Fastest Growing Leafy Green Vegetable for Hot Weather: Water Spinach

In this episode, John will show you the one leafy green that has outperformed all others in his garden during the 100+ degree summer.

You will also discover why certain states have this fast growing leafy green vegetable listed as a noxious weed and why you may not be able to grow it depending on where you live.

You will learn how to grow this leafy green vegetable as well as how to propagate it by cuttings.

First, John will show you how he is growing the water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) also known as kang kong and swamp cabbage.

You will learn the specific conditions you can grow this vegetable in.

You will discover how to easily propogate this plant by cuttings using an oxyclone machine and how the cuttings rooted in just 2 days and were ready to transplant in just 6 days.

After watching this episode, you will learn more about the amazing water spinach plant that produces nice, mild flavored leaves, grows fast, and grows easily in 100+ degree weather.

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Referenced Episodes
Fukuda Seed Store

How to clone Gynura Procumbens Medicinal Herb

Water Spinach Cuttting Update: 6 Days Later

[growingyourgreens]

Find out what happen to the cuttings after just 6 days at

[dione.c.]

G'day from Northern Australia!
Here I grow a ton of Kang Kong and have done so for many, many years.
One of my best wet season greens.
There are two dif. varieties of Kang Kong. The narrow leaf Bamboo leaf Kang Kong and Wide Leaf Kang Kong.
They are best grown in a pot of potting soil that is placed in a full bucket of water.
Growing them in straight soil cuts down their production as both varieties are aquatic plants and adore having wet feet.

Also the best way to strike cuttings is to take a length of stem with leaf nodes and put it in a glass of tap water on your
window sill.
Within 3 days it'll have enough roots to pot up and plave into it's own bucket of water or share with friends.
It roots so successfully this way that when my chickens all but destroyed my Kang Kong I took a 2 inch bit of stem with a
single damaged leaf and put it into water and it struck roots!!

I also grow Kang Kong on my aquaponics system in my fish tank to give shade and cover for my fish.
This aren't potted but just float on the surface in a mat.
The stems are hollow and filled with air which helps this species float on top of the waer so it can get enough sun.

[yeevita]

I love anchoy/kang kong/water spinach. It loves the heat and is super mild tasting. I have grown it in a pond and a non-draining storage container. I have seen it growing in just a pot. It grows very well. I get a bunch from the market, eat the leaves and shoots, and root them in a vase of water. When they root, which almost all of them will do at the stem junctures, I put them into the pond or into moist soil. It is definitely one of the best foods around for areas with lots of heat.

[frankmaximchuk]

We've been growing water spinach for years in Arizona and it won't start to really grow until it's at least 90. It's also called milk spinach because of the milky liquid in the stems.

[BillyKueekSG]

I am from SE Asia, this is called Kang Kong. We eat this on a regular basis, this is an almost daily vegetable in Thailand. I am surprised this vegetable is illegal in some states, and “weed” is legal? Hahah over here, “weed” is illegal while Kang Kong is sold in markets and supermarkets.

[tedharcovitz]

I think he really enjoys this green more than any other. On others he will say they taste great and eat one leaf and move on but he keeps eating this so if your looking for flavor this is likely to be really good.

[coeruleo]

thanks for this video. lots of great info. years ago i bought a bunch of this at a thai market. i stuck half of it in a jar of water so it would not wilt because i only needed half the bunch to cook dinner with. after 2 days, the rest had started to sprout roots and new leaves. after a week i planted the stems in a pot outside and they took off and grew like heck. down in thai town they use this in place of chinese broccoli with oyster sauce and it is wonderful. it grows very quickly, and i live in a VERY hot part of NorCal. it had no problem here, and once i found some info i stuck the pot in a bucket of water. it grew like crazy. i ate this almost daily all summer. it did not flower for me, because i was cutting it all the time for me and my chickens. they loved it too, and it was one of the few greens left in the summer garden to feed them. as long as i left a few inches of stem it would sprout out again even when almost mowed to the ground. a very amazing vegetable. it did not survive the winter, and that market has not had any since then when i stopped in, so i have just ordered seeds. i hope they are as simple to grow!

[ejzjmfn]

In my hometown Guangxi China, We grow a lot of this vegetable，And we eat this vegetable every day。

[eightosaurusspelunk]

I saw a video at a workshop about an experiment Caleb Knipp (an awesome American organic farmer in Japan) did with this vegetable. He let an 80 meter bed of this stuff go untouched a whole season in Japan's humid summer and the stuff went NUTS! I forget the measurements but it grew out in all directions in an insane way. I have never seen something go so wild and especially in just 3 months or so. Glad to see it again! This video makes me want to try growing it!

[abingcp]

We call that Chinese Kangkong here in the Philippines. Very good vegetable. Can be cooked on a soup with minced meat, also good sautéed with garlic and onion with some soy sauce/ oyster sauce. Can also be cooked with tofu.

[growingyourgreens]

Winter Update: The Water Spinach HATES the cold! Below 40 degrees, they plant will not survive.

[lieblee]

My fav I eat raw with papaya salad, or stir fry with oyster sauce👍🙏😘

[bestroseriverspham]

The vegetables you are talking is call " Rau muống " first founded in Vietnam thousands year ago!!! Now is everywhere . Lots of vitamine's!!!

[JudiintheKitchen]

Thanks for sharing, John! Sounds yummy and I'll give it a try :)

[FazlinaAzwar]

I love kankung. Stir fry with lots of tomatoes, onions, Chili flakes and garlic. Yum!

[LayZeeDawg]

Thanks John, I'm going to give this a try up here in zone 7 starting late June into late August

[dwibayusaputra]

I eat water spinach microgreen. They are wonderful!!!

[mariasim]

Kang Kong is edible in Asian Country especially in the Philippines. My parents have been eating this green leafy vegetables in the 1900’s. Water spinach is very easy to grow by pots or in your plant in your backyard. You can make salad, stir fry with any kind of vegetables, mix with beans and pork meat/fish sinigang or sour soup.

[MiyagiNariyoshi]

Easy quick pickle the cut up stems. Super yummy. Vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, salt, peppercorn.🤙

[tarawalker]

Thank you for your experiments, John! Because of you, I will have a yard of summer greens here in my central Texas garden. I really appreciate the information you bring to us!