Greens for a Southern Summer

One of the saddest things about gardening in the south is that we seldom can get tomatoes and lettuce at the same time. Winter is the time for greens of many kinds along with beets, carrots and garden peas; summer is the time for tomatoes, squash, field peas, cucumbers, and okra. This summer I’m trying to have greens for cooking and salads.

A few days ago, I put up 40% shade cloth over my midsized lettuce. This is my third crop. I ate the first crop all winter and shared with my neighbors. Then I planted a little red-leaved lettuce which is bolting and which I’ll pull up today. The final lettuce isn’t pretty – the stalks get about two feet long - but it stays delicious until a little heat turns it bitter and bolting. I had more lettuce up in the garden than I could shade and I needed the space for field peas- black-eyed and Crowder – and two other greens recommended for summer growing in the Texas Hill Country, Malabar spinach and amarath. So I transplanted most of the remaining lettuce into two big pots and moved the pots into a shady spot. They will get a little morning sun and then be shaded the rest of the day. I figure I can cool the soil back off by watering them late in the morning with my reasonably cold well water. And I’ll soon be starting more lettuce seeds under lights in the air-conditioned house.

In addition to lettuce, I’m trying to save my winter Swiss chard which is supposed to produce into our Texas summers. I harvested all the chard to cook with a sautéed onion tonight and then moved the stumps where they will get morning sun only. I added some horse manure mulch to the soil while digging new holes, then top dressed with a little of my vermicompost.

This morning, I planted five plants of red stem Malabar spinach. It will climb a trellis at the back on my northernmost raised bed and be very decorative while supplying me with delicious greens. I grew this in Houston many years ago and it was the only plant my roommates couldn’t kill when I went on vacation. So I expect it to do well here. We seem to be real dry in summer and have lots of days in the 90’s. (Since we’ve been in a drought since I moved here, I’m not exactly sure what normal weather is like.) I amended the soil with a little more horse manure compost and then top dressed with vermicompost.

This evening or early tomorrow, I’ll plant the Golden Giant Amaranth seedlings my neighbor gave me. This variety is supposed to grow to seven feet, look beautiful, and be good for greens when it is young and then make lots of seeds for eating when it matures. I’ve never tried growing it or eating it so it will be a new experience.