Has anyone grown or tasted tropical asparagus/katuk (Sauropus androgynus)? It is supposed to be a good alternative to regular asparagus in low chill environments, but if it doesn’t taste like asparagus its just another perennial leafy green (which I have a bit of).
I will go taste some, I have a tiny plant, I thought you just eat the leaves? Tastes good, like a pea shoot to me which I also like.
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Yup, you just eat the leaves. Although, its supposed to also shoot up shoots like asparagus does as it gets older, and you can eat its fruit. Nothing I saw said anything about how the fruit tastes though.
Pea shoot taste works good for me. Didn’t have any luck when I tried to grow peas. Thanks for tasting!
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Do you grow cranberry hibiscus? First year growing it and boy does it do well and I love the flavor. But I assume that’s one of your tropical greens you grow. Also chef Kubo salad tree and auntie Lillie’s south sea salad bele tree, they are small and haven’t tried those yet
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I have two cranberry hibiscus, and they are massive. Both of them are almost 6 foot tall (if not taller now). When I left at the start of June for work, they were still only a foot tall, so I haven’t tried any yet. Hoping they will seed so I can grow more next year.
Don’t have any salad trees. Its funny, because I first heard about them yesterday while shopping, and now its come up again.
I have chaya, but it makes me break out when I touch it, so its really just a good pollinator plant. Also have longevity spinach out the wazzoo, and a pretty productive patch of curly leaf spinach. I have Chenopodium giganteum (tree spinach), but it was assaulted by leaf-cutter ants when I first put them in ground and have barely grown since. Will probably resow some seeds mid to late August and see if they start better straight in ground.
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Okinawa spinach tastes better than longevity spinach to me. You can just cut a branch of the hibiscus and stick it in the ground and it will root, I had 2 tiny baby starts and now I have 3 massive plants and 5-6 small ones rooted throughout the yard.
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Yeah, I’ve seen Okinawa, just haven’t gotten around to it. I got purple mizuna, pok-choi and choy sum to try for this fall/winter season. I had some choy sum growing in my aquaponics, but something got outta wack and they died. Still some alive beneath my zinnia forest though. And my collards and swiss chard survived by the skin of their teeth. Hopefully no shortage of leafy greens this season.
I haven’t tried Okinawa, Longevity, or New Zealand spinach, but I do like Malabar spinach.
To me, it definitely tastes more like beet greens than spinach greens, I suspect because of betalain pigments, though it is mild like spinach. They’re all caryophyllales, so there’s a lot of commonality. The succulent, fleshy leaves have a kinda okra-lite slime that is odd at first, but kinda fun too. The berries are pretty tasteless but have great color.
Grows super easy once it’s hot out. Usually sets seed so you only have to buy it once, and even self sows a bit, which surprises me for a true tropical species in a temperature climate.
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My Malabar always grows slowly, but it grows vigorously for my parents about half an hour north on the mainland. I can send you some cuttings from longevity and okinawa they root super easy either in water or dirt.
Perhaps next year. I’m growing the absolute minimum in the garden this year.
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I have pineapple in 3 gallon pots & Ginger in 3 gallon pots. They are inside 6 to 7 months a year.
I thought ginger was hardy?
Anyone grow Culinary Ginger in zone eight all year around? Ginger is a large family & some ginger is grown in zone seven for it flower, however I have not met anyone who grows Culinary Ginger out side year around.
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It won’t grow outside in the winter, but I’m pretty sure the roots stay alive and it comes back once it warms up. Since you have to rip them up anyways to harvest them, its probably better to store them inside overwinter than in the ground. Not sure if they need to be inside for 6-7 months but you would know your climate better.
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Do you grow pigeon peas? Thinking of trying to interplant them, letting them reseed themselves if they indeed die from our winters here. Curious if anyone has enjoyed them?
Yes, but I haven’t eaten any yet. It fruited for me, I just didn’t get around to cooking the dry peas yet. My mother enjoys them. I imagine they are similar to black-eye peas. I haven’t had them green yet either.
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Just bought and picked up some plants from someone on TTF. Two blue tumeric, a Ross Sapote and a Pouteria Salicifolia. He also gave me some Katuk cuttings and a yellow “Palora” dragonfruit cutting that I’m very excited for. Running out of space in the car for the trip back home.
Thats exactly how the katuk tasted. The fruit while green tasted like a pea with a little nutty flavor as well. Pretty excited for them, his was basically a hedge.
He also gave me a Sapodilla fruit and 2 Lemondrop mangosteens to try. I love sapodilla and I’m excited to have lemondrop for the first time. He said they would probably be very tart since they were second flush in non ideal conditions.
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My lemon drop mangosteen finally added a few leaves, I’ve never tried one either but the description sounds pleasant.
My two very happy Jabos, they really started growing a lot when I put them in water like this.
Only another 5-7 years and I’ll be tasting some fruit hopefully haha
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Do you know what type of jabos you got? I think the red ones are supposed to fruit faster (4-5 instead of like 7-10).
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