Malabar spinach has been grown here.
Sown when the weather warms up, but it does not grow all that tall.
And never gets to the flowering and seed stage.

Surprisingly mine is flowering now but all the big leaves are falling off, I'm guessing because of the cool weather. I'll see if I can grow it on a heat mat and maybe try starting it way earlier like feb or march indoors. That'd be great Rick to have them perennial I would love some perennial greens!

My surprising perennial greens for the past couple of years is Fordhook Swiss chard. It's been growing for two full years now and is still producing. One plant went to seed but the others are acting like perennials.

Hmm! Perennial Swiss Chard in Zone 7 sounds like a wonderful thing. Does it get tough? Of course, chard grows so fast even in mild, cool weather, that it doesn't need to be perennial.

I bought (but have not yet grown out) some different chards from Franchii ("Seeds from Italy"). I think they have a total of 6 different chards.

http://www.growitalian.com/cat...

These are their descriptions, not my observations:

'Chard Verde da Taglio' - cut & come again
Like a cross between spinach and Swiss chard.
Very thin stems. Sweet, tender leaves as good as spinach for salads.
Overwinter in Z 5 with protection.

'Verde a Costa Blanca' 55 DTM OP
Large head, huge leaves, thick white stem.

I have grown "Japanese Chard" - Umaina fudansu (Kitazawa #280). I forgot to harvest that patch for a while, and they got HUGE (but not tough). It didn't seem to mind that I grew it in very heavy clay soil.
It seems funny to me that they call it both "Japanese Swiss Chard", but if that's the kind of "Swiss Chard" they grow in Japan, it's as good a name in English as any other. Apparently "fudansu" is the local name for "chard" (Beta vulgaris var cicla ).

http://www.kitazawaseed.com/se...

Wow a 6-pack of chard is a wonderful thing! I guess with that variety, it would be hard to chose so you'll have to grow them all.

No, the chard doesn't get tough, it's like a cut and come again. The flavor is one of the best I've found in a chard too. It didn't grow much overwinter but it survived temps that went as low as 14F. If/when it does go to seed again, I'll be sure and collect seeds.

I've also been growing kale in minimally improved clay soil with good success. Kale grows more like a biennial, it grow the first year from spring to fall, overwinters, sprouts again in spring but then goes to seed. I have some kale growing since spring, it's taking off again since the temps have recently cooled down; this one's called Russian Red Kale.

>> It didn't grow much overwinter but it survived temps that went as low as 14F.

I've heard that about several things being over-wintered - not much growth. One person speculated that slow winter growth was caused by short daylength.

I wonder if a few hours of artificial light just before dawn would make them grow faster? The lights would also warm a hoop tunnel a little, in the early morning.

I haven't even tried growing chard! I'll have to try one that u listed, I am getting sorrel and lovage for next year to try out, but what I've heard you can't make a salad of those greens either. More of an added herb.

I think chard is one of the easiest greens to grow, but that might reflect climate.

It doesn't seem fussy about cold, heat or soil!

And slugs seems to prefer several other things to chard.

I think most people boil chard leaves briefly, but the young leaves and baby leaves should be great for salad. (Like Bok Choy: if they get tough or strongly flavored, steam or boil them. Chard stems might need to be boiled to make them tender.)

Same luck with Chard being a perpetual plant here. I found the red Swiss does the best for me. I finally pulled my plants in late summer as I needed the space in the raised bed. To me it is a tasty winter green. I have started new plants to set out shortly.

SCurtis ~ I have lovage growing now and love the smell but have not used it in cooking. I also grew Mache or corn salad. I did not care for that taste at all. I do like Bok Choy though.

On the Malabar spinach, I think heat is the number one factor. The plants sit and pout till the heat starts and then they take off. I'm not sure what triggers the bloom cycle Last year it reseeded freely but this year I've had no blooms with our milder summer.

I grow the "Bright Lights" chard every year, and have had it re-grow in the spring a couple of times... I like it sauteed with a little bit of garlic, salt and pepper, and just a dash of balsamic vinegar at the end. Better than cooked spinach or beet greens, IMO !

I grew Malabar spinach this year for the first time, and although I'm unsure what exactly made it so happy, it grew like crazy! I direct sowed the seeds later than I'd intended, I think it was the first of June. My veggie garden is raised beds of decomposed mulch, so it's very well drained, loose and and friable. I used a trellis of twigs and saplings, thinking light trellising like I use for peas would work. By the end of September the twigs were completely engulfed in vines and toppled from the weight of them.

Wish I'd known Chard would sometimes survive the winter, I pulled mine out at the end of summer when it looked really rough.

Wow Neal mine grew so slow and I hardly got any wish I knew your secret!

Neal, if the chard overwintered here (well, it died back and then came back from the roots, apparently) I have to think it would do so for you!

I an of the minority here. I found Malabar spinach un appetizing. Too slimy for me. Maybe it's better in stir fry.

Malabar spinach will also grow well indoors in winter, when it's extra nice to pick a few fresh leaves of something green to eat. Give it a big pot (16-20") and a trellis or obelisk to climb, and just whack it back when it gets unruly.

Good info Jill! It's so pretty, I had wondered about that.

Thanks Jill, that's great to know.

Sounds very interesting. Do you eat the fruit like , well, fresh fruit? You don't cook it or anything?

I didn't try any of the fruits, but wondered about them. They are comprised of mostly a big seed in the center, sort of like pomegranate kernels. They might be good for juicing or pureeing, like passion fruit, but they are richly colored and the juice will stain anything a deep purple (similar to Poke weed berries).

next time I grow some, I want to try to use the fruit for a dye. I think I need to add something to help the dye to be permanent; I'll look that up. Google is my buddy!