I've had such success with my spinach, lettuces, kale, and chard this Winter that I definitely want to try and get some greens going for the Spring-Summer season here in North Dallas. Unfortunately, my beds are pretty much full sun during the warm months, so I am already planning on using shade/frost cloth over the beds I do plant greens in.
My question is, does anyone have suggestions on particular breeds of lettuce, chard, and/or kale that will do well in our North Texas heat? Even suggestions around any kind of greens (except mustard - I know those will work) would be appreciated. Just want to, in addition to the maters, peppers, and cukes I will be planting, be able keep the salads and green smoothies coming.
Thanks -
JD
Lettuce / Greens For Spring/Summer
jdbell, I'm fairly new to TX gardening but I tried seed from Willhite's last year, http://www.willhiteseed.com/index.php. They are here in TX and I thought they would be a good source and they did give me some good selection advice. Also Southern Exposure Seed, http://www.southernexposure.com/, deals with Southern gardeners. I'm sure there are others, but this would be a start. I had good luck with Sierra (Batavia) (French) from Willhite's last season. Some very kind person here on the forum recommended it and it did last pretty long into the season. Of course this season is a whole new ballgame......
I'd thought of using shade cloth on hoops for a "shade tunnel" but I didn't get around to doing that last season. I did plant a patch on the north side of a shed and that patch did pretty well. What percentage of shade cloth are you thinking of using? I was thinking the 80% shade might be good but that may be not enough actual sun for the little devils!
All my greens except Chard go to seed when the weather warms up. You may want to try Malabar spinach. It's not a true spinach but it is eaten as such and loves the heat. Rosella is another plant with great tasting foliage. My son says it tastes like lettuce that already has the dressing on it. It has a citrusy flavor. You may want to look at Asian greens especially from Thailand. Everything I grow from Thailand does great here, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, pumpkin, and cucumber.
Lisa
What is Rosella (sounds like a childhood disease)? But I'm game if it tastes good....
I was kind of thinking of shade tunnels, kind of the reverse of what Elliot Coleman does. I think this might call for some experiments!
Roselle-(Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a tropical plant all part are edible. It can be eaten fresh or used to make cranberry flavored drinks,jelly, pie and tea.
Why thanks for the info, sounds interesting.
Its pretty too. It likes moist conditions, I plant mine where the air conditioning drains. I'm going to plant more this year. My son likes them s much they never had any leaves.
I bought two Cranberry Hibiscus in the fall and I have them in the sunroom right now. I am digging out the Goji berries and putting these in their place. I have heard good things.
jujubetexas,
what are you doing with the Goji berries?
They were about eight feet tall so I had to hack them back and dig them up. I put them in big pots and will give them one more chance to produce. I had them in blazing full sun so this time I will put them in partial shade in pots.
1lisac...is your Roselle in the ground? If so, is it surviving the winter freezes? I have mine in the hoop house. I was trying to get it to bloom in December. It did bloom, but they were small and insignificant.
jdbell ~ I will agree with Lisa about the Malabar spinach. I grow it and enjoy it in salads. It can also be cooked or used in stir fry dishes. It is a pretty, ornamental vine also. The warmer the summer gets, the better it grows.
I also grew Ceylon spinach this past summer but was less than enthused about the taste/texture of the leaves. I will try it again this summer to make sure I didn't like it. LOL
I will also agree that you should give some of the Asian greens a try. Some are better suited to the warmth of the south. I spent the past rainy weekend reading thru scores of seed catalogues and one (but I don't recall which one) listed a selection of Asian greens suited to a warmer climate. I'll try to find it and link or list the suggested greens.
I also grew roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) but waited on the calyces. Lisas' son hadn't told me the leaves were edible. 8 ) The calyces of roselle can be used to make juice, sauce, jelly, wine or pie. Roselle juice is similar to cranberry juice, but not as bitter. The taste rather reminds me of crabapples we ate while growing up. I need to grow it again.
It is also a pretty ornamental!
I took a class here in DFW and the lady said that Roselle plant will attract bad nematodes in the ground.
Is it true?
I kept mine potted so that was not a problem.
I have never read that and have done a good deal of Roselle research.
Sorry I am not much help...
Standing corrected, I have found mention of it... Roselle's major enemy is the root-knot nematode.
Wouldn't spraying with the bennie nematodes help with that? I try to get some of those down every year as I've read they will attack the fire ant larvae.
Is it invasive (or produce tons of seeds?)
I planted Black-seeded Simpson Lettuce, some in a pot and some in the ground. I can then move the pots to shade which extends it about a month before it gets bitter. Im going to grow malabar spinach this year and I grow beets to use as greens. They last longer than most lettuce. I think it's a bad joke Mother Nature played to make lettuce and tomatoes grow in different seasons. I grow chard and it does last but its the cold that makes it sweet. The plant actually makes sugar to protect itself like antifreeze for your car so the colder it gets, the sweeter the chard.
Bananna18 ~ if you are asking is the Roselle invasive? No. It is an annual although in tropical climates it may reseed or remain from roots. It is a member of the Hibiscus family and resembles okra and hibiscus.
The Malabar spinach is a vining annual. It will freely reseed if allowed but not to the point of invasive.
Please ignore me if I am not talking about what you were asking ~ lol
Sorry for the lapse in answering. Have business stuff to do so I'm trying to stay off DG, but a girl has to have a little fun.
I think Pod answered everything. Actually Roselle is a short lived perennial in warmer climates. Not invasive at least here. Its basically just an edible Hibiscus. Yes, the leaves taste great, sorry I didn't let you know Pod.
drthor-I have read that it is susceptible. I don't think that means that it will bring them in just if the nematodes are present this plant has no resistance. I plant mine in the ground, I protected them but they died from Natural Causes, I think.
yes Podster. I was asking about Roselle. Thanks!