Collard Greens
Brassica Oleracea

days to maturity: 60
plant spacing:
sunlight requirements: 4-14 hours
look out for: worms
harvest notes: harvest outer leaves when large and leave small ones in center to mature
annual

Collards aka Collard Greens are a great option for greens growing in South Florida. Collards are in the same family as kale and they are just as versatile and just a little bit more fibrous. Once you know how to cook collards correctly you’ll fall in love and the opportunity to grow your own in the garden will seem like a gift from mother nature. Collards are the most heat tolerant plant in the brassica family and can even thrive through our humid summer months. Collard leaves are high in vitamin C and soluble fiber and are sooooo easy to grow! The large dinner plate style cabbage leaves make for a beautiful large garden plant that can be planted in your raised bed or in a food forest style garden system.

Bok Choi
Brassica Chinensis

days to maturity: 45 days
plant spacing: 6 per square foot for baby, 1 per square foot for large
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: stem borer worms and aphids
harvest notes: 

Bok choy or pak choi is a type of Chinese cabbage. Chinensis varieties do not form heads like lettuce; instead, they have smooth, dark green leaf blades forming a cluster reminiscent of mustard or celery. You can either harvest the exterior leaves as needed or wait until your choi is mature (45 days) to harvest the whole plant.
Bok Choy and other asian greens are easy crops to grow in south Florida gardens, as they don't mind the heat and mature quickly for early harvest. We grow and sell a dwarf variety called Li Ren, a traditional white stemmed large variety called Joi Choi, and a colorful pink and purple stemmed option called Japonica. 

Arugula
Eruca Sativa

days to maturity: 21 baby; 38 full size
plant spacing: 4-6 inches apart
sunlight requirements: 6 - 14 hours
look out for: flea beetles and aphids
harvest notes: harvest leaves when they range 3”- 6” in height, to keep them from getting too spicy
annual

Arugula, also called rocket and roquette, has a pungent, peppery flavor that is exceptionally strong for a leafy green. It is frequently used in salads, often mixed with other greens in a mesclun. It is also used raw with pasta or meats in northern Italy and in western Slovenia. Grown as an edible herb in the Mediterranean area since Roman times, it was mentioned by various classical authors as an aphrodisiac, for this reason during the Middle Ages it was forbidden to grow rocket in monasteries. We rely heavily on arugula, since its a quick growing Miami friendly tender green with a nice spicy flavor that remains pleasant after flowering. Allow plants to mature by spacing them appropriately for stronger flavor and heartier leaves, or direct sow close together in rows and harvest young for salad leaves. If grown this way plants will regrow a few times before needing to be reseeded.

Mustard
Brassica Juncea

days to maturity: 21 baby; 40 full size
plant spacing: 4 - 6 inches apart
sunlight requirements: 6 - 14 hours
look out for: flea beatles and aphids
harvest notes: harvest leaves when they range 3” - 6” in height, to keep them from getting too spicy
annual

Mustard is one of our favorite crops for growing at the farm and in gardens because its so easy to take care of, fast growing, and tasty. Arugula is the most popular variety of mustard for some reason but there are dozens of other cool ones that taste just the same, grow just as well and come in cool shapes and colors. This blended 6 pack of plants contains fun purple mustards like serrated Miz America, frilly Scarlet Frills, and purple stemmed & lime green mizuna.

Give this plant 1 foot spacing if you’re going to let it get big and mature, or plant it 4 - 6 inches apart for baby leaf harvest. Leaves of mustards can be harvested at any age or size however the smaller the leaf the better it is for fresh eating in salad. Larger leaves will be quite spicy so they are best used in cooking.

We sell a number of mustard varieties through spring because they are so easy to grow and heat tolerant. Mizuna is a serrated leaf that we sell in a green and purple mix and wasabina is a wasabi flavored extra spicy option with a broad green leaf. 

Tokyo Bekana
Brassica Rapa

days to maturity: 21 baby; 45 full size
plant spacing: 2 per square foot
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: stem borer worms and aphids
harvest notes: harvest as baby greens or harvest larger heads like a chinese cabbage

Tokyo Bekana, also known as “pei tsai” is a mini chinese loose leafed cabbage head that can be used as a young leaf, or a mature head. Bright, light green leaves are curly and ruffled and used most often as an alternative to romaine lettuce. Crunchy watery stems and delicate tops are best eaten raw but can also be wilted or steamed. This green is fast growing and should be added to any varietal home garden. Direct seed at close spacing for cut-and-come- again young leaf harvest, or plant seedlings approximately 8 inches apart for mature cabbage-like head harvest. Because of its plant family tokyo bekana is much more heat tolerant than many greens and is a great choice for fall or spring planting. 

Tatsoi Asian Greens
Brassica Rapa

days to maturity: 21 baby; 45 full size
plant spacing: 2 per square foot
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: stem borer worms and aphids
harvest notes: harvest as baby greens or harvest larger heads like small boc choi heads
annual

Tatsoi is a very versatile green, equally suited to being served raw or lightly cooked. We often see this advertised as "asian spinach" in restaurants and markets. Lightly steam or sauté it, wilt the leaves with a warm dressing, or add them to a soup at the end of cooking. In Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, she lets tatsoi shine in a simple salad with scallions, chives, and a sesame vinaigrette. Another easy green to grow in the garden through the fall, winter and spring that can be harvested at any stage of growth; although it can be quite fun to let them get full sized as they can grow to be quite large and provide much to eat! Because this is an asian mustard it is quite heat tolerant, making it a great option for early or late season yield. 

Hon Tsai Tai
Brassica Rapa

days to maturity: 37 days
plant spacing: 4 per square foot
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: stem borer worms and aphids
harvest notes: Hand harvest 8-10” long shoots by snapping them
annual

A Chinese specialty also known as Kailaan. The young plants soon branch and produce quantities of long, pencil- thin, red-purple, budded flower stems. Pleasing, mild mustard taste for use raw in salads or lightly cooked in stir-fries or soups. For multiple harvesting of tender stems and leaves. Hand harvest 8-10” long shoots by snapping them. Shoots that do not easily snap are over-mature. The taste of this asian brassica is similar to broccoli. We love this green at the farm, and since every part of the plant is edible we harvest and replant it often. Allow some flowering shoots to mature and flower and the pollinators in your yard will thank you. 

Green Sorrel
Rumex Acetosa

days to maturity: 40 baby; 60 mature
plant spacing: 2 plants per square foot
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: root mealybugs
harvest notes: harvest large leaves individually as needed
perennial

Sorrel is an edible “pot herb” that has a long culinary history. Anyone who has tasted Sorrel will not be surprised that the word “sorrel” translated into French is “sour.” When harvesting, be sure to pick the young tender leaves for uncooked dishes. The older leaves can be used in soups and sauces, but be aware that the bright green leaves will turn grey when cooked. Sorrel will tolerate shade, prefers well drained soil and happily tolerates the shoulder seasons when its hotter than usual (early fall and late spring). The most popular use for green sorrel is to make traditional “french sorrel soup” but young tender leaves can be added to an herbaceous salad or stir fry. Plus its a key ingredient in green goddess dressing.

Red Stemmed Dandelion
Cichorium Intybus

days to maturity: 35 baby, 56 full
plant spacing: 1 per square foot
sunlight requirements: 4-14 hours
look out for: old bitter leaves
harvest notes: harvest cut and come again style or outer leaves only
annual

Cultivated dandelion greens like this one are less bitter than the wild ones, but in both cases nibble on a leaf to ascertain it’s bitterness and gage how much to include in your dish. In Italy and Greece where dandelion is used as a staple green it is blanched in boiling water, then removed then blanched again to remove excess bitterness before tossing with lots of garlic, lemon and good olive oil. The bittersweet root is typically used as a coffee substitute and in herbal tonics. Large mature leaves are more bitter than young tender ones, so harvest small and young leaves often for best flavor. We grow dandelion in clumps of plants and encourage people to harvest “cut and come again” style which just means grab all of the leaves and cut them in a big bunch one inch above the base of the plant, and they will all slowly grow back so you can do it again and again. A must have for an authentic mediterranean style kitchen garden!

Napa Cabbage
Brassica Rapa

days to maturity: 52 days
plant spacing: 2 plants per square foot
sunlight requirements: 8 -14 hours
look out for: slugs and cabbage root maggots
harvest notes: cut whole heads at soil level when you feel the top of the cabbage and its firm
annual

Napa cabbage is a super easy to grow annual vegetable that grows almost year round in South Florida. The plant grows to an oblong shaped head consisting of tightly arranged crinkly, thick, light-green leaves with white prominent veins. Innermost layer leaves feature light yellow color. In Korean cuisine, napa cabbage is the main ingredient of baechu kimchi, the most common type of kimchi, but is also eaten raw as a wrap for pork or oysters, dipped in gochujang. The outer, tougher leaves are used in soups. It can be used in stir-fry with other ingredients such as tofu, mushroom and zucchini. Lately we've been seeing napa used a lot as a salad leaf, which makes sense since its consistency is really similar to romaine. 

While we usually only recommend that people with really big gardens grow cabbage (since they take up so much space) napa is a great beginners plant that can really be harvested at any time, so consider adding this crunchy versatile leafy veggie to your garden. 



Rainbow Swiss Chard
Beta Vulgaris

days to maturity: 28 baby, 55 full
plant spacing: 1 per square foot
sunlight requirements: 4-14 hours
look out for: worms tucked under leaves
harvest notes: harvest outer leaves anytime. leaves are edible at any stage of growth.
annual

Rainbow Swiss Chard is a crowning showpiece in any home garden due to its brilliant spectrum of bright stalks. Tender leaves are delicious cooked and raw, stems can be eaten pickled, raw or cooked. Swiss chard is high in vitamins A, K, and C. It is also rich in minerals, dietary fiber, and protein. Chard can be grown in little groupings of 2-3 plants so each of our potted plants contains a few so you can get more yield from your planting. Chard leaves can be eaten at any age including tiny baby sprouts, so whenever you want some chard just snip the individual leaves at the base leaving the growing tip intact.

"Auntie Lillis" South Sea Salad Tree
abelmoschus manihot

days to maturity: 
plant spacing: 1 plant every 4 square feet
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: caterpillars and aphids
harvest notes: harvest large leaves as needed
perennial

This is a newer plant to us but we had been trying to get our hands on it for years and are super excited to now have it growing at the farm & in the nursery. Manihot, also known as sunset muskmallow, sunset hibiscus or South Sea Salad Tree, is technically not a hibiscus plant but its very similar to the whole family.

Edible hibiscus is typically used either quick cooked or raw, as its leaves can get slimy if overcooked. The leaves are tender and buttery when picked young and are delicious raw. The older leaves can get as big as a dinner plate and are better cooked because of their more fibrous nature. The leaves of hibiscus family plants are high in vitamins A & C and in iron and are known to boost the immune system, and protect the heart and liver. This plant is described as sweet and cold energetically and in Traditional Chinese Medicine it is known to act on the kidney and bladder meridians.

Aunt Lilies is a highly variegated and ornamental variety with each leaf varying with shades of green, red, and white variegation. While this plant is called a salad tree we read that its max height is about 9 feet, so its more like a salad shrub. Prune it regularly to keep the new growth low to the ground and to keep the plant nice and bushy. It propagates very easily from woody and newer stem cuttings, just stick a 6-8 inch piece into moist potting mix or a jar of water and it will root for you. If you are in a cold climate and you want to over winter your edible hibiscus plant I recommend taking some cuttings and keeping them small in pots through winter and then replanting anew in the springtime.

"Chef Kubos Prize" South Sea Salad Tree
abelmoschus manihot

days to maturity: 
plant spacing: 1 plant every 4 square feet
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: caterpillars and aphids
harvest notes: harvest large leaves as needed
perennial

This is a newer plant to us but we had been trying to get our hands on it for years and are super excited to now have it growing at the farm & in the nursery. Manihot, also known as sunset muskmallow, sunset hibiscus or South Sea Salad Tree, is technically not a hibiscus plant but its very similar to the whole family. 

Edible hibiscus is typically used either quick cooked or raw, as its leaves can get slimy if overcooked. The leaves are tender and buttery when picked young and are delicious raw. The older leaves can get as big as a dinner plate and are better cooked because of their more fibrous nature. The leaves of hibiscus family plants are high in vitamins A & C and in iron and are known to boost the immune system, and protect the heart and liver. This plant is described as sweet and cold energetically and in Traditional Chinese Medicine it is known to act on the kidney and bladder meridians.

Chef Kubos Prize is a deeply lobed bright green leaf with neon pinkish-red stems and veins. The leaves resemble papaya leaves but shinier. While this plant is called a salad tree the plants at the farm seem to reach a max height of about 9 feet, so it’s more like a salad shrub. Prune it regularly to keep the new growth low to the ground and to keep the plant nice and bushy. It propagates very easily from woody and newer stem cuttings, just stick a 6-8 inch piece into moist potting mix or a jar of water and it will root for you. If you are in a cold climate and you want to over winter your edible hibiscus plant I recommend taking some cuttings and keeping them small in pots through winter and then replanting anew in the springtime.

Sissoo Spinach
Alternanthera sissoo

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant every 2 feet
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: caterpillars and slugs
harvest notes: more shade, more tender
perennial

Sissoo spinach is a vigorous, spreading ground cover that is incredibly easy to grow. It prefers 50% or more shade and tolerates a wide range of pH soil conditions, though it does require high amounts of nitrogen, organic matter, and water. This is a great understory or ground cover option for your food forest since it spreads easily, controls weeds, has very few pests and likes partial shade. Of all the “weird spinaches” we grow for tropical greens during the summer this is our favorite because it makes a handsome plant and is easy to cook with.

The leaves are crinkly and very crunchy which makes them easy to use in the kitchen. They require steaming or boiling when eaten in large quantities because of the presence of oxalates but Brazilians eat this plant raw in salads with oil, vinegar, tomato, and onion. The leaves are rich in vitamin B, C, F and K, magnesium, zinc & phosphorous.

This plant doesn’t produce viable seeds but luckily it propagates very easily from cuttings so once you have one happy plant you can spread it all over your food forest and even give plants to friends.

Longevity Spinach
Gynura Procumbens

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant per square foot
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: mealy bugs
harvest notes: harvest the leaves and use like a cooking green
perennial

Longevity spinach is another tropical “spinach” variety to add to your collection of Florida-friendly tropical fake spinaches. It is very similar to Okinawa spinach in use and flavor however its leaves are all green and it is faster growing and more prolific than Okinawa. 

The leaves can also be boiled, blanched or steamed like spinach, or added to soups, stews or stir-fries. It can be eaten raw or cooked, but be careful not to cook it too long or it’ll become slimy. The leaves and young shoot tips are steamed, used in stir-fry, tempura, stews, and soups. The leaves have a crisp, nutty taste with a faint hint of pine, and if it’s grown in partial shade the new growth tips and shoots will be even more tender. 

Longevity spinach is known to balance blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol and high blood pressure. Also has antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The leaves help to remove toxins and waste from the body and protect kidney cells from kidney disease. Overall, this plant helps to increase circulation throughout the body. Longevity spinach is commonly used to treat inflammation in Thai Folk medicine. In China, the leaves are mashed/ pounded into a paste and applied topically for relieving red swelling, fever of the skin and also for treating poisonous insect bites. Even if you don’t end up eating lots of this perennial green its still nice to have around, as it spreads easily, is beautiful with its bright green shoots of leaves, and propagates easily so you can share it with your plant community.

Okinawa Spinach
Gynura bicolor

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant per square foot
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: mealy bugs, slugs and worms
harvest notes: harvest whole growing tips as they are the most tender
perennial

Okinawa spinach is a dense, low growing spreading herbaceous plant. Easily one of the most low maintenance perennial leaf vegetable; it is a hardy plant and relatively pest-free. Thriving in warm, wet conditions Okinawa Spinach does best in subtropical and tropical areas and is native to Indonesia, Myanmar, Taiwan & Thailand.

It is a very nutritious vegetable that is rich in protein, iron, potassium, calcium & vitamin A. It can be eaten raw or cooked, but be careful not to cook it too long or itll become slimy. The leaves and young shoot tips are steamed, used in stir-fry, tempura, stews, and soups. The leaves have a crisp, nutty taste with a faint hint of pine, and if its grown in partial shade the new growth tips and shoots will be even more tender.

Even if you don’t end up eating lots of this perennial green its still nice to have around, as it spreads easily, is beautiful with its bright purple undersides, and propagates easily so you can share it with your plant community.

According to TCM, Okinawa spinach is known as a cooling culinary ingredient, which can be attributed to the mucilage rich content of the leaves and stems, and are consumed to reduce swelling, detox the body and stimulate blood flow. The leaves have also been crushed, chewed or pound into a paste// poultice to be applied topically on wounds or body sores to reduce inflammation