Leafy Green Varieties You’ll Want to Grow
Looking for non-lettuce leafy green varieties to grow? Here are multiple selections you may want to add to your crop list.
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Arroyo (Enza Zaden, Stokes Seeds Inc.)
‘Arroyo’ lettuce is a tall upright variety, with tight internodes and v-shape. It’s perfect for romaine hearts. Best suited for Spring harvest in warmer southern areas, and summer production for cooler areas. Matures in 65 days.
Disease package: HR: BI (1-8), Fol: 4, TBSV, IR: Rs
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Blue Ridge (Sakata Seed America, Rupp Seeds)
A superior quality hybrid kale that is slow to bolt. ‘Blue Ridge’ yields a highly frilled leaf, suitable for processing or fresh market bunching. Ideal for U.S. and Canada.
Disease package: Bolting
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Cabezon (Rijk Zwaan, Gowan Seed Company)
‘Cabezon RZ’ spinach has an upright growing habit, making it easy to harvest. The glossy, dark-green leaves are oval shaped and have a thick savoyed appearance. This spinach variety performs well when harvested in warmer temperatures, and resists damp-off disease pressure. Matures in 30 to 50 days.
Disease package: HR: Pe (1-9, 11-19sv), IR: Pe (10)
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Carmel (Pop Vriend Seeds, Gowan Seed Company)
‘Carmel’ spinach is a very dependable, uniform upright growing plant, with dark-green, semi-savoy leaves. Best suited for cooler season and harvests for baby, clipped, and bunched markets. Matures in 35 to 60 days.
Disease package: HR: Pe (1-11, 13, 15, 16, 18)
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Cash Crop (Takii & Company, Ltd.)
This hybrid collard has a deep-green leaf color, and flat leaf surface. ‘Cash Crop’ has excellent re-growth rates with a high leaf count. It can be stripped from as early as 50 days (from transplant) and allowed to regrow. It has a fine vein extension presentation. It’s best suited for summer, fall, and mid-spring harvest. Region: Fresh market bunch Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, California, Florida. Full maturity is approximately 75 days (from transplant), but can extend to over 100 days.
Disease package: HT: Bolting
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Dragon's Fire (Osborne Quality Seeds)
New! A unique wild arugula with medium-green leaves, and a magenta central vein. ‘Dragon’s Fire’ has a great flavor, uniformity, and vigor.
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Ebony F1 (Tozer Seeds LTD, Osborne Quality Seeds)
New hybrid Lacinato kale from the breeders of ‘Black Magic’. It provides higher yields and improved uniformity. ‘Ebony’s’ very dark, blue-green leaves are thick and heavily savoyed. Fantastic for post-harvest holding. The top performer in our East and West coast trials with up to 30% higher leaf count. Matures in 60 days (from transplant).
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Frilly Leaf Blend (CN Seeds Ltd., Harris Seeds / Garden Trends Inc.)
A blend of mustards, arugula, and mizuna that offers excellent leaf quality. ‘Frilly Leaf Blend’ leaves are moderately-to-very frilled in purple, light and dark-green colors. The formulated blend ensures even growth and a balanced mix of leaf types, and delicious flavor. This variety is well adapted. Matures in 45 days.
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Green River (SEEDWAY, LLC)
This Asian style mustard green has smooth, glossy, dark-green leaves and shorter stems. It is very leafy and slow bolting. The flavor is superb and can be used for salad when small. It makes many leaves if used for baby leaf production or in hydroponic systems.
Disease package: Bolting
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Heart of Gold (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
Our ‘Heart of Gold’ Swiss chard has a brilliant color and clean contrast in an upright, vigorous plant. Beautiful golden vein, makes this Swiss chard a standout. Region: Widely adapted. Matures in 55 days.
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Kona (Seminis Vegetable Seeds)
‘Kona’ spinach is a mid-late, semi-savoy spinach. It is well suited for late spring, early summer and autumn production. This fresh market variety has excellent leaf quality with good thickness and pliability. The leaves are dark green and have a nice oval shape. Growers will notice a fine plant habit that is erect, with good petiole length (that gives a high cut of quality leaves at harvest). Region: West
Disease package: HR: Pe (1-15, 17)
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Lizard RZ (Rijk Zwaan)
‘Lizard RZ’ is a smooth leaf spinach that grows with uniformity and upright habit. It allows for high yields and great field holding. Its’ durable speed provides a late spring, through early autumn cultivation. Widely adaptable for all regions of the U.S. Matures in 25 to 45 days, (depending on time of year).
Disease package: HR: Pe: (1-15, 17), Bolting
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Mibuna (Terra Organics)
‘Mibuna’ has a mild mustard flavor. This mustard green has a long, thin, leaf shape. It is widely adapted throughout the U.S. Ideal for fresh market production. Matures in 45 days.
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Peppermint (Sakata Seed America, Harris Seeds / Garden Trends Inc.)
A highly ornamental chard that boasts pure white petioles, with vibrant pink streaks. It’s topped by dark- green, glossy leaves. ‘Peppermint’ is well adapted and performs well across multiple seasons. Matures in 60 days.
Disease package: HR: Bolting
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Red Snapper (Osborne Quality Seeds)
A specialty red-veined spinach with unique, narrow serrated leaves. ‘Red Snapper’ is easy to grow without the pest pressure of arugula, which it resembles. Medium speed for all season performance. Recommended for baby leaf production.
Disease package: DM: (1-7, 9, 11-17)
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Runaway (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
‘Runaway’ has a wild arugula appearance, with speed of a standard arugula. Region: Maine. Matures in 21 days.
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Seaside (Sakata Seed America, Rupp Seeds)
A very uniform baby leaf spinach variety. ‘Seaside’ has a moderate growth rate, and an upright plant habit. Smooth, thick, very dark-green, spade-shaped leaves making it a perfect choice for baby leaf growers. It is widely adapted throughout the U.S.
Disease package: Pfs
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Tatsoi Black Knight (Seeds by Design)
‘Tatsoi Black Knight’ is a mustard green with dark-green, spoon-shaped thick leaves. Ideal for fresh market. It can be grown as sprouts and will grow in containers. It is widely adapted throughout the U.S. Matures in 45 to 55 days.
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Tatsoi Savoyed (Terra Organics)
‘Tatsoi Savoyed’ is a mustard green that grows upright for ease of harvest. It has semi-savoyed leaves that are thick. A widely adapted variety that is ideal for the fresh market. 21 days to baby leaves, 45 days to full maturity.
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Thanos (Seminis Seed America)
‘Thanos’ is a smooth, medium-to-dark green spinach variety. It has excellent uniformity, very erect growing habit and a thick oval leaf. A wide sowing window in the Salinas valley and good holding ability. It has an improved downy-mildew package, which provides yield protection from disease.
Disease package: HR: Pe (1-15, 17)
View all
Arroyo (Enza Zaden, Stokes Seeds Inc.)
Blue Ridge (Sakata Seed America, Rupp Seeds)
Cabezon (Rijk Zwaan, Gowan Seed Company)
Carmel (Pop Vriend Seeds, Gowan Seed Company)
Cash Crop (Takii & Company, Ltd.)
Dragon's Fire (Osborne Quality Seeds)
Ebony F1 (Tozer Seeds LTD, Osborne Quality Seeds)
Frilly Leaf Blend (CN Seeds Ltd., Harris Seeds / Garden Trends Inc.)
Green River (SEEDWAY, LLC)
Heart of Gold (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
Kona (Seminis Vegetable Seeds)
Lizard RZ (Rijk Zwaan)
Mibuna (Terra Organics)
Peppermint (Sakata Seed America, Harris Seeds / Garden Trends Inc.)
Red Snapper (Osborne Quality Seeds)
Runaway (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
Seaside (Sakata Seed America, Rupp Seeds)
Tatsoi Black Knight (Seeds by Design)
Tatsoi Savoyed (Terra Organics)
Thanos (Seminis Seed America)
Disease Abbreviation Key:
Foc — Fusarium, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.congutinans
HR — High resistance
IR — Intermediate resistance
Pb — Lettuce Root Aphid, Caused by insect, Pemphigus bursarius
Pe — Downy mildew, Peronospora effusa pathogen
Pfs — Downy mildew
TB — Tip burn
Xcc — Black rot caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris
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Carol Miller is Editor of American Vegetable Grower. See all author stories here.
