles may attack chard in midsummer. Pick off beetles (wear gloves!), or pull up plants and wait to replant for fall.

Jericho Romaine Lettuce

Jericho Romaine Lettuce

Jericho is among our most bolt-resistant lettuce varieties. Bred in the desert heat in Palestine, Jericho thrives in our hot summers. The tall, heavy, light-green heads retain their sweetness even when other lettuces have gone bitter. Jericho has good tipburn resistance and is a favorite among market growers.

Minnie Mizelle Collards in a greenhouse
Minnie Mizelle Collards

Collards

Collards are among our favorites on this list, and we carry so many great heirloom varieties, it’s too hard to pick just one! Collards tolerate heat and cold well, making them a great option for the Mid-Atlantic, Appalachia, and Southeast. They’re tasty, easy to grow, and high in iron and in vitamins A and C.

Folks mostly use collards as cooked greens, but you can harvest young leaves for salad mixes. Some collards, like cabbage collards, have a milder cabbage-like flavor, while some, like Alabama blue, offer stunning color, and others, like Minnie Mizelle, have a classic earthy, mustard-like flavor. Learn more about how to choose a collard variety for your garden.

Garden Advice

Grow Your Own Baby Greens Mix

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Growing baby greens is a great way to kick off your spring garden. They’re cold tolerant, quick-growing, and nutritious. They’re also a great choice for first time gardeners. We have a a selection of pre-mixed seeds but if you like to customize your mix here are a few great varieties to include in baby greens mixes. 

Note that greens grown during the late fall and winter will grow more slowly due to the decreased daylight.

Arugula (Roquette)

Arugula adds texture and a mild peppery flavor to salads. It can be harvested as baby greens in as little as 21 days. Arugula can still be eaten after it has flowered but the taste will be stronger. Try our standard arugula or Even’ Star Winter Arugula.

Pak Choi (Bok Choy)

Looseleaf pak choi is perfect for baby greens and can be aded to both salads and stir fries. Pak choi is cold-tolerant and quick growing. The variety we offer, Tokyo Bekana is mild with almost lettuce-like flavor. It’s ready to harvest for baby greens in as little as 21 days or 45 for full leaves. 

Looseleaf Lettuce

There are so many lettuces to choose from that are great for baby greens mixes. Looseleaf varieties perform well in cut and come again mixes. Add some color to your mix with varieties like Bronze Arrow or Red Sails, interesting shapes with Sword Leaf or Thai Oakleaf, or stick with hardy favorites like Red and Green Salad Bowl or Black-Seeded Simpson. Most looseleaf lettuces take about 35 days to mature for baby greens. 

Chicory

Chicory is another nice addition to a greens mix. It’s ready to harvest as baby greens in 28-35 days or 55 days for large leaves. It’s heat-sensitive and grown like lettuce.

Kale

You may be accustomed to growing kale for full sized cooking greens but baby kale makes an excellent addition to salad mixes. Some kale varieties can be ready to cut for baby greens in as little as 21 days. Lark’s Tongue  and Lacinato Rainbow Mix Kale are a couple great choices.

Mustard Greens

Mustard greens can add a lot of beauty and a touch of spiciness to your greens mixture. They can be cut as baby greens in as little as 21 days or about 45 for full size. Some great varieties include Mizuna , Red Giant Mustard, and Ruby Streaks Mustard.

Spinach 

Another cold hardy option, spinach is ready to cut for baby greens in about 30 days. Abundant Bloomsdale and Longstanding Bloomsdale are great choices.

Planting

Your soil should be cool and moist in order for your mix to germinate properly. Cover seeds with 1/4 inch of soil. Sow more of your mix every two weeks for a continuous supply of greens.

Care & Harvesting

Keep the soil fairly moist to get the best harvest. Plants can be shaded with row cover or relay blanket if temperatures are hotter than ideal. 

When you’re harvesting a mix of baby greens it’s easiest to use a pair of scissors to avoid tearing the roots out. Cut the leaves off close to the soil a small handful at a time. For the best sweetness and quality harvest your greens in the morning, especially during the summer.

 

Recipes

Farm Ferments: Swiss Chard Kimchi

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Some evidence suggests that humans have been fermenting food and beverages for over 13, 000 years! This ancient method of food preservation uses naturally occurring bacteria that create acids to prevent spoilage and give fermented foods their sour flavor. Even though most of us now have access to other food preservation methods like canning or just refrigeration using this time-honored technique can still be a great choice for the modern gardener. Recent studies continue to link gut bacteria with mood and some even suggest that good gut health may help prevent depression.

If you want to improve your gut health an easy recipe to try is kimchi. Kimchi has probably been around since before 37 BC and is a staple in Korean cuisine. Traditionally kimchi was made from vegetables like napa cabbage, radishes, and carrots which were fermented in earthenware pots buried in the ground. The ground temperature helped the kimchi ferment slowly and keep for long periods during the summer and prevented it from freezing during the winter. This time of year a great way to make kimchi is with swiss chard.

Making Kimchi

Ingredients

  • about 1lb swiss chard
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 3 TBS red chili powder
  • 1 TBS paprika
  • 5 large cloves of garlic
  • 1 TBS fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 TBS sesame oil

Rinse off your chard and separate the leaves and stems before roughly chopping all of it into small pieces. Thoroughly mix all ingredients. It’s often best to sort of massage them together with your hands like you would sour kraut. You can use gloves for this if desired.

Pack your kimchi into jars leaving at least 1-inch of headspace. Fit lids loosely to your jars and leave them in a spot on your counter out of direct sunlight for 4-5 days. Remove the lids at least once per day to allow any trapped gases to escape and stir your kimchi so the same leaves aren’t always sitting on top. After a few days, your kimchi which shrink down and you may be able to combine jars if desired. Taste your kimchi every day or so and when you like the flavor move it to the refrigerator to slow down fermentation.

If you like this ferment try making your own sauerkraut!

The Power of Fermented Foods: Making Sauerkraut

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