This year I am committed to writing more here about growing leafy greens. In my last post I provided photographic documentation of almost every one of my harvests of leafy greens in the 2017 growing season. As promised, this post is a complete list of every plant depicted in those photos. I omitted crops such as beans, Mexican sour gherkins, or tomatoes that were sometimes included, but that I would not prepare and eat as a leafy green. Of course, there’s always the chance that I have missed something…

Eat the seedlings you thin out from garden beds rather than tossing them into the compost bin.

• Amaranth — Callaloo and other types.
• Arugula (leaves and flowers) — Assorted varieties.
• Assorted spicy and tender mustard green varieties
• Bee balm (Monarda) — I eat the young leaves early in the season and treat them more as an herb later on.
• Bloody Dock (Rumex sanguineus)
• Borage — White and blue. (young seedlings and flowers)
• Celery
• Chervil
• Chicory/Radicchio — Leaves only. Flowers are technically edible, but I am strongly allergic. Roots of second season plants are harvested and roasted late in the season.
• Chives (leaves and flowers)
• Curly Mustard
• Cress (Lepidium sativum) — assorted varieties
• Dandelion
• Dill
• ‘Egyptian Walking’ onion (young greens)
• Fennel (leaves and flowers)
• Garlic (tender young greens)
• Garlic Chives — 2 types 1, 2 (leaves, flowers, and bulbs)
• Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
• Giant Red Mustard
• Goji Berry Leaves — They’re best steamed, sautéed, or added to soup.
• Kale — several varieties
• Kalettes (like kale meets Brussels sprouts)
• Lamb’s Quarters (Chenopodium album)
• Lettuce — Assorted varieties
• Lovage
• Maca Leaves (Lepidium meyenii)
• Mache

Colourful ‘Red Boar’ kale set against a backdrop of Japanese maple leaves in late fall.

• Malabar Spinach (Basella alba)
• Mallow
• Mint
• Mitsuba aka Japanese Parsley (Cryptotaenia japonica)
• Mizuna — 3 varieties
• Nasturtium — Assorted varieties
• Oregano — I treat this like a green early in the season when the foliage is tender and there is less variety available in the garden.
• Pansy (flowers)
• Parsley
• Pea shoots and flowers
• Purple Shiso (Perilla frutescens)
• Purple Plantain (Plantago major f. rubrifolia)
• Purslane
• Radish (seedlings, leaves, flowers, young seed pods)
• Red Orach
• Rose of Sharon — I prefer the young, unopened flower buds, but we eat the petals as well.
• Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba minor)
• Sorrel — Regular (Rumex acetosa) and French (Rumex scutatus)
• Spigarello aka Leaf Broccoli
• Spinach
• Squash Blossoms
• Stinging Nettle
• Strawberry Leaves — Yes, they are edible Choose the youngest, freshest leaves. They are best when steamed.
• Sweet Potato Leaves — Yep, also edible!
• Swiss Chard
• Tarragon
• Tender Mustard Greens (leaves and flowers)
• Toothache Plant aka Electric Daisy (Spilanthes) — I eat this in small portions since it creates a pretty intense experience of numbing in the mouth.
• Turnip (leaves and flowers)
• Wild Italian Arugula (Diplotaxis tenufolia)
• Violet (young leaves and flowers)
• Zucchini Leaves — I eat only the tender, new leaves. They are best steamed or sautéed.

Radicchio overwinters in cold climates and comes back as one of the first edible leafy greens crops in the early spring.

As you can see, this is quite a diverse selection and I haven’t included specific varieties of plants such as the mustard greens, of which I grow a wide range. I am open to any edible weeds that happen to pop up as volunteers. And, of course, I’m always on the lookout for new plants and varieties to try. I’d love to hear your suggestions if there’s anything I’ve missed here.

+ For more on growing leafy greens, check out my Lettuce and Salad Greens Growing Guide.