It’s Time to Grow Greens!

It’s the time of year when we can finally start sowing seeds for leafy greens that will nourish us all winter! Over the years we’ve become particularly fond of the diversity of Asian greens that grow really well here in North Florida from fall through early spring. We love them for so many reasons. First is their taste and versatility in the kitchen. They are not bland and watery like lettuce, but not nearly as spicy as traditional southern style mustards or arugula, and are more tender than kales and collards. They can be eaten raw in salads or cooked up in just about anything that calls for greens. They also are annuals, meaning they complete their life cycle in one growing season, so we get to save their seeds! This really deepens our relationship to these plants, getting to know them from the very beginning – from sowing seeds in the fall to harvesting seeds in late spring, and all the beauty and abundance in between! We connect with them for about 8 months of the year from seed to seed. 

We’ve barely scratched the surface in exploring what’s out there, but here are some of our favorites that we’ve grown many times and saved seeds for. You can find all of them in the links below, or when you’re in our online Seed Shop, you can click the category nestled under SEEDS of Asian Heritage. 

All these varieties are considered “cut and come again”, meaning the outer leaves can be harvested with new growth in the center continuing. So one plant can produce many leaves for many meals, continually growing from the center until it eventually flowers and goes to seed. The stems and flowers of all of these are tasty too! The flower are loved by pollinators and make for great early spring food for our insect friends. 

This was recommended to us by our friend Elise with The Urban Harvest in St. Pete, Florida, and we loved this plant! The dense, deep green and savoyed leaves look a lot like Tatsoi but are more robust. This is a blend of Tatsoi and Komatsuna. What makes this particular variety stand out is the flavor! Most greens are good – earthy, maybe a little bitter or spicy (in a good way), or mild. But this one has a really smooth texture and umami flavor. It’s really good! Everyone who tries it, says so!

A lovely loosely heading green with soft, tender, frilly, and chartreuse leaves. A very mild mustardy flavor and juicy crisp stem, this can be chopped up into a salad, layered into sandwiches, or quickly cooked into any recipe calling for greens.

The pale green, lettuce-like leaves of this baby Chinese cabbage are sweet and mild, never bitter. They are great in salad mixes, make a wonderful slaw, and can be bunched and used like a Chinese cabbage. You can pretty much sub this for lettuce, but it’s surely more nutritious since brassicas are nutritional powerhouses.

One of the first Asian greens we tried way back in 2015 and still one of our favorites! Plants produce abundant long purple stems, with lovely yellow flowers that attract pollinators. Hon Tsai Tai tastes great at all life stages from baby greens through flowering. It has a pleasing mild mustard taste that even kids are OK with! It may be used raw in salads or on sandwiches, lightly cooked in stir-fries or soups or however you do your greens. Chef Eddie Cromer formerly of The Daily Green once made a delicious pesto from the flowers!

We grew this one because Cody of Siembra Farm recommended it as a suitable spinach substitute. Traditional spinach is much harder to grow in our climate, but not Yukina Savoy! If you’ve grown Tatsoi this looks and grows very similarly, with lovely rosettes of leaves. We grew this plant during a 3 year seed production study with UF partners, and found that after just one year of saving seed locally, plants were greatly improved from roots to leaves! 

All of these seeds have been saved in our gardens at GROW HUB or at other local farms and gardens. From seed to seed, these have all experienced life in north Florida for at least a couple of growing seasons. They’ve known our soils, climate, insects, and people that have cared for them. They know it here, and will grow well for you! Try them out and let us know what you think. Any other recommendations for us? We love trying new varieties and learning from other growers.