Summer-proof leafy greens

Story by Jian Liu

Here are three leafy greens that thrive in the heat and will provide nutrient-dense salads, pasta, pastries and more.

Leafy greens such as kale and English spinach can be tricky to grow over the warmer seasons, as they are beloved by white cabbage butterfly caterpillars (in the case of kale) and have a tendency to bolt to flower due to heat stress. But there are many alternatives that thrive in the heat and will provide nutrient-dense salads, homemade spinach and ricotta pastries and more.

Silverbeet/Swiss chard

The hardiest and easiest to grow leafy green in existence, I’ve found that chard is unbothered by pests and adaptable to all soil types. Silverbeet (pictured above) is the group of varieties with white stems and dark-green, glossy leaves. Rainbow chard is a collection of colourful stemmed varieties, including bright pink, red, orange and gold. Plants can produce all-year-round if well watered and cared for. Silverbeet and chards have a robust texture with an earthy flavour, and are ideally suited to soups, stews and curries.

Warrigal greens

Native to areas of Australia, New Zealand and Asia, Warrigal greens are also known as New Zealand spinach. It has a spreading habit and makes a wonderful ground cover or living mulch. You can save space by planting it below fruit trees, where its triangular leaves and small yellow flowers will ramble. Its taste is very similar to spinach. Be sure to blanch before eating as it contains high levels of oxalic acid.

Malabar or Ceylon spinach

One of my favourite summer spinaches, Malabar spinach is not widely known but deserves a place in every backyard. A stunning climbing plant with round leaves and delicate purple-white flowers that resemble mini lotuses. I love growing the red-stemmed variety, which we allow to clamber up the walls of our greenhouse. Highly nutritious and ornamental, Malabar spinach thrives in the heat of summer.