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Plants are similar to winter plants but have different appearance, taste
March 29, 2019
By Barb Henry - Victoria County Master Gardener
Edited by Charla Borchers Leon
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY WIMASTERGARDENERS.ORG
Malabar Spinach (Basella alba) is shown here as a short plant that will robustly take off and climb a wall or trellis. Not really a spinach, it is a perennial vine that will freeze back in cold weather and survive in spring and summer. The leaves are fleshy and succulent, and if sauteed too quickly or too long, they resemble okra-like sliminess. It adds color and texture to a landscape, especially the Basella rubra, a red-vined variety.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
The edible Amaranth is a low-growing plant that has variegated, bright-colored leaves and often, but not always, grows in fields in mass production. It is heat-tolerant and has low maintenance. Its leaves are rich in vitamins and protein for a salad or used in dishes for Chinese or Indian cuisine.
Salad
Dressing
Steps:
Place the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Mix all the dressing ingredients together and pour over the top of salad, toss lightly and enjoy.
Makes 4 servings.
Source: Healthy Recipes for Your Nutritional Type by Dr. Joseph Mercola
1 cup, chopped
Great source of vitamins C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B-6, folate, B-12 and A.
Rich in six essential minerals and three lipids.
Source: ndb.nal.usda.gov
FOR: Children ages 6-12
WHEN: June 10-14
TIME: 8:30 a.m.-noon
COST: $35
Limited to first 60 who register. For information and registration, visit vcmga.org and click on 2019 Growing Healthy Kids Camp.
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com, or comment on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY CHARLA BORCHERS LEON/VICTORIA MASTER GARDENER
Heirloom Swiss Chard varieties are not only beautiful, bright additions to a bed or landscape like shown here, but the large, tender leaves have a delicate flavor when cooked. This Ruby variety Swiss Chard is growing in a mulched bed with direct sun and late afternoon shade. A member of the Spinach family, this heirloom variety has a high heat tolerance and is bolt-resistant.
Spinach, kale, leaf lettuces: The leafy greens of spring salads that we are most familiar with tend to produce best in the Texas winter and the very early spring cooler weather.
When the Texas summer heat arrives, these plants tend to turn bitter, bolt or just bake and die. If you wish to continue eating locally grown greens into the heat of summer, you might have to look more globally. I’m talking about a collection of leafy greens that originate in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
These plants are similar in appearance to our winter greens but have a stubborn defiance to our Texas heat, making them worthy of a trial run. Keep an open mind to their differences in flavor and texture.
The plants I am listing below are heat- anddrought- tolerant, but they do like a little shade from the afternoon sun. They can be planted from transplants as late as June, if you are prepared to water and shade them until they are established.
Malabar is a robust climbing perennial vine that needs a sturdy fence or trellis for support. Originating in the tropical regions of India and Indonesia, it is also referred to as Indian spinach, Ceylon spinach and vine spinach.
Malabar is not really a spinach at all. Though it has tender, green leaves that cook down quickly when sautéed, the leaves are fleshy and succulent with an earthy flavor. If cooked too long, they develop an okra-like sliminess.
Harvest leaves frequently and cut the plant back to keep it in check. It can become very invasive if allowed to spread, but no matter how large, it will die with the first hard freeze. For some ornamental color, there is Basella rubra, a red-vined variety.
A member of the spinach family, Swiss chard has large, tender leaves with delicate flavor. There are three heirloom chards that date back into the 1800s that have a higher heat tolerance than other chards: Perpetual spinach is bolt-resistant, which means not going to seed too early. Bolt, to the contrary, means to go to seed. Lucullus chard is the most heat-tolerant, with Ruby chard doing very well in the heat also.
A low-growing plant with a variety of bright colors and variegation, the leaves contribute many vitamins and protein to a salad or dish. Leafy amaranth is a common ingredient in cuisines from China and India to the Caribbean. The flavor is spinach-like with a touch of artichoke. Young leaves can be used fresh in salads and larger leaves can be steamed or sautéed as a substitute for spinach. The variety that is grown for grain, Amaranthus cruentus, is not good as an edible green.
Sweet potato vines are valued for their bright, light green contrasting color in flower beds and hanging baskets, but, in fact, they are tasty and full of vitamins, minerals and fiber.
They can be used just as you would spinach, raw or cooked. They have a slightly bitter taste if eaten raw but lightly cooked, they are sweet. In Asian cooking, they are often stir-fried with ginger, garlic and soy sauce.
Of course, the sweet potato tuber is an added benefit and the edible leaves, flowers and vines can be continually harvested until the tubers are ready. The whole sweet potato plant is a major food crop in China.
Dandelion is a member of one of the largest plant families – the sunflower, which includes daisies and thistles. It has its origins in Eurasia and was purposely spread over the world by emigrants for its medicinal value.
Usually recognized as a weed in the spring and summer lawn, dandelion greens are packed with nutritional goodness. They are slightly bitter and best mixed with other veggies to make them more pleasant to eat. They can be tossed into your morning green smoothie or eaten in a fresh salad. They are also tasty cooked.
If picking wild greens, be sure that they have not been sprayed with pesticides. Take the young leaves as they will have a milder flavor. Do not wash them until ready for use for longer storage.
Recipes can be found for all these lesser-known leafy greens by searching for them on the internet, and you may find that there could be recipes in cookbooks you already possess.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
A member of the Sunflower family which includes daisies and thistles, the Dandelion is often recognized as a weed in the landscape in the spring and summers. Wild in a field or from a lawn, the leaves of the dandelion can be harvested for use in salads. They have a bitter taste but add a distinct flavor to a green salad and are packed with vitamins, nine esstential nutrients and three lipids. They are also tasty cooked as a green menu item.
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