Published: November 15, 2018, 9:50am | Modified: June 19, 2019, 1:09pm

Florida’s warm climate allows us to grow vegetables during the fall and winter. Here are two vegetables that you can add to your garden this season.

Malabar Spinach

A tropical vegetable that you can plant now and grow through the summer is Malabar spinach, Basella Rubra, a red-stemmed vine that can be trained to grow on a trellis or along a fence. The red-stemmed variety is very ornamental, and the leaves can be used like spinach. Here in Florida, Malabar spinach grows well in a variety of soils, seemingly without regard to fertility. Ample moisture is important, so the plants grow best during warm, rainy periods. Malabar spinach can be grown from seeds or cuttings. The thick, fleshy leaves are cut off together with some length of the stem to keep the plant nice and full. When cooked, Malabar spinach is not as slick in texture as many greens, like spinach.

Garlic

When you plant your garlic, what you will be doing is growing garlic from cloves, so take one clove off the bulb and plant it into the prepared bed. Remember, just like flower bulbs, the pointy end of the clove goes up. You will want to plant the garlic clove about 8 to 10 inches down in the dirt. Space them about 6 to 8 inches apart. In warmer climates, you can expect to see growth from your garlic all winter long. This will appear in the form of garlic greens coming from the clove. In cooler climates, the greens don’t grow until spring. Don’t worry about the occasional drop in temperature, as garlic and its greens are more than able to handle the cold.


If you need to get your garden going this season them come to A One Stop Garden Shop, We are here all year long to help.