Category: Cooking Greens

Unusual Crop for September – Less Common Greens

Less Common Greens – Celtuce, Jewels of Opar, Chrysanthemum Greens, Eat-All Greens

In my monthly series on unusual crops,  I wrote about Peanuts in May

In June I wrote about Bug-Resistant Summer Squash Substitutes

In July I wrote about Squash Blossoms and Other Edible Flowers

In August I wrote about Kohlrabi

This month, I’m writing about unusual greens for late fall and winter meals.

Spring Tower celtuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds

Celtuce, Stem lettuce

Celtuce is the same crop family as regular lettuce. The difference is that it is bred to grow thick, succulent stalks, and that is the part eaten, raw or lightly steamed or stir-fried. It can also be pickled, or used as a gluten-free pasta substitute. Some people say the flavor of the stem is a crisp, nutty cross between romaine, celery and cucumber.

Celtuce photo from Red Wagon Farm, Boulder, Colorado

The leaves are eaten by people who like slightly bitter salad vegetables such as radicchio. Young leaves are edible about 5 weeks after planting and the stems are ready when about 12” (30 cm) tall, or shorter if you prefer. Trim and peel the stems, then chop however you like, rounds or diagonally-cut chunks. Celtuce goes well added late into miso or egg drop soup, or with tofu.

Purple Sword celtuce

Celtuce Varieties

As an Asian vegetable, Celtuce is also known as Aa choy. True Leaf Market (Kitazawa Seeds) has a Purple Sword variety. Green celtuce varieties are more widely available, such as Spring Tower from Johnny’s. I was entertained to discover that the fast-maturing spring lettuce Cracoviensis that I grew when I first moved to Virginia has since been classified as a type of celtuce. The killing temperature of outdoor unprotected celtuce is 20°F (-7°C). It bolts readily as spring starts to warm, but the leaves are not bitter and the stem is the prize!

Cracoviensis lettuce, or “red celtuce”
Credit Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Sowing and transplanting celtuce

Sow seed 1/8″ (3 mm) deep, about 1/4″ (6 mm) apart a few weeks before transplanting outdoors. For a continuous supply, sow every 2-3 weeks. Shade flats if necessary to keep the soil surface below 75°F (24°C) until germination. Transplant 8″-12″ (20-30 cm) apart in rows 12″-18″ (30-45 cm) apart.

Short term celtuce storage

Celtuce stems will keep for 3 weeks or so in a ziplock bag in a refrigerator vegetable drawer.

Jewels of Opar (Talinum paniculatum)

Jewels of Opar photo from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Aka fameflower, this is a heat-loving plant that can provide salad leaves in hot weather, and delicate pink flowers on spindly stems (nice filler for flower arrangements) followed by shiny ruby-red or orange-bronze seed pods, which are also useful in floral displays. Unlike celtuce, this is for those in hot climates (or try it in summer in mid-latitudes where lettuce is hard to keep growing in summer.) It grows 1’-3’ tall (30-90 cm) and as much as 2’-3’ (60-90 cm) wide. It doesn’t seem to suffer if grown thickly in the row. It forms dense mounds of succulent leaves (it’s related to purslane). The slightly succulent oval leaves make good salads or sandwich fillers. They are a nice size too: up to 4” x 2” (10 cm x 5 cm).

Jewels of Opar is a native plant and there are also cultivars such as Kingwood Gold and Limon valued by florists. It grows as a perennial in zones 8-10. It does self sow but not in a problematic way in zone 7. The evening-opening flowers attract bees and other polllinators.

Chrysanthemum Greens aka shungiku or crown daisy (Glebionis coronaria)

September-sown shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) in January.
Photo Pam Dawling

This Asian green has a distinctive flavor. It really is a chrysanthemum, not a lettuce, and not a brassica as most Asian greens are. Formerly called Chrysanthemum coronarium, Ismelia coronaria, Xanthophthalmum coronarium, or Pinardia coronaria, it also known as “garland chrysanthemum” or “chop suey greens” in English. It is known as “Kikuna” in western Japan, “tong hao” in Chinese, ssukgat in Korean and cải cúc or tần ô in Vietnamese.

 Most chrysanthemums are perennial with poisonous leaves, but shungiku is an edible annual.

The flavor of the leaves was not at all popular with our crowd. I have written about our trial of this in our winter hoophouse to attract aphid predators in early spring. (We sowed in September, but our winter was too cold for them.) There are various colors of flowers. The flowers on the ones we grew were solid yellow, not banded with other colors. We bought seed from Small House Farm. Bevin Cohen says it does attract bees, butterflies and predatory insects, and would probably do well in the winter hoophouse, and could be provoked into bolting early in the spring.

Shungiku chrysanthemum greens.
Photo Small House Farm

Rotations including unusual greens

Having non-brassica greens is a help with crop rotations.

A maximum of 1 year in 4 for brassicas is ideal to avoid disease and pest buildup. When possible, plant one year’s brassicas at some distance from the previous year’s, rather than in adjacent plots. The spread of disease can be reduced by avoiding walking through wet crops and by controlling weeds in the brassica family, such as rock cress, pepperweed, garlic mustard, and wild rocket.

Timing for fall crops 

Planting dates for fall crops can be exacting because the cooling weather slows down the plants’ growth, and a day or two delay in sowing date can mean a week or two delay in harvest date.

The number of days to harvest given in seed catalogs is based on spring conditions – plants grow faster in warmer temperatures. To determine when to sow for fall plantings, start with your desired harvest date, noting when would be too late! Consult https://weatherspark.com to estimate when it will get too cold in your location.

Next subtract the number of days from seeding to transplant, plus the number of days from transplanting to harvest for that crop (given in the catalog description), plus the length of your ideal harvest period and another 14 days for the slowing rate of plant growth in fall compared to spring.

 Some Eat-All Greens in early November. Photo Lori Katz

Eat-All Greens: Fall Cooking Greens

 Eat-All Greens were invented by Carol Deppe, who explains them in her book The Tao of Vegetable Gardening . Carol grows and breeds vegetables in Corvallis, OR, in the Pacific NW, in a different climate zone from my home in central Virginia. Carol grows Eat-All Greens by broadcasting seed of one of her carefully chosen crops in a small patch. When it reaches 12″ tall, she cuts the top 9″ off for cooking, leaving the tough-stemmed lower part, perhaps for a second cut, or to return to the soil.

I decided to modify her idea for Virginia. Fall was a promising time of year for us to try this idea, as our spring planted greens only have a short season before they bolt. And summer is too hot, winter too cold. . . We sowed 9/16, got our first harvest on 10/21, 35 days after sowing, our second on 10/28 and our third on 11/3. Unlike Carol, we sowed our greens in rows side by side, enabling us to hoe the weeds. I doubt Carol has weeds.

You can read which greens we grew and which did best in this series of three posts:

Virginian Eat-All Greens

Sowed 9/15, harvested 10/21, 10/28, 11/3

Ate more Eat-All Greens

By late December the greens were past their best. I seem not to have recorded harvests between 11/3 and 12/10, but I know there were some. We made a last harvest on 12/10, pulling the roots of the radishes and turnips we had in the mix. The daikons, Crimson Giant and White Icicle radishes did well.

Eat-All Greens part 3

We had a low temperature of 6F on January 5th that winter. Not much was left alive. Always enthusiastic to keep updating my list of cold-hardy winter vegetable crops, I took my notebook and walked the rows a few days later. Here’s a (short) list of the survivors:

Best were Morris Heading collards. Also still showing some life were Purple Top White Globe turnips, Ortolani Market Grower arugula and some (not all) of the Hanover kale (which is after all, a Siberian spring kale, not recommended for over-winter growing). I wrote up our whole Eat-All Greens experience for the January 2016 issue of Growing for Market magazine

Eat-All Greens rows with frost in December.
Photo Bridget Aleshire

I developed clear ideas of what would I do different if we do this again. No chards, no beets, no kohlrabi. Thinner seed sowing, straighter rows (easier hoeing). Try some other Asian greens? Buy some of the specific varieties that Carol Deppe recommends. Maybe sow a week earlier. And a smaller patch! It’s fun!

Unusual Crop for August: Kohlrabi

Harvested kohlrabi, Early White Vienna and Early Purple Vienna.
Photo McCune Porter

Unusual Crop for August: Kohlrabi

 In May I wrote about Peanuts

In June I wrote about Bug-Resistant Summer Squash Substitutes

In July I wrote about Squash Blossoms and Other Edible Flowers

Much of this information comes from my book Sustainable Market Farming 2nd Edition.

This month, I’m writing about kohlrabi, an eye-catching and very storable brassica crop. Kohlrabi can be grown in central Virginia where I live in spring and in fall. In cooler climates it can be grown in summer, and in warmer ones through the winter. The winter-kill temperature for kohlrabi grown in the open, with no protection, is 15°F (–9.5°C), similar to red chard, Russian kales, and some varieties of beet, broccoli, cabbage. Kohlrabi production is like that of other brassicas, and the methods of cultivation and harvesting are very similar.

Kohlrabi is an unusual crop that is sure to attract attention at your market booth or be a discussion piece in CSA bags, in your garden and on your table. It is a swollen stem base, with leaves individually sprouting from the globe. When the tap root and leaves are trimmed off, it resembles a sputnik (the first manufactured Earth satellite, in 1957). It is tender and crunchy with a flavor between a cabbage and a turnip. It’s easy to grow and doesn’t wilt as soon as you harvest it. It can be eaten raw (sliced or grated) or cooked, and the leaves can also be cooked and eaten. It stores well, offering flexibility about when it is eaten or sold, which is always an advantage for growers.

Kohlrabi can be direct sown or transplanted, whichever suits you best.

Kohlrabi Crop Requirements

Brassicas grow best on fertile well-drained soil with adequate moisture. They require a lot of potassium, so a sprinkling of wood ash, kelp meal, or granite dust could be helpful if your soil is a bit short of potassium. Calcium, boron, iron, manganese, and molybdenum are also important for good brassica crops – healthy, biologically active soils can usually supply enough of all these. If not, amend as needed. Optimal growing temperatures for most brassicas are 60°F–65°F (15°C–18°C).

Green kohlrabi.
Photo Small Farm Central/Harvie

Cover Crops before Fall Kohlrabi

Because fall brassicas are transplanted in summer, it’s possible to grow another vegetable crop, or some good cover crops, earlier in the year. An overwintered cover crop mix of winter rye and crimson clover or hairy vetch could be disked in at flowering and followed by a short- term warm-weather cover such as buckwheat, soy, or southern peas, all before the fall kohlrabi. A spring-sown cover crop mix of bell beans (favas), barley, and oats does well before all fall brassicas at Roxbury Farm in New York, supplying all the nitrogen required by the brassicas, which are heavy nitrogen consumers. To minimize pests and diseases, don’t use brassica cover crops.

Rotations Including Brassicas

A rotation of 1 year in 4 is ideal for brassicas to avoid disease and pest buildup. When possible, plant one year’s brassicas at some distance from the previous year’s, rather than in adjacent plots. The spread of disease can be reduced by avoiding walking through wet crops and by controlling weeds in the brassica family, such as rock cress, pepperweed, garlic mustard, and wild rocket.

We always plant our kohlrabi in permanent raised beds as we cultivate these with a BCS walk-behind tiller and can work them a bit sooner than the flat fields, where we must wait for the soil to dry enough to use the tractor and disks.

Kohlrabi Varieties

Interest in kohlrabi is growing.I’m encouraged to see that Johnny’s now sells 7 varieties, Fedco has five, Baker Creek has 6 and High Mowing has 8!

We like the open-pollinated Early White Vienna and Early Purple Vienna (58 days from sowing) and the purple hybrid Kolibri (45 days), which is more expensive but beautiful, quick-growing, and uniform. Purple varieties seem slightly more resistant to cabbage worm and also less susceptible to cracking. A mixture of the white (green) and purple colors looks very attractive, and they’re both white under the skin, so our strategy is to grow 25%–35% purple and mix them in; 4 g = about 1,275 seeds, sows 135′ (41 m). 5,500–9,000 (avg. 6,500) seeds/oz, (200–320, average 230 seeds/g).

Superschmelz kohlrabi (60 days from transplanting) can also be summer sown for fall harvest. It produces 8″–10″ (20–25 cm) bulbs, which are an attractive globe shape and remain tender. The world record (variety not disclosed) weighed almost 97 lbs (44 kg), leaves included.

Kossak (80d to maturity) is a good storage variety that maintains its sweet, delicious, and tender dense white flesh in storage for 2–4 months.

The other type of kohlrabi is the slower-growing giant winter storage variety, such as Gigante (130 days from sowing in spring for late fall harvest). It regularly exceeds 10″ (25 cm) in diameter and 10 lbs (4.5 kg) in weight. Gigante’s crisp, white, mildly tangy flesh doesn’t get woody even when it gets enormous.

A September sowing of kohlrabi. Too late in the year to thin and grow to full-size, kohlrabi makes good salad and microgreens. Photo Bridget Aleshire

How Much Kohlrabi to Grow

We grow 360 row feet (110 m) of fall kohlrabi for a hundred people. We sow in mid-late July, and transplant around July 29–August 12 at 8″ (20 cm) apart in the row, with 9″–10″ (23–25 cm) between rows – 4 rows in a 48″ (1.2 m) wide bed. If direct sowing, you could sow in drills or in stations (groups of several seeds sown at the final crop spacing).

Systems for Growing Kohlrabi Transplants

The same systems you use for growing transplants in spring may also work well for fall: flats, cell-packs, outdoor nursery beds. We use an outdoor nursery seedbed and bare-root transplants because this suits us best. The nursery bed is near our daily work area so we’ll pass by and water it. (Our greenhouse is off to one side of our gardens.) We’re always relieved to close the greenhouse transplant season in May, as we no longer need to water little plants many times each day to keep them alive. Having the seedlings directly in the soil drought-proofs them to some extent; they can form deep roots and don’t dry out so fast.

Other people manage fine with flats in June and July, but we avoid it. If you use flats, it can help to have them on benches in an enclosed shadehouse, or outdoors, above the height of flea beetles. Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange tells me 3′ (1 m) is high enough. Richard Jones, in his book Beetles, says flea beetles can jump at least 100 times their body length.

For our seedbeds, we use insect netting (ProtekNet) on wire hoops. In warm weather, I prefer netting against bugs because it lets in lots of air. Rowcover also protects against bugs, but provides less airflow, which can make the seedlings more likely to die of fungal diseases in hot weather.

Kohlrabi is a less-common brassica. This is Early Purple Vienna. Photo Kathryn Simmons

Germination of Kohlrabi Seeds

The most challenging part of producing fall brassicas is getting the seedlings growing well while the weather is hot. Unlike some cool-weather vegetables such as spinach, brassicas will germinate very well at high temperatures: the ideal is 77°F–85°F (25°C–29°C), but up to 95°F (35°C) works. Given enough water, summer seedlings will emerge in only 3 days. Once they have emerged, the challenge begins. As well as temperature and moisture in the right ranges, the seedlings need light (very plentiful in midsummer!), nutrients, good air-flow, and protection from bugs. Guarding the plants from bugs is the most challenging for us. We deal organically with flea beetles, harlequin bugs, and, sometimes, cabbage worms. Our main defenses are farmscaping and insect netting.

Search my previous posts for more on pest control. Brassica pests seem less interested in kohlrabi than in other brassicas, and as people are less likely to eat the leaves, there is room to tolerate a certain number of leaf-eating pests, while still having an attractive crop and a high enough yield.

“No visible brassicas” month

In an attempt to break the relentless lifecycle of the harlequin bugs, we now try to have a month from late June to late July with no brassicas visible in our garden. We make sure to mow down the spring broccoli trunks, the kale, and collards and harvest or pull up any other brassicas. We net new transplants and remove the netting a month later, allowing us to hoe and weed.

Brassica seedlings under Proteknet.
Photo by Bridget Aleshire

Timing for Fall Kohlrabi

Planting dates for fall crops can be exacting because the cooling weather slows down the plants’ growth, and a day or two delay in sowing date can mean a week or two delay in harvest date. Although it can be hard to think about sowing seeds in midsummer, it’s very worthwhile because brassicas develop delicious flavors as they mature in the cooler fall days,. Weeds and pests slow down then, too – once established these crops need little care.

The number of days to harvest given in seed catalogs is based on spring conditions – plants grow faster in warmer temperatures. To determine when to sow for fall plantings, start with your desired harvest date (noting when would be too late!), then subtract the number of days from seeding to transplant (21–28), plus the number of days from transplanting to harvest for that variety (given in the catalog description), plus the length of your ideal harvest period and another 14 days for the slowing rate of plant growth in fall compared to spring.

Example: Early White Vienna Kohlrabi, 58 days from sowing to harvest in ideal weather.

  • Consult https://weatherspark.com to estimate when it will get too cold in your location to leave kohlrabi in the ground. Here, in winter-hardiness zone 7a, our average annual minimum temp is 0°F-5°F (-15°C to -17.7°C), although most winters don’t reach those temperatures for very long. Our average winter low is about 25°F – 32°F (-4°C to 0°C).
  • Kohlrabi is hardy to 15°F (–9.4°C). The temperature is not likely to drop to 15°F (-9.4°C) before the beginning of December here.
  • Adding 40% more time, allowing 80 days, we could sow kohlrabi in early August and get a crop at the end of October.
  • Or mid-August for early November.
  • Or early September for the end of November or very beginning of December.
  • If you sow too late, use the seedlings for salad. Kohlrabi also makes a good microgreens crop.

Sowing Kohlrabi Seeds

Our rough formula for all transplanted fall brassicas is to divide our final crop row length by our in-row plant spacing and then sow extra to be sure of having enough good ones on transplant day. For kohlrabi to be planted 8″ (20cm) apart, to plant 360’ (110 m) we’ll need 540 perfectly lovely transplants.

We aim to sow 3 seeds/inch (1 cm apart). We make two sowings one week apart, to ensure we have enough plants of the right size. Each week after the first sowing, we weed the previously sown plants, and thin them to 1″ (2.5 cm) apart. We resow to make up the numbers if germination is low.

Young kohlrabi plants.
Photo Kathryn Simmons

Transplanting Kohlrabi

We aim to transplant most brassicas at four true leaves (3–4 weeks after sowing). It is better to transplant crops at a younger age in hot weather than you would in spring because larger plants can wilt from high transpiration losses. If we find ourselves transplanting older plants, we remove a couple of the older leaves to reduce these losses.

We transplant in late afternoon or early evening. We water the soil in the plot if it is dry, because it is very important at this time of year to get adequate water to the plants undergoing the stress of being transplanted. Likewise, good transplanting technique is vital. With drip irrigation, you can more easily give a little water in the middle of each day, which will help cool the roots. With only overhead sprinklers, you may not have the option of watering every day.

Bed of young kohlrabi. Kathryn Simmons

Kohlrabi Harvest

Harvest storage kohlrabi while the anchor (tap) root is still round, before it begins to elongate. We harvest our Vienna kohlrabi from October 20 to November 15. For storage cut off the tuft of leaves at the top of the plant and also the wiry root. It’s easiest to cut a disc off the bulb rather than try to cut through at the point between the bulb and the wire, where it is very tough.

Kohlrabi Winter Storage 

Kohlrabi can be stored in a refrigerator or refrigerator-like conditions such as a CoolBot, 32°F–40°F (0°C–5°C), 80%–95% humidity. Basically Cold & Moist. Kohlrabi stores well in perforated plastic bags in a walk-in cooler. In a plentiful year, we have eaten stored kohlrabi throughout the winter into early spring.

Front cover of Beyond the Root Cellar book by Sam Knapp
Cover of Beyond the Root Cellar by Sam Knapp

 

A Few More Good Resources for Storage Information

Book Review: Africulture by Michael Carter Jr


Africulture: How the Principles, Practices, Plants and People of African Descent have Shaped Agriculture

by Michael Carter Jr. Chelsea Green, 2026. 308 pages, $22.95 US, $40.00 CAN, 22.95 GBP.

As a fellow Virginian, I am honored to offer praise for Michael Carter’s new book, Africulture.  I enjoyed his account of his family’s farming history. Mr. Carter shares five generations of Black farming experience and reminds those of us who need reminding, that without African farming experience, white immigrants like me would not have survived long in the American colonies.

With inspiring bios of prominent Black farmers and educators, Africulture presents an uplifting message and encouragement to other farmers, especially Black farmers. I value Mr Carter’s work to preserve civil rights, and his determination to raise awareness of the painful history of Black people in the US, including segregation, Jim Crow, lynching and resistance. I learned a lot more Black history from reading this book. I’m not including it in this review as I imagine many of you already know a lot more than I do about that.

Mr Carter tells us: “The average age of a farmer in Virginia is fifty-nine, but for Black farmers it’s sixty-three. Between 2017 and 2022, Virginia lost 10 percent of its farmers and 20 percent of its Black farmers. The state is losing Black producers at a higher rate than any other demographic.”

“The amount of land lost by Black farmers and families in the last sixty years is, I dare say, a sin to our ancestors who made it their sole mission to acquire land between 1865 and 1965. I’m a benefactor of my ancestors’ efforts and I refuse to let go of what was sacrificed by my grandfather and his brothers with their World War II checks.”

He writes in a very lively, readable style, using stages of plant growth: Seeds, Soil, Roots, Compost, Leaves, True Leaves, Pestilence and Resistance (plants and people), Flowering, Fruit as metaphors of Black farming history. His work includes Principles of Africulture, using limited inputs: reuse materials your farm provides, properly dispose of whatever waste ends up on your hands; use sustainable organic practices, co-operate on marketing and training, and strengthen future generations of Black farmers.

The Carter Family in Ghana

Michael Carter and his immediate family spent 5 years living and working in west African countries, especially Ghana, 2012-2017, before returning to his family’s farm in Virginia. Living in Ghana changed the Carter family’s perspective. The Carters were regarded factually, as obroni, people from the horizon, or white men. Skin color was not seen as the major identifier, but foreignness was.

Vegetables and fruits were bought fresh daily, and cooking dinner required full attention, dedication and love. There were lots of leafy greens, including Nigerian spinach (Celosia argentea), gboma (Solanum macrocarpon) (the g is silent), Alefe (Amaranthus cruentus), nkotomere (cocoyam leaf/taro leaf /elephant ear, Colocasia esculenta), water leaf/boko boko/fame flower (Talinum paniculatum) and ayoyo/jute leaf (Corchorus olitorius), which I wrote about in June 2025 as Molokhia (pronounced “mo-lo-HEY-ah”), Egyptian Spinach.

The Ghanaians have a very well-developed understanding of the medicinal value of plants.

Food Crops from Africa

From May to September the Virginia climate is like the rainy season in West Africa. I appreciate the descriptions of tasty African crops that might be useful in central Virginia for climate change resilience. To grow Ghanaian crops, we need to choose those with shorter growing cycles. Our season is too short for the tree crops or annuals needing 6-9 hot months to maturity.

Virginia can grow amaranth, Nigerian spinach, managu, molokhia, okra, sorghum, millet and cocoyam, all sown in the continental US after Mothers’ Day, the second weekend in May. Soil temperatures should be 70°F-75°F (21°C–24°C). Their roots grow deep, enabling them to be drought tolerant, and helping provide more trace minerals. A bonus is that deer don’t seem to like these greens.

Several African greens also have ornamental relatives, but the green-leaved versions are preferred for eating. I don’t know why. The greens need to be stewed well over a high heat with palm oil and egusi (seeds of specific melons). Taro tubers and leaves need careful cooking.

“Two African crops—sweet potato greens and Nigerian spinach—contain some of the same nutrients as kale, but they are dependent more on the fungal network to supply their nutrient needs. Their content of manganese and some other micronutrients is higher than that of kale.” Clif Slade says, on selling the leaves of sweet potato plants: “You can talk about doubling your money. . .  There’s $20,000 per acre in the [sweet potato] leaves with the right market, and eating them can help control blood pressure.  Large amounts of sweet potato leaves can be fed to livestock. And at Virginia Tech, they’re pelletizing the stems and feeding tilapia.”

First Leaves

The “First Leaves” chapter has information on rice, cotton, indigo, peanuts, cocoa, vanilla, coffee, honey and kola, and several leading Black farmers. It was here I learned more about my “sweet potato hero” Dr George Washington Carver. I immigrated from a climate too cold to grow sweet potatoes, so I knew nothing. This was pre-internet, and I was thrilled to find a photocopy of Dr Carver’s 1936 publication “How the Farmer Can Save His Sweet Potatoes, and [32] Ways of Preparing Them for The Table.” I had not understood properly how to cure sweet potatoes before storing them. Gratitude to Dr Carver! Dr Carver was even more famous for his work with peanuts. Did you know that boiling peanuts preserves them for several days without refrigeration?

Dr Carver also designed a mobile demonstration lab called the Jessop Wagon, which was used to take information out to remote rural areas of Alabama and provide information for farmers. He wrote “It has always been the one ideal of my life to be of the greatest good to the greatest number of my people possible, and to this end I have been preparing myself for these many years, feeling as I do that this line of education is the key.”

Dr Booker T Washington was born into slavery in 1854 and walked 500 miles to enroll in the Hampton Institute in SE Virginia at the age of 16. His dedication to education, community building and Pan-Africanism was huge. Dr Washington became the first principal of Tuskegee University in Alabama, where the students and local community hand built the collage, including making the bricks, sewing their own sheets and growing their own food.

Dr W E B Du Bois wanted the Talented Tenth, the most capable Black students, to receive the best education and so serve as a think tank and group of leaders for the Black community. He is more widely known as a highbrow intellectual rather than a rural pragmatist like Dr Carver and Dr Washington. Later he developed a wider understanding of the needs of Black farmers.

Mr Tetteh Quarshie, a Ghanaian blacksmith, established the commercial cocoa industry in Ghana in 1879, and export began in the 1890s. Cocoa is native to central America, and became cultivated in Africa, especially Ghana, in the early-mid-1800s.

Vanilla was much coveted by the Europeans, who had no success getting it to grow. 300 years later, someone figured out that a very specific pollinating bee that was only found in Mexico was needed. The French shipped seeds to their colonies off the coast of Africa, Réunion and Mauritius. 21 years later, a 12-year-old enslaved African boy, Edmond Albius, used hand pollination, smashing the anther sac and stigma together between his fingers, solving the problem.

Watermelon was one of the best cash crops for Black farmers in the South, easy to grow, easy to transport, kept well in its skin. This superfood is a great hydrator and a nutritional powerhouse. But watermelon was heavily denigrated as poor people’s food, and disrespected, cast as bad, backward, food for country bumpkins.

Our Genes are Made of What our Ancestors Ate.

African crops grown in American soil by enslaved Africans with African expertise helped sustain the colonizing immigrants. Our bodies are made of the food we eat. Our lineage reflects the foods of our ancestors, which may have come from other continents.

Three quarters of the British colony of Jamestown died of disease and malnutrition between 1609-1610, despite eating rats, snakes and their own dead neighbors. They had refused to follow local foodways, instead trying to grow cool weather UK crops. White settlers in 1619, when the white population had been reduced to 12% of its size, decided they would need to enslave Black people to grow their food. Some of the enslaved people arrived with leftover food stores, and the African crops grew well in the SE US, but in the Midwest, 50 years of soil mismanagement led to the Dust Bowl. Ignorance and greed destroyed 6 feet (2m) of topsoil.

Racial Equity

Equity is not just about perceived treatment but includes discussions and ideas around shared ownership and control of resources. White European men have determined what resources they want and how to get them and control them. Financial equity is the value of an asset after the cost (debts, liabilities) have been subtracted. Equity depends on ownership and is a store of financial value. Social equity (including racial equity) is defined as justice, fairness and impartiality. It’s also a store of value for people, ownership in communities, controlling resources (not necessarily owning).

Black people sometimes risk their jobs, homes, freedom, even their lives, when dealing with white people. White people need to face being outside their comfort zone, to become educated in other cultures. This book seeks to improve people’s racial literacy around the bigger history of agriculture. Buy from local Black farmers and local Black businesses, and other enterprises of people of color.

The Fruits of the Ancestors, Legacy and the Future

Fruit is both the fulfillment of the plant’s growth and the container of the seeds to start the cycle again. A responsibility and a survival instinct. Plants share resources in the soil. When someone asks for help, try to give them a hand. Mr Carter gives space in his book for soil brothers and soil sisters.

Carter Farms and the Africulture non-profit

The Carter Farms land, purchased in 1910, was almost lost near the end of the 1920s, when it was used as collateral on a $636.40 debt. The stock market crash of 1929 meant the borrowers could not repay the cash. Of the ten siblings in that generation, Mrs Mattie Shirley Carter Pryor, one of the youngest, great-grandmother to Michael Carter Jr, was the key person who saved the land.

Michael Carter Jr went to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, an HBCU, where students were encouraged towards employment in the USDA or the agriculture industry, not to be farmers. Carter was not interested in being a farmer. He was more interested in his minor, fashion design. It was many years before he regained his connection to the land.

When Mr Carter and his family returned from Ghana in 2017, he combined a job at the Virginia State University Small Farms Outreach program with selling African vegetables to restaurants.  He established the non-profit Africulture to focus on “the principles, practices, plants and people of African descent that have contributed to agriculture.

From Carter Farms in Orange County, Virginia, Michael Carter, Jr provides technical farming assistance, events and workshops on growing and marketing African and other specialty vegetables. The land around Carter Farms became an epicenter of Black landownership and cooperative economics, farmers helping each other buy land.

“Africulture became an official nonprofit in 2020. Small farmers found themselves in a unique situation that spring because of COVID-19. Small farmers across the country became a lifesaving force for families and communities, setting up farmers markets and driveway stands where customers could come and pick up produce, proteins, and value-added products during a time when entering a grocery store felt dangerous.”

Carter says “I wanted to use the Africulture platform to promote connections on many different levels. The African ideal that everything is connected always resonated with me, a stark contrast to the siloed, isolated, subjective thinking in most of the West. The connections among music, food, soil, agriculture, literature, meta- and quantum physics, nutrition, and mental health maybe aren’t normally seen, but they are made clear to me through my Africultural lens.”

Africulture appendices include a timeline of African American agriculture, incorporating that of the Carter family, some of whom arrived in the first generation of exiled Europeans reaching the US; a Carter Family Tree, with African, European and Native American roots; and a table of nutrient levels in crops at Carter Farms. There are chapter notes and a selected bibliography, and a 17-page index. There are 16 pages of color photos and several archival B&W images are seeded throughout.

More information

  • Michael Carter Jr has taught a course on Africulture at the University of Virginia.
  • The Black Family Land Trust (BFLT) based in Raleigh, NC, works as a conservation land trust, to keep Black families on their land in Virginia and several other states. “The Sixth Love Language – A Will.” Putting land in a family land trust can save a family from fighting. The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act 2020 helps prevent involuntary loss of family land.
  • Visit the Black Farmers Index (blackfarmersindex.com), the largest, FREE, most comprehensive directory of Black Farmers. The Index connects you to traditional and non-traditional growers, from row crop farmers, ranchers, vegetable and fruit producers to beekeepers, fisherfolk, foragers, vintners & more. There are 12 regional groups.
  • For those in Virginia, there’s also the VirginiaBlackFarmerdirecrtory.com.
  • Celebrate National Farmers’ Day in the US on October 12.
  • The Happily Natural Day Festival in Richmond, Virginia, is on Saturday Aug 29, 2026

Winter-Kill Temperatures of Cold-Hardy Vegetables 2025 revision

My scheduling program lost my post. Sorry. I won’t use that one again.

Here’s my table of winter-kill temperatures of cold-hardy vegetables (2025 revision). Not a lot has changed in the past year. This is the time of year to plan winter crops and even start them (apart from leeks and parsnips, which need sowing in spring).

I’ve added a few other resources people often want when planning winter crops: Four Ranges of Cold Hardiness; Rowcover Notes; Hoophouse Notes; Cold-Hardy Lettuce.

I compiled this as a handout to accompany my presentation for the Seedtime Winter Garden Challenge event.

Winter Garden Challenge Handout   

© Pam Dawling 2026.  Twin Oaks Community, Central Virginia (zone 7a)

Author of Sustainable Market Farming, 2nd edition and The Year-Round Hoophouse.

SustainableMarketFarming.com

Overwintered Acadia spinach, with weeds, March 16, Pam Dawling

Winter-Kill Temperatures of Cold-Hardy Vegetables 2025 revision

Here are some starting numbers of outdoor killing temperatures of unprotected crops (except where stated). Note that repeated cold temperatures can kill off crops that can survive a single dip to a low temperature, and that cold winds, or cold wet weather can destroy plants quicker than simple cold.  All greens do a lot better with protection against cold drying winds.  Your own experience with your soils, microclimates and rain levels may lead you to use different temperatures in your crop planning. This version includes cover crops.

  • 35°F (2°C): Basil
  • 32°F (0°C): Bush beans, cauliflower curds, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, lima beans, melons, okra, some pak choy, peanuts, peppers, potato vines, southern peas, squash vines, sweet potato vines, tomatoes.
  • 27°F (–3°C): Many cabbages, sugarloaf chicory (takes only light frosts)
  • 25°F (–4°C): Some cabbages, chervil, chicory roots for chicons and hearts, Chinese Napa cabbage (Blues), dill (Fernleaf), some fava beans (Windsor), annual fennel, some mustards and Asian greens (Red Giant, Southern Curled, maruba santoh, mizuna, most pak choy), some onion scallions (many varieties are hardier), radicchio, rhubarb stems and leaves.
  • 22°F (–6°C): Some arugula (some varieties are hardier), Bright Lights chard, some endive, large leaves of lettuce (protected hearts and small plants will survive colder temperatures).
  • 20°F (–7°C): Some beets (Bulls Blood, Chioggia), broccoli heads (maybe OK to 15°F/−9.5°C), some Brussels sprouts, some cabbages (the insides may still be good even if the outer leaves are damaged), celeriac, celtuce (stem lettuce), some collards (Georgia Cabbage Collards, variegated collards), some head lettuce, some mustards and Asian greens (Tendergreen, Tokyo bekana, Tyfon Holland greens), flat leaf parsley, radicchio (both Treviso and Chioggia), radishes (Cherry Belle), most turnips (Noir d’Hiver is the most cold-tolerant variety). Canadian (spring) field peas are hardy to 10-20°F (–12 to –7°C).

    Georgia Cabbage Collards Photo Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
  • Large oat plants will get serious cold damage, and oats seedlings die at 17°F (–8°C).
  • 15°F (–9.5°C): Some beets (Albina Verduna, Lutz Winterkeeper), beet greens, some broccoli, some cabbages (Kaitlin, Tribute), some cauliflower leaves, rowcovered celery (Ventura), red chard, cilantro, some fava beans (Aquadulce Claudia), Russian kales, kohlrabi, some lettuces (Marvel of Four Seasons, Rouge d’Hiver, Winter Density), especially small plants with 4–10 leaves, curly parsley, rutabagas (American Purple Top Yellow, Laurentian), broad leaf sorrel, most covered turnips, winter cress.
  • 12°F (–11°C): Some beets (Cylindra,), some broccoli, some Brussels sprouts, some cabbages (January King, Savoy types), carrots (Danvers, Oxheart), most collards, some fava beans (mostly cover crop varieties), garlic tops if fairly large, Koji greens, most fall or summer varieties of leeks (Lincoln, King Richard), large tops of potato onions, covered rutabagas, senposai leaves – the core of the plant may survive 10°F (–12°C), Purple Top turnips.
  • 10°F (–12°C): Covered beets, Purple Sprouting broccoli for spring harvest, a few cabbages (Deadon), green chard (hardier than other colors), some collards (Morris Heading), Belle Isle upland cress, some endive (Perfect, President), young bronze fennel, Blue Ridge kale, probably komatsuna, some leeks (American Flag, Jaune du Poiteau), some covered lettuce (Pirat, Red Salad Bowl, Salad Bowl, Sylvesta, Winter Marvel), covered Asian winter radish (Daikon, China Rose, Shunkyo Semi-Long survive 10°F/–12°C), big leaves of savoyed spinach (more hardy than flat leafed varieties), tatsoi, Yukina Savoy. Aprovecho Hardy turnip is hardy to 8°F (–13°C) and Ice-Bred White Egg is hardy to 6°F (–14°C), many Even’ Star greens varieties are OK down to 6°F (−14°C), Oats cover crop of a medium size die around 10°F (–12°C). Large oats will die completely at 6°F (–17°C) or even milder.

    Morris Heading collards.
    Photo Kathryn Simmons
  • 5°F (–15°C): Garlic tops even if small, some kale (Dazzling Blue, Winterbor, Westland Winter), some leeks (Bulgarian Giant, Tadorna), some unprotected small lettuces (Winter Marvel, Tango, North Pole, Green Forest), some bulb onions (Walla Walla), multiplier onions if not well-mulched, smaller leaves of savoyed spinach and broad leaf sorrel.
  • 0°F (–18°C): Chives, some collards (Blue Max, McCormack’s Green Glaze, Winner), corn salad (mâche), garlic, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes, Even’ Star Ice-Bred Smooth Leaf kale, a few leeks (Alaska, Durabel), some bulb onions, mulched yellow potato onions, some onion scallions (Evergreen Hardy White, White Lisbon), parsnips (probably even colder), salad burnet, salsify, some spinach (Bloomsdale Savoy, Long Standing Bloomsdale, Olympia).
  • Walla Walla onions sown in late summer are said to be hardy down to –10°F (–23°C), but I don’t trust below 0°F (–18°C)
  • Crimson clover is hardy down to 0°F (–18°C) or perhaps as cold as –10°F (–23°C)

    Vates kale – our winter outdoor favorite.
    Photo Bridget Aleshire
  • –5°F (–19°C): Vates kale survives although some leaves may be too damaged to use. Lacinato Rainbow Mix kale may survive.
  • –10°F (–23°C) Austrian Winter Field Peas and Crimson clover (used as cover crops).
  • –15°F (-26°C) Hairy vetch cover crop – some say down to –30°F (–34°C)
  • –20°F (–29°C) Dutch White clover cover crops – or even –30°F (–34°C)
  • –30°F to –40°F (–34°C to –40°C): Narrow leaf sorrel, claytonia and some cabbages (January King) are said to be hardy in zone 3. I have no personal experience of this.
  • –40°F (–40°C) Winter wheat and winter rye (cover crops).

Four Ranges of Cold Hardiness

  1. Crops to harvest before frosty weather (32°-25°F) and use or store 
  2. Crops to keep alive in the ground into winter to 22°-15°F (-6°C to -9°C), then harvest to use or store.

Use Soon: Asian greens, broccoli, cabbage, chard, lettuce, radishes

Store: Beets, cabbage, carrots, celeriac, kohlrabi, winter radish (including daikon), rutabagas, turnips

  1. Hardy crops to store in the ground and harvest during the winter. In zone 7, they need to be hardy to 0°-10°F  (-17.8°C to -12.3°C): Collards, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, parsnips, scallions, spinach
  2. Overwinter crops for spring/early summer harvests before the main season: Cabbage, carrots, chard, collards, garlic and garlic scallions, kale, multiplier onions (potato onions), scallions, spinach

    Garlic scallions in April.
    Photo Kathryn Simmons

Rowcover Notes

Rowcovers on hoops will help keep crops marketable, by improving the microclimate for better growth rate. Thick rowcover (Typar, 1,25 oz/sq yd) can keep crops 6F degrees, 3C degrees warmer. Hoops prevent crops freezing onto the rowcover. Polypro outlasts polyester. Consider Quick Hoops and caterpillar tunnels if they suit your climate and crops.

Closing rowcovers after a winter spinach harvest.
Photo Wren Vile

Hoophouse Notes

In a double-layer hoophouse (staying 8F/5C warmer than outside at night) plants can survive 14F/8C colder than they can outside, without extra rowcover; with thick rowcover (1.25 oz Typar/Xavan) at least 21F/12C colder than outside without. Salad greens in a hoophouse in zone 7 can survive nights with outdoor lows of 14°F (-10°C). Lettuce, mizuna, turnips, Russian kales, senposai, spinach, tatsoi, yukina savoy survived a hoophouse temperature of 10.4°F (-12°C) without rowcover, -2.2°F (-19°C) with; Bright Lights chard got frozen leaf stems. We only add rowcover when the outdoor low is forecast to be 8°F (–13°C) or lower.

Hoophouse mizuna harvest in January. Photo Wren Vile

Cold-Hardy Lettuce

Lettuce varieties for a solar-heated winter greenhouse or hoophouse in zone 7a: (hardiest are in bold) Buckley, Ezrilla, Green Forest, Green Star, Hampton, Hyper Red Rumple Waved, Marvel of Four Seasons, Merlot, New Red Fire, North Pole, Oscarde, Outredgeous, Pirat, Red Cross, Red Sails, Red Salad Bowl, Red Tinged Winter, Revolution, Rouge d’Hiver, Salad Bowl, Sylvesta, Tango, Winter Marvel, Winter Wonderland.

Lettuce Mix in our hoophouse 20 December. Photo Pam Dawling

Particularly cold-hardy for outdoors:  Brune d’Hiver, Buckley, Ezrilla, Green Forest, Hampton, Lollo Rossa, Merlot, North Pole, Red Tinged Winter, Revolution, Rouge d’Hiver, Tango, Winter Marvel.

Cold-tolerant outdoor early spring lettuces: Buckley, Crawford, Green Forest, Hampton, Merlot, New Red Fire, Revolution, Simpson Elite, Susan’s Red Bibb and Swordleaf.

Early spring lettuce Ezrilla. This variety also does well in the winter with some protection.

Our garden on March 16, one month after the Snowcrete

Daffodils in our garden on March 16. Photo Pam Dawling

We have daffodils flowering, one of the phenology signs that conditions are warm enough to plant potatoes. We have our seed potatoes chitting (pre-sprouting) in the basement. The plot has had one round of disking and the addition of a nitrogen fertilizer, but it is now far too wet to work. We must wait!

It’s been a month since the “Snowcrete” snow, ice and very cold weather, including 3F on the night Feb 9-10. Since then, we’ve had some very hot days, including 68F on Feb 28, 87F on March 11. You can see pictures of that time here. 

Today I took photos of the same crops that appeared in that post. I’m loading them in the same order to make visual comparison easy.

Compare Over-wintered Acadia spinach emerging undamaged from under the ice and snow. Ken Bezilla

Overwintered Acadia spinach, weeds, March 16, Pam Dawling

Compare Our garlic beds totally covered in snowcrete February 2026. Ken Bezilla with today:

Overwintered garlic March 16. Photo Pam Dawling

Compare Tadorna leeks damaged by exposure to cold weather Feb 2026 Pam Dawling with today’s

Overwintered Tadorna leeks, speedwell, purple deadnettle, March 16. Photo Pam Dawling

Lastly the Vates kale looks much greener, but is now bolting. Compare Vates kale exposed to cold above the snow Feb 2026 Pam Dawling with today’s

Overwintered Vates kale bolting, with weeds. Photo Pam Dawling

And here’s a bonus:

Overwintered Champion collards March 16. Photo Pam Dawling

Unfortunately, we haven’t got accurate outdoor temperature readings as our weather station was the victim of a hit-and-run, and we haven’t set it back up yet.

Now we’re bracing for a very cold night Tues/Weds March 17/18, maybe 18F here. According to WeatherSpark, the average daily high here in mid-March is 50F and the average low 28F. 90% of the time the low is above 26F and the high is below 76F.  We can see the climate is changing. Such wide changes are hard on us (we have not acclimated yet to high temperatures, and our brains think such low temperatures should all be behind us!). Fruit trees have fewer chances to get their Chilling Hours in. Overwintered greens are kicked into bolting.

Spinach is one of our favorite greens. Read about What makes vegetable crops bolt and how can I stop it? which I wrote almost exactly 5 years ago. Not everything is within our control!

The variety in these photos is Acadia, which is becoming hard to find.

High Mowing will have it back in stock at some point.

Harris Seeds has it at 50 seeds for $1.95, 250 seeds for $3.64, 1000 seeds for $5.07 and 10,000 seeds for $12.90

Gurneys has it at 200 seeds for $3.99.

Several smaller suppliers have Acadia too.

Meanwhile I heard that Tyee, my long-time favorite, is back on the market, although I only see a couple of suppliers.

https://www.gnseeds.com/tyee-hybrid-spinach-seeds/ $2.80 on sale for 200 seeds.

https://www.hazzardsgreenhouse.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=Hazwho&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=S7934V $12.54 for 2000 seeds

Pests of the Month in January– Vegetable Weevil Larvae in the hoophouse

Mystery cocoon (not chrysalis!) on Tokyo bekana in our Virginia hoophouse in November. Photo Pam Dawling

Pests in December started with a “Mystery Chrysalis,” and confidently claimed I now knew the difference between a chrysalis and a cocoon. Well! I sent the photo to our Virginia Entomology department and they told me it is a cocoon, not a chrysalis! And indeed, now I know, it is plain to see that this structure is spun fibers, and therefore a cocoon. The shape is not typical of the long oval cocoons I have seen previously. The entomologists told me they thought it was some kind of parasitic wasp. I rushed back to see if I could collect it and save it until the creature hatched out. But I was too late. Something had either already left, or died in the attempt.

My monthly series on pests 

I feature the pests I’m most familiar with here in central Virginia. If you are in a different climate, you can use the Search Box on this site. All the crop chapters in the new second edition of Sustainable Market Farming also have sections about dealing ecologically with pests. If you have other good strategies, please leave a comment on this post.

Pests in October discussed squash bugs, squash vine borers, spinach webworms, squirrels and groundhogs (not insects!)

Insect Pests in September discussed brassica caterpillars, blister beetles and allium leaf miners.

Incidentally, while searching online for a picture of the vegetable weevil larva, I found that many of the images were pure fiction, generated by AI. When my cursor hovered over the bottom left corner of an image I saw the admission. This meant I had twice as many pages to trawl through as I would have if I’d known and had filtered for NO AI. I recommend searching directly in BugGuide.Net or Bugwood Images.

Vegetable Weevil Larvae

Vegetable Weevil. Pest and Diseases Image Library , Bugwood.org

This month I’ll focus on a pest that is a particular trouble in our hoophouse and greenhouse in January: the vegetable weevil larva. Both the larvae and the adults feed on leaves and roots of chosen plants at night, hiding during the day. They eat a wide range of plants: brassicas, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beets, beans, many weeds and some ornamentals. They especially like turnips, pak choy and the flavorful mustardy greens.

Vegetable Weevil larva, Debbie Roos, N.C. Cooperative Extension, Chatham County Center

Virginia Tech has a two page Description and Biology of the Vegetable Weevil

This pest, Listroderes difficilis Germain is native to South America and is now found in southern and western parts of the US. The adults are gray-brown 6-8mm (1/4-1/3 inch) splotchy bristly snouted creatures. Newly hatched larvae are slender pale c-shaped grubs with darker heads. Mature larvae are about 14 mm (0.6 inch) long and are chubby whitish grubs with pale brown heads.

Damage by vegetable weevils of Listroderes spp. John C. French Sr., Retired, Universities:Auburn, GA, Clemson and U of MO, Bugwood.org (The light in this picture is a bit purple.)

They live in the soil and stay underground or deep in the heart of the plants during the day, so if your leaves are holey, but you can’t find any culprits, or even any frass (insect poop) you can suspect vegetable weevil larvae. Close inspection of the plants may reveal small larvae in the crown of the plant, at the base of the leaves. Often I don’t see any. The feeding holes start as small round holes, but can grow to irregular shapes, and leaves can even become skeletonized. Young plants can be killed by stem girdling.

Stem girdling damage by Vegetable Weevil. Ronald Smith, Auburn University, Bugwood.org

Lifecycle of the Vegetable Weevil

There is only one generation of vegetable weevils each year and adult weevils live 1-2 years.

No known male vegetable weevils exist. The females are parthenogenetic (reproducing young from unfertilized eggs). They lay eggs near the soil line of the plants in late summer, and sometimes early spring. Eggs and larvae develop slowly and the mature larvae pupate underground in the winter, with adults emerging the following spring.

Adult weevils have been known to feign death when disturbed, even dropping off the host plant.

Adults aestivate (it’s the opposite of hibernate) during the summer. They don’t fly much, and so undisturbed crop debris at the field edges is a good off-season location for them. Remember to mow!

Vegetable weevil larvae hiding in bok choi leaves. Debbie Roos, N.C. Cooperative Extension, Chatham County Center

Biological Management of the Vegetable Weevil

Removing crop debris can reduce their numbers. Crop rotation away from susceptible hosts is helpful, as is soil cultivation and tilling after crop harvest.

Natural enemies include ground beetles and rove beetles which search for prey at night. Plant insectary flowers and create habitat to encourage generalist predatory insects.

We have successfully used Spinosad against them. We sprayed with Spinosad on a Monday, then again on Friday, and the next Monday and Tuesday I couldn’t see any new holes.

Neem oil and pyrethrins are other organic control options. Insecticidal soap can be used against the larvae.

Debbie Roos of Growing Small Farms wrote about this pest in “The Bok Choi Problem” which has very good photos.

Resources

Also see resources in earlier Pest of the Month posts

ATTRA, Farmscaping to Enhance Biological Control. 2000. Rex Dufour.

ATTRA, Biointensive Integrated Pest Management. 2001. Rex Dufour

eOrganic Biological Control of Insect Pests Mary Barbercheck, Penn State University

eOrganic Biological Control Options in Vegetable Production  webinar

Organic Pest Management. Debbie Roos, NC State Extension: Growing Small Farms. Photos of beneficial insects.

Molokhia (Egyptian Spinach) Update

Molokhia (Egyptian spinach) flower

 

I wrote in this post in May, saying that we are trying some Molokhia (Egyptian Spinach) this year as a hot weather leafy green. It is recommended as a versatile, continuous-harvest vegetable that can survive both dry and wet conditions in warm or hot weather. Egyptian spinach is related to okra, mallow, roselle hibiscus (red sorrel, Jamaican sorrel), also cotton, cacao and durian. Okra is the only crop on that list that we have in our vegetable garden, so we had no worries about crop rotation.

We’ve had a couple of meals, and then accidentally mowed half the plot, which was hiding behind some enormous sorghum-sudangrass cover crop.

I sowed 50 cells on April 1, and transplanted them May 24, 12 (45 cm) apart in all directions. We hoed once and gave scraps of mulch, but the plants grew very quickly and weeds were no longer an issue. We did not give them much TLC. Not 2″-3″ (5-8 cm) of water a week as recommended: maybe 1″ (2.5 cm). We did not add any compost or nutrients throughout the season.

A fresh shoot of Molokhia in August. Photo Pam Dawling

The 70 days to maturity, if from transplanting, takes us to the end of July. They were mature before that. If it’s 70 days from sowing, that’s only June 10. I wasn’t paying them good attention then, but with hindsight, I think it would have been good if I had snipped the tops off for a meal then. It would have helped the plants bush out at a lower level, giving more tender young leaves.

I didn’t make a first harvest until around July 12, by which point the plants were tall. Harvest takes a while, if you are going for 10 gallons, as I was. I used the method of cutting the upper 6″-8″ (7-10 cm) of growth with scissors and then stripping the leaves off in a cooler location. People with smaller households and milder temperatures might harvest individual leaves from the plants. Although I do think shortening the stems helps produce more leaves.

I made a second harvest around August 10 and took a survey. Our cook removed the individual leaves from the stems and steamed them lightly on their own. They were served alongside shiitake mushrooms, which some people mixed in, while others preferred the leaves on their own. Cooked this way they were not excessively mucilaginous as I had been mentally prepared for. Nine diners of those surveyed liked the molokhia and wanted us to grow it again. One said no and two said maybe.

Molokhia looking ragged in late August. Photo Pam Dawling

By August 10, the plants were starting to flower, small yellow flowers emerging from the leaf axils. The pods could provide an additional tasty harvest, I’ve read. But we don’t have many pods and they do tend to hide among the leaves.

A pest that I didn’t find mentioned in the research I did is the Japanese beetle. The larger leaves were the ones attacked. It appears that molokhia is not their favorite food as many of the leaves were not attacked. Worth knowing about, if you are particularly plagued by Japanese beetles.

Molokhia with large leaves eaten by Japanese beetles, younger leaves ready to harvest.
Photo Pam Dawling

If we had not reduced the number of plants unintentionally with our mower I might have wanted to cut down the plants before the frost and dry the leaves and pickle the pods. The dried leaves can be used to thicken soups or for tea. We could save seed for planting next year. Maybe I can interest someone else in doing that. Maybe having fewer plants left to deal with will be seen as an advantage for that task!

Molokhia, hot weather Egyptian spinach

Molokhia (Egyptian spinach) flower. Photo GrowerJim    

Molokhia (pronounced “mo-lo-HEY-ah”), Egyptian Spinach, Corchorus olitorius (Jute) is a summer cooking green that grows quickly to a multi-stemmed plant with a height of 6′ (2 m) or more. There are many attempts to render the Arabic name in the Roman alphabet: Melo Khiya, Molokheiya, Mulukhiyah, Melokhia. It’s also known as Egyptian spinach or jute mallow.

Jute fiber is extracted from the stems of the mature plants, suggesting a) don’t try to eat over-mature plants, and b) paper-making and various fiber arts could be in your future.

Corchorus olitorius probably originated in Africa, and is now found throughout the tropics, and in some countries it is considered a weed (suggesting it is easy to grow!). In the US it grows well in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Texas and everywhere with hot summers, anywhere the growing season is longer than 70 days. It thrives in high humidity. It is even grown in Michigan, where there is a large Middle Eastern diaspora. There the seed is always started indoors.

This versatile, continuous-harvest vegetable can survive both dry and wet conditions in warm or hot weather. With the climate chaos changing our summers, it is time to get ready, with alternative crops that can withstand hotter weather.  GrowerJim in winter-hardiness zone 9b has very good details.

Sowing Molokhia

Depending on your climate and preferences, you can direct sow fairly heavily and thin, or start seeds in flats. It has a big tap root so it will do better direct sown if you can.

Seed should be sown in spring once the soil is warm, with air temperatures of 68-104°F (20-40°C) with 62-81.5°F (16.8-27.5°C) optimal. Plants grow quickly and are ready for a first cutting in about 60-70 days. In colder areas, Molokhia can be slow to get growing at first.

Crop Rotations for Molokhia

This is definitely not a spinach! Egyptian spinach is related to okra, mallow, roselle hibiscus (red sorrel, Jamaican sorrel), also cotton, cacao and durian, so if you grow a lot of those, rotate away from them to grow molokhia. For most of us, this won’t be an issue at all. I recommend not letting it self-sow in the same spot many times.     

Bed of newly transplanted molokhia in late May.
Pam Dawling

Transplanting Molokhia

Transplant after all danger of frost is past, once the weather is settled warm, around pepper and okra planting time. Transplant 12″-18″ (45-30 cm) apart in all directions. Egyptian Spinach likes full sun, warm to hot weather and steady moisture. You can add mulch to help keep the soil moist, but if using organic mulch, be sure the soil is fully warm, as organic mulches act as insulators, keeping cool soil cool. In marginal climates, black plastic mulch will warm the soil and increase the growth rate.

Caring for the Molokhia Crop

Molokhia needs 2″-3″ of water per week (5-8 cm). A relative humidity of 70-80% is ideal, so in very dry climates, consider misting, or overhead irrigation. General care also includes fertilizing, controlling weeds and insects. Continue to give compost or nutrients throughout the season, to encourage tender new growth. Each harvest of newer growth forces more branching. Plants have a strongly upright growth habit and need no support.

It takes 70 days to maturity, then holds well in the field, providing several cuttings. In late summer or early fall, as the days shorten, the plant stops leafy growth and bright yellow flowers emerge from the leaf axils. The pods can provide an additional harvest.

Molokhia transplant with red stems. Others have green stems.
Pam Dawling

Succession Planting of Molokhia

If you prefer to harvest the entire young plant at once, succession-sow until mid-summer for continuous supplies. For most growers, a single sowing that provides food for the whole season is something to be grateful for.

Molokhia is not a good choice for a fall garden even if temperatures permit, as the plants will steer to blooming and stop providing new leaves to harvest.

Pests and Diseases of Molokhia

I don’t know much about either of these yet. I’ve heard that bugs cause more damage as you get towards fall, but that in spring and summer there are not many problems. They can get aphids, but not usually in quantities that cause a problem. Mealy bugs are another pest of molokhia.

Molokhia Harvest

Leaves of molokhia (Egyptian spinach) harvested for cooking.

This is a plant to nibble on as you walk around the garden. People like the mild nutty or grassy flavor. Individual leaves are 2″-3″ (5-8 cm) in length.

For bigger harvests, an alternative to picking individual leaves off the stems is to cut the upper 6″-8″ (7-10 cm) of growth with pruners and then strip the leaves off in a cooler location. If you cut carefully, you can encourage the plant to bush out. The tender stem tips are also edible if finely chopped along with the leaves. Only the small leaves are cooked and eaten. Multiple harvests can be made from each flush of new growth until summer winds down.

Once fall arrives, you can accept fate: as soon as you get a cold snap it will die. This is an annual that does not survive winter. You can make a last giant harvest and dry the leaves.

The flowers are followed by seed pods which are edible and tasty when young, with more flavor than the leaves.

Molokhia Post-Harvest                  

This tropical plant does not grow in cold weather. To maximize your harvest, cut down your molokhia before too much flowering has slowed down leaf production (unless you want to harvest pods or seeds) and dry the leaves. In the Tunisian tradition, the dried leaves are ground to a powder, to be used to make a thick sauce with tomato paste.

In the fall you can also harvest and pickle the pods before they are mature, (while still flexible) just as you can with okra pods. Some lovers of pickled okra pods say pickled molokhia pods are even better.

Nutritional Benefits of Molokhia

The nutritious leaves are high in vitamins A, C, E, K as well as potassium, calcium, iron and magnesium, beta carotene, and many other minerals, trace elements and 6 different anti-oxidants. Molokhia is said to calm inflamed digestive systems and mucous membranes and lower stress, among other health benefits. As always with health benefit claims, do your own research at reputable sources.

There have been very few reports of allergic reactions to molokhia, but when adding a new food to your diet, proceed with caution.

Cooking Molokhia

Molokhia plants starting to flower in late summer. https://www.GrowerJim.blogspot.com

The leaves can be eaten raw in salads, cooked as a side vegetable, or made into soup. They are chopped finely for cooking. When boiled, the result is very thick and mucilaginous – it is often described as similar to cooked okra. For most people, it’s not a vegetable to be eaten alone in big cooked heaps.

Molokhia is generally eaten cooked, not raw, and it may be chopped and sautéed in oil, garlic and cilantro/coriander as in Lebanon and Syria, or made into a stew or soup as Egyptians do. Traditionally, it is cooked with chicken or chicken stock for flavor and is served with white rice, lemon or lime. In Tunisia, the dish is prepared with the powdered leaves and cooked with lamb or beef to be served with bread.

In Egypt, molokhia is prepared by chopping the leaves finely. It is mixed with garlic and coriander. The dish generally includes lamb, chicken or rabbit. Shrimp and fish are sometimes included. The chopped leaves are part-cooked before any (separately cooked) meat or fish is added to the pot. The stew is served on a bed of rice, or with flatbread. Lemon wedges and/or chilies may be served alongside.

In Kenya, molokhia leaves are cooked with other greens to reduce the sliminess, and served with tomatoes, fried onions, and various spices, on a bed of some kind of cereal meal. In Haiti, a dish prepared from molokhia leaves is called lalo.

Wikipedia has several national cooking styles spelled out.

The dried leaves can be used to thicken soups or for tea.

Molokhia Seed Saving

Soon after blooming the seedpods develop. They will grow to about the same length as the leaves. If you plan to save seed, cordon off a section of the bed and leave the pods to mature. The pods, which are filled with many angular, greenish seeds, will dry to a tan or black color. They are then easy to break open with your fingers.

The mature seeds can be saved for replanting. If you grow plenty of seed you can even use molokhia as a cover crop, benefiting from its high biomass in the summer.

Small new green-stemmed molokhia transplant.
Photo Pam Dawling

Sources for Molokhia Seed and More Information       

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Sow True Seeds

Sandhill Preservation

True Leaf Market

Baker Creek Seeds

See Cooking Greens in August (2019)

See Heat Loving Veggies for the Texas Garden – Patty Leander

See Morning Chores, Growing Molokhia

Dazzling Blue kale is beautiful, tasty and cold-hardy!

 

Dazzling Blue kale.
Photo Baker Creek Seeds

This winter we grew a small patch of Dazzling Blue kale outdoors with a packet of free seed from High Mowing that I picked up at a conference last spring. I have not been a fan of Lacinato-type kales until now, because we tried twice outdoors and twice in the hoophouse with Black Magic and Nero di Toscana. In neither location did they taste very good. Outdoors they were not very cold-hardy; in the hoophouse they got infested with aphids which hid in the backward curling leaves.

I liked the look of the flatter-leaved savoyed Dazzling Blue and its range of colors, mid-green, dark green, blue-green and purple, all with lavender to purple stems. To my surprise, I loved the flavor. I did wait until after the plants had been sweetened by frost.

Dazzling Blue kale leaves showing the range of colors.
Photo High Mowing Seeds

Dazzling Blue has a lot more cold-tolerance than other Lacinato type kales. We discovered that by chance, lucky us! Dazzling Blue is also bolt-resistant and heat-tolerant (tolerated Texan summer heat, as long as it got watered twice a day, according to one reviewer on Baker Creek’s site.

It takes this Open Pollinated kale 60 days to maturity in moderate weather.  We probably sowed ours in August when we sowed our Vates kale for outdoors.

High Mowing has this description:

“Vigorous plants produce leaves with purple midribs and a range of colors that intensify in cool temperatures. Hardier than the traditional Lacinato. Ideal for raw kale salads. Bred by Hank Keogh of Avoca Seed Farm, produced in association with Wild Garden Seed in Oregon. This variety is protected by the Open Source Seed Initiative – learn more here.”

In colder climates than ours, kale grows through the summer. I have eaten delicious Black Magic Lacinato kale in July in Massachusetts. Some growers use this kale as a baby salad crop. We grow kale sown in August through the winter, harvesting from mid-October when the leaves are big and plentiful enough. Then we sow more in January, to transplant out mid-March and feed us to the beginning of June.

Bed of Vates kale in May.
Photo Pam Dawling

We transplanted our Dazzling Blue 12” (30 cm) apart in the row, with rows 10” (25cm) apart. This is the spacing we use for Vates kale, (Dwarf blue Scotch curled). Dazzling Blue is a bigger plant and we probably would have done better to plant them further apart (18”-30”, 45-75cm).

Like other Lacinato kales and Vates kale, Dazzling Blue is a Brassica oleracea. This type goes semi-dormant in winter, but endures cold weather. They can make some growth whenever the air temperature is above 40F (4.5C).

White Russian kale in our hoophouse in February. The Russian kales are not as cold-hardy as Vates or Dazzling Blue. Photo Pam Dawling

Brassica napus kales like White Russian, make more growth in chilly temperatures, but don’t have the cold-tolerance of oleracea kales. For our climate, they are a winter hoophouse crop, not an outdoor crop.

These photos below show overwintered Dazzling Blue in early February, after enduring four cold nights at 1F, 2F, 5F and 7F (-17C, -16.6C, -15C and -14C). I hope we won’t get any colder temperatures than those. Yes, the plants are quite bedraggled, but they are still alive, and have the chance to make new growth when it warms up.

Dazzling Blue kale plant in February.
Photo Pam Dawling
Another Dazzling Blue kale plant in February.
Photo Pam Dawling
Bed of Dazzling Blue kale after 4 nights of 1-7 F (-17 to -14C)
Photo Pam Dawling

In March I will make my annual revision of my table of Winter-Kill Temperatures of Cold-Hardy Vegetables and include this kale. See the 2021 Winter-Kill table here.

Future Harvest CASA Conference 2025

Future Harvest CASA Conference 2025

Farming Into The Future

Thurs Jan 16- Sat Jan 18 2025

New location, Silver Spring Civic Building, downtown Silver Spring, MD (Near Metro)

More than 40 sessions on a range of topics for advanced and beginning farmers, agtivists and educators, two keynote addresses, farmer-to-farmer chats & more!

  • Crop Production
  • Environment, Community & Wellbeing
  • Livestock
  • Farming Into the Future
  • Regenerative Agriculture
  • Business of Farming
  • Soil Health
  • Grassfed Meat & Dairy

PLUS SPECIAL EVENTS

  • Interactive Farmer Panels
  • Farm Tour Field Trip
  • Tradeshow & Networking
  • Happy Hour
  • Farm Bingo
  • Seed & Tool Swap
  • Farmers Market
A busy time at the Future Harvest Conference Trade Show

Check out the conference schedule at a glance and program preview to start planning and personalizing your conference experience.

REGISTER NOW

The 2025 conference will take place at the Silver Spring Civic Building in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland.

Silver Spring Civic Building

75-90 minute sessions; 45-60 min chat sessions or half or full day events.

I am giving two 75 minute workshops:

Deciding Which Vegetable Crops to Grow

Detroit Dark Red beets , harvested, washed and trimmed. Beets do very well for us
Photo Pam Dawling

FRIDAY, JANUARY 17TH
Session III, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm, Main Ballroom

Deciding Which Vegetable Crops to Grow – Grow vegetable crops that fit your goals, whether for sale or for your household. Consider which crops are easy to grow, most profitable for the space or time, most suited to your conditions, high yielding, and undemanding. Use a DIY Crop Value Rating system to choose between options.

Optimizing Your Asian Greens Production

Beauty in a tatsoi plant.
Photo Wren Vile

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18TH
Session V, 9:30 am – 10:45 am, Main Ballroom B

Optimize Your Asian Greens Production – Grow many types of tasty, nutritious Asian greens outdoors and in hoop houses, easily and bring fast returns. The workshop includes detailed tips on variety selection of over twenty types of Asian greens; timing of plantings; pest and disease management; fertility; weed management and harvesting. For both market and home growers.

Click to view the Conference program preview 

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Nick Wiseman
Co-Founder & CEO, LITTLE SESAME

Nick Wiseman is the Co-Founder & CEO of Little Sesame, a fast-growing consumer packaged goods brand that makes freshly spun hummus. Nick and his team are building a first-to-market regenerative supply chain leading the category into the future. Nick and Co-Founder Ronen Tenne, who met cooking on the NYC fine dining circuit, opened Little Sesame as a pop-up in a 500 sq ft basement in 2016. The pair went on to open their flagship restaurant in downtown Washington, D.C. in 2018, and, in June 2021, Little Sesame launched their grocery-ready hummus line at Whole Foods Market. Little Sesame is now available in 2,000+ stores across the U.S.

For his work, Nick was named one of Zagat’s “30 Under 30” and an Eater “Young Gun”. Nick continues to invest in his expanding team and looks forward to continuing to grow the Little Sesame brand nationwide.

Renee Catacalos
Director of Strategic Investments, FRESHFARM
Author, The Chesapeake Table: Your Guide to Eating Local

Renee Brooks Catacalos is the Director of Strategic Investments at FRESHFARM, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit building a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient food system in the Mid-Atlantic region. Prior to that, she was Vice President, Strategy and Investments at the Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funders.  She has previously worked for or served on the boards of several local food/agriculture organizations, including serving as deputy director of Future Harvest and twice serving on the FRESHFARM board. Renee has been a champion of Chesapeake regional farms and food since her days as publisher and editor of Edible Chesapeake magazine and is the author of the book The Chesapeake Table: Your Guide to Eating Local. She is committed to developing strategic partnerships with philanthropy to build the capacity of nonprofits and community organizations to address the most pressing regional food system challenges.

One location, three events!

Come to the Civic Building on Thursday January 16th for the Cultivate and Craft Value-Added Agriculture Summit. Stay an extra day on Sunday January 19th for a Produce Safety Rule Grower Training offered by the Maryland Food Safety Network, also at the Civic Building. We can’t wait to see you for this incredible weekend!

TICKETING INFORMATION

If you are a conference speaker, sponsor or exhibitor; or a participant in the 2024 or 2025 Agricultural Leadership Development Initiative and have not yet registered for the conference, please contact conference@futureharvest.org

REGISTER NOW

Your ticket includes locally-sourced boxed lunches on Friday and Saturday. We will also host a happy hour on Friday night, with snacks, a cash bar and activities like farmer bingo! Silver Spring also has lots of walkable local options for food and entertainment.

See the conference page for Travel and Lodging, including room and ride-shares