I love spinach. I loooooovve spinach. But spinach is impossible to grow in Southwest Florida. And I do mean impossible. Even Worden Farms in Punta Gorda hasn't been able to [although they do have Kina Savoy and Tat Soi which look fairly close even though they're basically members of the cabbage family. I will be giving them a try soon.]
After a little research I came across Echo Farms in North Fort Myers [A totally cool non-denominational Christian group dedicated to using science and technology to solve hunger in the world. They basically believe that there is the perfect plant for every instance, you just have to figure out what it is]. I've tried 4 of their plants as summer-tolerant spinach/green substitutes. It's also where I got my tropical sweet potato starts. These first two pictures are okinawa spinach. [Echo Farm Plant list here --- Seed bank here]
Okinawa spinach, if nothing else, makes a lovely ground cover. Unlike Malabar spinach it thrives in the summer and winter. And it is profligate. Two plants took over pretty much a 4'x6' patch of space. I like it better raw in salads. As a saute I find all but the youngest leaves get a bit too mucilagenous [like okra] for me. Although it will work in heavier sauces. But, it grows like a weed, totally pest resistant and other than maybe a bi-weekly watering in the spring [where I am at spring is very hot and very dry] it thrives on it's own.
It even gets pretty, teeny dandelion-like flowers in the winter ranging from red to yellow.
[Magic wonders why I am taking pictures of flowers and not him.]
1 comment:
I have grown Okinawan spinach in the past for several years and never saw it bloom. We used the leaves in salads and also in a stir-fry. Unfortunately a family of wild pigs raided our garden and it seems they loved this plant also.......I'm hoping to find more to plant this year.
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