New Zealand spinach has a mild flavor, flourishes in the heat, and can serve as a nutritious summer salad. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr.
If you’ve ever tried growing lettuce (Lactuca sativa), true spinach (Spinacia oleracea), or crops in the cabbage family (Brassica spp.) in late spring or summer in the subtropics of Florida, you know that our extreme heat can make it difficult. Between bolting leaves, fungal diseases, insect pressure, and poor germination, it can be quite a challenge to keep greens on the dinner table all year long.
Fortunately, there are a few greens that – while less well known – can take our Florida heat and are relatively easy to grow. Some of these greens include New Zealand spinach, Malabar spinach, and perpetual spinach. They are frost sensitive and prefer well-drained, slightly acidic soil and require regular watering, but they don’t need a lot of fertilizer or special attention. Additionally, they are resistant to most pests and diseases.
New Zealand Spinach
New Zealand spinach tastes similar to true spinach but can stand up to the Florida heat. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org.
New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides) is a leafy green that is native to New Zealand, but it is well-adapted to warm climates such as ours. It grows one to two feet in height and branches two to three feet across. In the kitchen, it is known for its mild, slightly salty flavor, and it is a great source of vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium.
New Zealand spinach germinates slowly, taking two to three weeks to sprout. Soaking seeds for 24 hours directly before planting can help them along, but be patient, and keep the planted area weed free.
Sow seeds a quarter-inch deep, two inches apart, and water well, keeping the soil moist but not waterlogged. Once germinated, thin to eight to 12 inches apart. After the plant has grown about a foot, harvest a few tender leaves off of each branch, making sure enough leaves remain so the plant can continue to photosynthesize and grow.
Read the UF/IFAS publication Spinach, New Zealand to learn more about growing New Zealand spinach.
Malabar Spinach
Malabar spinach (Basella alba and B. cordifolia) is a fast-growing leafy vine native to tropical South Asia. It is known for its thick, succulent leaves and its slightly lemony flavor. It is a good source of antioxidants, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium.
Support fast-growing Malabar spinach vines with a trellis or stakes. Photo by Molly Jameson.
Like New Zealand spinach, Malabar spinach is vulnerable to frosts and grows well in hot, humid conditions. Wait until soil temperatures reach 65°F to 75°F to sow or wait at least three weeks after the last frost date. Typically, in our area, it does best sown from mid-April through early June.
Sow seeds a quarter-inch deep, two inches apart. Also, like New Zealand spinach, Malabar spinach can take two to three weeks to germinate, so soaking seeds for 24 hours prior to planting is recommended. Once planted, keep the area weed free and well-watered, but not waterlogged.
After germination, thin the sprouts out so that they are spaced 12 inches apart. In optimal conditions, the plant can reach maturity in 70 days. Vines will continue to grow to 10 feet or longer and will benefit from a trellis, a fence, or stakes to assist in climbing. Harvest the leaves and young stems and prune back any overlong vines.
Perpetual spinach is related to Swiss chard and beets, but it is more “spinach-like” in flavor. Photo by Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.
Perpetual spinach (Beta vulgaris), or spinach beet, is a leafy green that is the same species as Swiss chard and beets, but tastes more like a true spinach and is known for its mild, slightly sweet flavor. It is a great source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as calcium, magnesium, and iron.
Perpetual spinach can tolerate cooler temperatures than New Zealand and Malabar spinach, but it also grows well in warm weather and can continue to produce throughout the growing season.
Sow seeds a half-inch inch deep, two inches apart. Water well and keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. Again, be patient, as like the other heat-loving greens, perpetual spinach can take up to two to three weeks to germinate.
Once the plants have sprouted, thin them out so that they are spaced six to eight inches apart. Begin harvesting by cutting leaves at the base of the stem. If the plants get too big or the leaves begin to taste bitter, cut the leaves back to about three inches above the soil and they will produce new, tender leaves.
While these heat-loving greens do not taste the same as lettuce, true spinach, kale, or collards, they are incredibly versatile in the kitchen and have a unique flavor profile. They can be eaten raw in salads, or they can be cooked in a variety of dishes. For example, New Zealand spinach can be sautéed with garlic and lemon juice, while Malabar spinach can be used as a green in a delicious stir-fry. Perpetual spinach can be used in soups, stews, casseroles, and salads.
Other heat-loving greens to try out in the garden include Okinawa spinach (Gynura crepioides), longevity spinach (Gynura procumbens), and Surinam spinach (Talinum triangulare).
If you are looking to keep homegrown greens on the dinner table this spring and summer, give heat-loving greens a try! They are easy to grow, resistant to pests and diseases, and are great additions to many dishes.
The UF/IFAS Extension Bay County Pollinator Garden is the proud recipient of a Little Free Library built, stocked, and installed by the Bay County Library Foundation. We were incredibly fortunate the foundation had the perfect box designed and painted by local artist Heather Clements just waiting for the perfect place to be installed!
You might be asking yourself, how does a Little Free Library work? It’s very simple, if you want a book you take one and if you have a book to donate you leave it in the box. Our box includes books for all ages and reading levels including children’s books in English and Spanish and of course gardening and wildlife topics. As people exchange books the titles and topics will change and evolve over time.
If you are in Panama City I hope you will take a moment to pick out a book and enjoy our demonstration gardens at 2728 E. 14th Street, Panama City and visit the virtual garden for educational information about the garden inventory.
Looking for a Little Free Library near you or Interested in starting one? Visit https://littlefreelibrary.org/start/ or contact your local library to find out more information.
A mixed vegetable garden. Photo Credit: eXtension.org.
It doesn’t get much better than eating fresh vegetables out of your own garden. I guess you could add a beverage to the mix to improve the experience. A dry chenin blanc would probably go well. Unfortunately, this month’s Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE steered clear of wine as a topic, but the featured agents did focus on vegetables.
Container Gardening
Size does matter when it comes to container gardening. Think about the full grown size of the plants you plan to grow when selecting a container size. For most vegetables, 10 inches wide by 10 inches deep is sufficient, but you can grow in much larger containers. The larger the container, the more room the roots will have. For more information on gardening in containers, check out the articles “Don’t Think You Have a Green Thumb? Try Container Gardening!” and “Container Gardens for Outdoor Spaces”.
If you have a really deep container and don’t want to spend the money on potting soil to fill it up, then you’re kind of out of luck. Rocks or other materials placed in the bottom of containers will create a perched water table. So basically, you’re creating a shallower container by putting materials other than potting mix in the bottom. The physics on this topic is better explained in “Rocks in Pots: Drainage or Perched Water Table Problems?”.
It’s best to start with new potting soil each year. Especially if you plan to grow the same plant species/families in the same containers. However, if you do plan to reuse potting soil, make sure to mix it up a bit with a trowel or dump it out and put it back in the container or another container. Also, choose a different crop than what you grew in the soil the previous year. Here’s an interesting publication on growing squash in recycled potting soil.
Raised Beds
Raised beds are a great option if you live in an area with poorly drained soil or with a soil that doesn’t hold nutrients. They also can be built on legs like a table to save your back some stress. More information on build a raised bed can be found in the article “Building Raised Beds”.
Vegetables need space to grow whether they’re planted in the ground, in a small container, or in a raised bed. Recommended varieties for container gardening and spacing recommendations can be found in this container gardening fact sheet from UF/IFAS Extension in Leon County.
Who says you can’t landscape with vegetable plants and fruit trees? Vegetables such as cabbage and kale can add a depth of color and texture to your annual flower beds. And blueberry bushes and citrus trees have beautiful blooms that bees love.
Trellises can be easily built and attached to raised bed gardens. Pole beans and Malabar spinach are just a couple examples of vegetables that need something to climb on. Lettuce and other small vegetables can be grown vertically in different hydroponic systems.
Plant Selection
Some seeds can be sown directly into the garden while others should be started in trays and transplanted. More information on sowing seeds and timing can be found in the Vegetable Gardening Guide. Just make sure to check out the tables at the end of the guide.
Some plants are more tolerant of salt air and salt water. This doesn’t mean you can water these plants with the Gulf of America, but they will tolerate a little bit of salt. A list of salt tolerant vegetables can be found in “Salt Tolerant Vegetable Gardening”.
A number of cherry tomato varieties produce a big crop fast and over a long period of time. A list of recommended cherry tomato varieties can be found in this article on cherry tomatoes.
There aren’t a lot of options for perennial vegetables in North Florida. A perennial vegetable that can be grown here, taro, can be invasive. If you plan to grow this vegetable, please consider growing it in a container. Fortunately, we have a lot of options for perennial fruiting crops. More information on growing fruit trees can be found in the publication Dooryard Fruit Varieties.
Blackberries grow well in North Florida. You may want to try the thornless varieties ‘Freedom’, ‘Traveler’, ‘Osage’, and ‘Ouachita’. More information on growing blackberries can be found in the publication “The Blackberry”.
Some vegetables grow well in the shade. The “Veggies and Herbs Made in the Shade” publication includes a list of shade loving vegetables and herbs along with growing tips.
Community gardens provide a place to garden for people that may not have space at home. Gardening in these plots also gives people a place to meet their neighbors. Information on starting a community garden can found in the publication “Starting a Community Garden”.
Homegrown beets don’t taste anything like the ones your grandmother gave you out of a can. More information on growing beets and other root crops can be found in the Root Crop Chapter of the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida.
Vine borers and leaf footed bugs are some of the most damaging pests to a vegetable garden. Planting early in the season can help avoid these pests, but if you’re too late on planting then you might want to give some natural products a try. The publication “Natural Products for Managing Landscape and Garden Pests in Florida” provides some good pointers on controlling these and other insect pests.
Squirrels and other wildlife can also be pests in the garden. Deterrents can help keep these pests out of the garden.
Ants don’t usually mess with your vegetables, but they can be a nuisance when working in the garden. Fire ant management information can be found in the publication “Managing Imported Fire Ants in Urban Areas”.
Squash and other cucurbits don’t last long in wet areas. They don’t last long on the vine in the first place. Growing on plastic mulch, or even pine straw, can help these vegetables stay dry. You may also want to consider building a trellis for vining cucurbits. Also, make sure to harvest in a timely manner. Squash that overripen on the vine attract insect and disease pests and just don’t taste very good.
Weeds can compete for nutrients with your crops and don’t look very attractive in the garden (or anywhere). If you’re tired of hand weeding, the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida lists herbicide options by crop.
Past episodes of Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE can be found on our YouTube playlist.
About a year ago, one of my regular blog readers asked if magnolia trees (Magnolia grandiflora) had any particularly redeeming qualities. The one in her yard was constantly dropping leaves and seedpods, and she was tired of it. Little did she know, she had stepped into the domain of an absolute devotee of the magnolia tree. I told her that as a child of the Magnolia State (Mississippi) with the new magnolia-centered state flag flying from my front porch, it was my sworn duty to defend this magnificent symbol of southernness. Well, maybe I wasn’t so dramatic, but I definitely took on the challenge.
Magnolia trees produce large cones/seedpods that are filled with wildlife food. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
First, I do empathize with the constant leaf dropping. We have a large, beautiful magnolia tree in our front yard, and it drops its thick leaves year-round. We just rake them into a natural mulch pile around the base of the tree, though. As for the seedpods—those I have learned to be wary of. A couple of summers ago as I walked to my mailbox, I didn’t see one on the curb, then promptly rolled my ankle on it and landed face-first onto the road. After massive swelling and bruising on my foot, I finally went to a doctor to discover I’d managed to tear a tendon. So, tread carefully around the dropping seedpods!
The sturdy branches of our magnolia tree have supported a swing for over a decade. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
But aside from that, it’s all positives. A Southern magnolia is as sturdy a tree as you could hope for—it is consistently ranked as one of the most wind-resistant trees in the landscape. Their thick, dense, upright trunks and the overall pyramidal shape allows the wind to whip around them, rarely causing damage. In fact, the only damage we’ve had to our tree was when a weaker tree fell on our magnolia and knocked some branches off. Eighteen years after Hurricane Ivan, it’s filled in and you’d never know it lost branches. Ours was planted 50 years ago to celebrate the birth of the previous homeowners’ son, and has been a source of shade and relaxation (we have a great swing hanging from it) ever since.
The broad, open shape of the fragrant magnolia bloom co-evolved with its beetle pollinator millions of years ago, before bees existed! Photo credit: UF IFAS
Like many other trees, magnolias have medicinal uses. The bark of a related magnolia species has been used in traditional Asian medicine to treat “anxiety, asthma, depression, gastrointestinal disorders, headache, and more” and our North American varieties were once used as an antimalarial drug. Modern research has shown seed extracts are effective in maintaining sleep and body temperature, as a sedative, and in reducing the intensity of epileptic seizures. As always, never attempt to use a plant-based home remedy without consulting a physician!
To me, nothing quite says springtime like a magnolia blossom. As buds, they are thick and velvety, completely covering the trees with pops of bright white. Once they bloom, these large (up to 8” wide) saucer-shaped blossoms give off a lovely fragrance, attracting pollinators. Interestingly, magnolias are such an ancient species that they evolved (in the Cretaceous period) before flying insects like bees and butterflies existed. Therefore, magnolias are pollinated by flies and flightless beetles, which crawl from one flower to the other, relying on their sense of smell to guide them. Because beetles are chewers, the flowers and leaves co-evolved to be thicker and tougher to offset and survive the bugs’ messy eating habits. Once the flowers have gone, the fuzzy grenade-shaped cones/seedpods grow on the trees. After the seedpods fall, they open to reveal brilliant red seeds. These have significant wildlife value, as songbirds, squirrels, deer, wild turkey, and quail eat the seeds. This time of year, many people use the waxy, deep green leaves for seasonal décor—magnolia wreaths are quite popular, especially in the south. Many people make their own, but companies often sell them for hundreds of dollars apiece!
Magnolia macrophylla ssp. macrophylla (Bigleaf Magnolia) Photo credit Danny Schissler
In our area, the Southern magnolia is only one of several beautiful native specimens of the Magnolia genus. In freshwater wetlands, the slightly more petite sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana) is easily recognizable by the backs of its leaves, fluttering a silvery gray in the wind. One of my very favorite trees is the bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) which boasts mind-boggling leaves that can be over 2 feet long! In his travels throughout the United States in the late 18th century, explorer and naturalist William Bartram described the leaves as “an expanded umbrella, superbly crested with a silver plume.”
The sweetbay magnolia is easily recognizable by the silvery gray color on the backs of its leaves. Photo credit: Dan Gill/LSU AgCenter
Magnolias may be so common as to seem unremarkable to many, but they are a hardy group of trees who have survived on the planet since dinosaurs roamed the earth. And that’s about as redeeming a quality as you can get. To learn about other magnolia varieties that work well in our area, check out this publication from UF IFAS Gardening Solutions.
Did you know that Petunias repel asparagus beetle or that Marigolds planted among potatoes discourage Colorado Potato beetles? Are you aware that cabbage planted near lettuce has an adverse effect on the growth and flavor? In this article I would like to talk about one of my favorite topics, companion planting. Companion planting can be defined as the practice of planting two or more plant species close together to gain benefits either on growth, flavor or pest control. I would like to talk about the many benefits of companion planting in more detail.
Trap cropping: when a neighboring crop is selected to attract the pests and distract from the main crop. An example of this is planting collards to attract the diamond back moth from cabbage or planting dill with tomatoes because tomato horn worms prefer dill.
Nitrogen fixation: planting legumes such as beans and peas have a relationship with bacteria in the soil called Rhizobium. Legumes can convert it to a form that plants can use.
Biochemical Pest Suppression: Some plants can exude chemicals from roots or aerial parts that suppress or repel pest and protect the neighboring plants. An example of this is African Marigold release thiopene which acts as a nematode repellent.
Physical Spatial Interactions: Tall growing sun loving plants can share space with lower growing shade tolerate plants. This results in higher yields and has pest control benefits. One of the oldest examples of this is Three Sisters (corn, beans, and squash). Corn is planted for the pole beans to climb and provides a high canopy of foliage that can confuse squash borer and reduce damage. Beans are nitrogen fixing and corn requires a lot of nitrogen. Squash has broad spreading leaves that provide a living mulch and reduce weeds and hold moisture.
Beneficial Habitats: provide a desirable environment for beneficial insects such as lady beetles, lacewings, hover flies, mantids, non-insects such as spiders and predatory mites. Plants in the Umbel family (carrots, parsley, dill) are known for this as well as sweet alyssum.
Security through Diversity: More mixing of various crops and varieties equals a degree of security to the grower.
Some good examples of Companions are the following:
Broccoli: mint, dill, rosemary; aromatic herbs help repel pest Cabbage: mint, onion, oregano, dill, sage, clover, chamomile, nasturtium; Chamomile improves the growth and flavor and Nasturtiums offer caterpillars an alternate food source Carrots: English peas, lettuce, onion family, tomato; maximize space, provide shade and nitrogen fixer Peppers: tomato, beans, onion, geranium, petunia; Geranium repels Japanese beetles and petunias repel a variety of insects Spinach: strawberry, cauliflower, eggplant, radish; radish repels leaf miners Tomato: asparagus, carrot, parsley, basil, marigold, garlic; garlic repels red spider mites
