Amaranth! Callaloo.... Greens in the summer garden

 Heavy rains, warm night temps... Nothing much going on the Central Florida garden... Even my eggplants are blooming without setting fruit, which likely has to do with the high-lows we’re experiencing... Most solanacae won’t set fruit if the low is above 70*....

I am growing callaloo (an amaranth, as you can see from the photo!)... It’s very slow to germinate (2 weeks!) and grows slowly at first, and then... The leaves are tender, can be eaten raw, and are like a slightly nutty spinach. Not a tropical green (like chaya), so you don’t need to boil it. We’ve had a lot of wind storms lately with gusts in the 40mph range, and yet these greens, despite their height, have not blown over. So, highly rated! Growing well: peanuts, mint, scallions, and of course crowder peas and limas.... My fruit trees (and bananas) love this hot, wet weather. So long as they don’t succumb to mildew or rot, they love this weather.... It’s great to have something on the back burner — fruit trees — while everything else in the garden is hibernating....