10 Awesome Asian Greens to Include in Your Garden

Healthy, delicious greens in the garden are one of the more rewarding crops because they provide a lot to pick over an extended amount of time, contain a significant amount of nutrients, and are relatively easy to grow. Plus, greens produce great harvests during a time when other, typical homegrown stuff isn’t. Greens are cool weather crops.

One mistake that gardeners sometimes make with greens is staying overly conventional. Kale, chard, collards, mustard, and spinach are classics, and loose-leaf lettuces are always handy to have around. But, these greens just scratch the surface of what’s out there to appreciate. For a real exploration of greens, Asia is a wonderful place to go.

Asian cuisine has an abundance of cabbages, lettuces, and leaves that help to give it a punch. These greens are simple to work with, flavorful as featured ingredients, and often very easy to grow. So, why not plant 10 or so?

Bok choy

Along with cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage, bok choy is a member of the brassica family. It is a cool-weather plant, prone to bolting, but it is great for spring and fall harvests. It doesn’t create a head. Instead, it grows leaves from a bulbous base. It can tolerate partial shade (3-5 hours of sun) and would rather morning sun than afternoon heat.

Chinese Celery

Because celery can be one of the more difficult crops to grow, it’s always great to find something that can stand in its place, such as Chinese celery. Like most vegetables, it likes sun and well-drained soil that is slightly acidic. When cut near the base instead of pulled out of the ground, this plant can provide two or three good harvests.

Chinese broccoli (Gai Lan)

This tasty green is not only easy to grow, but it goes from seed to harvest in about two months, so much faster than broccoli. The leaves, stalk, and florets with this crop are all edible and worth eating. Like most greens, it’s cut-and-come-again, providing food for a while once it is going.

Fava bean leaves

Few people recognize that the greens on many bean and pea plants are edible, and sometimes—as is the case with fava beans—those greens are a star in their own right. Fava beans are one of the rare beans that are good for cool weather. So, enjoy the greens early on, and then they’ll be great for beans in the summer.

Malabar spinach

Unlike most greens, Malabar spinach is not suitable for cool weather. It’s a tropical plant and perfect for growing when things get hot. Malabar spinach is not spinach at all. In fact, it grows on a vine. The leaves are tasty, with a bit of mucilage a la okra, which makes it nice to use as a thickener in sauces and soups.

Mizuna

Despite being a brassica, mizuna is much more lettuce-like than cabbage, but it can work in stir-fries and soups. It’s great in salads. One primary reason for including it in the mix is that it tolerates the cool of early spring very well, but it doesn’t bolt as soon as the temperature goes up.

Napa Cabbage

Also known as Chinese cabbage, this is one of the more widely distributed and common Asian greens on the US market. However, it is difficult to grow in comparison with others on today’s list. Chinese cabbage needs long, cool nights, and it needs nutrient-rich soil that hasn’t been compacted or excessively tilled. Maybe a good choice for no-dig gardens.

Snow pea leaves

Snow peas are something we’ve come to expect in Asian cuisine, but the leaves of the snow pea plant are also a common ingredient. Most people seek out the younger leaves on new shoots, often a few inches long. Like other greens, these are packed with nutritional benefits, but they have a lovely pea-like flavor that stands out.

Tatsoi

A new personal favorite in the garden, tatsoi has lovely dark green leaves that are tender and tasty in salads or on sandwiches. They are also exceptional when quickly sautéed with little more than olive oil and salt. Tatsoi is an easy grower that’ll provide harvests well into the winter when planted in late summer.

Water Spinach

Commonly called kangkong, water spinach is one of the fastest-growing vegetables on the planet. It’s neither spinach nor cabbage; rather, it’s a member of the Morning Glory family (along with sweet potatoes). It’s a semi-aquatic plant that takes off like a rocket with little or no fuss. It’s great for those with a wet spot or along the banks of a small pond.

Putting 10 new crops in the rotation is an amazing moment for garden growers, and Asian greens will provide a great thing to grow in the shoulder seasons to provide food when the tomatoes and cucumbers are yet to come or fading memories.

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• Weekly Spotlight: Cooking with Dark Leafy Greens!
• Get Your Greens! Stop Wasting Spinach and Turn It Into a Nutritious Powder
• 8 Tips for Growing and Using Your Own Greens

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