Asian herbs?

[KC.Sun]

You might try this

http://www.thegrowers-exchange.com/V.../her-cor01.htm

I saw Rau ram, lemongrass, lemon balm here while scanning through. I'm not familiar with them though.

If your visiting Arizona in the near future, Lee Lees might be the more economical choice. Plus, you'd be rooting the herbs instead of growing from seed which would take forever.

The Vietnamese sour soup is called canh chua. You don't need to place catfish in it, any fish will do. Or you can omit it and place other seafoods in it.

[fonseca]

Not herbs, but I grow a few other Asian greens that I can definitely recommend:

Gynura procumbens - "Longevity Spinach"
Gynura crepioides - "Okinawa Spinach"
Basella alba - "Malabar Spinach"
Angelica keiskei - "Ashi-taba" aka "Tomorrow's Leaf"

All are good raw and very nutritious. The two Gynura species don't seem to like cold weather, but Ashi-taba overwinters fine with the few weeks of weather in the teens we get here. I grow them all in containers ranging from 1-5 gallons. All are good raw (the Gynuras are my newest summer spinach alternatives), in stir-fry or soup.

Ashi-taba has a strong but pleasant celery flavor. The stalks are good in stir-fry, I flavor my home-brewed kombucha with them, and dry both the stalks and leaves for herb tea. Very high antioxidant levels and lots of questionable health claims online.

Malabar spinach only likes the heat. The bigger leaves can taste pretty slimy, but small leaves are close to spinach. I haven't tried using the stems or anything. It self-seeds readily. The Gynuras are cutting only.

And finally, I just started seeds for Ipomea aquatica - "Water Spinach", commonly referred to as Kangkong. I have read about it on permaculture forums for years, but could never find a US seed vendor. I believe this is banned as an invasive plant, so maybe that's why. I took a chance and ordered from a Chinese seller on ebay. I'm always looking for fast-growing spinach alternatives, and I have eaten this in restaurants many times and love it. I promise not to let it escape into the wild.

[luigiwu]

Fonseca, has your kangkong sprouted yet?? Can I buy some seeds off of you if you have extras??? Water spinach is soooo delicious!

[fonseca]

No sprouts yet, but I started them this week. It's the white-flowered variety that grows in soil instead of water. Hopefully the seeds are viable and were not irradiated entering the US.

I bought from ebay seller shine-web, it was only $.77 shipped. I received the seeds within two weeks. Not sure how they are making money off that...

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by fonseca

Not herbs, but I grow a few other Asian greens that I can definitely recommend:

Gynura procumbens - "Longevity Spinach"
Gynura crepioides - "Okinawa Spinach"
Basella alba - "Malabar Spinach"
Angelica keiskei - "Ashi-taba" aka "Tomorrow's Leaf"

All are good raw and very nutritious. The two Gynura species don't seem to like cold weather, but Ashi-taba overwinters fine with the few weeks of weather in the teens we get here. I grow them all in containers ranging from 1-5 gallons. All are good raw (the Gynuras are my newest summer spinach alternatives), in stir-fry or soup.

Ashi-taba has a strong but pleasant celery flavor. The stalks are good in stir-fry, I flavor my home-brewed kombucha with them, and dry both the stalks and leaves for herb tea. Very high antioxidant levels and lots of questionable health claims online.

Malabar spinach only likes the heat. The bigger leaves can taste pretty slimy, but small leaves are close to spinach. I haven't tried using the stems or anything. It self-seeds readily. The Gynuras are cutting only.

And finally, I just started seeds for Ipomea aquatica - "Water Spinach", commonly referred to as Kangkong. I have read about it on permaculture forums for years, but could never find a US seed vendor. I believe this is banned as an invasive plant, so maybe that's why. I took a chance and ordered from a Chinese seller on ebay. I'm always looking for fast-growing spinach alternatives, and I have eaten this in restaurants many times and love it. I promise not to let it escape into the wild.

This is great! I need to start my malabar and New Zealand spinach. Never tried either one and summer is the time of year I start to crave my greens,although I often make do with basil.
I will definitely be hitting Lee Lee's and I'm bringing a suitcase just for my shopping.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by fonseca

Not herbs, but I grow a few other Asian greens that I can definitely recommend:

Gynura procumbens - "Longevity Spinach"
Gynura crepioides - "Okinawa Spinach"
Basella alba - "Malabar Spinach"
Angelica keiskei - "Ashi-taba" aka "Tomorrow's Leaf"

All are good raw and very nutritious. The two Gynura species don't seem to like cold weather, but Ashi-taba overwinters fine with the few weeks of weather in the teens we get here. I grow them all in containers ranging from 1-5 gallons. All are good raw (the Gynuras are my newest summer spinach alternatives), in stir-fry or soup.

Ashi-taba has a strong but pleasant celery flavor. The stalks are good in stir-fry, I flavor my home-brewed kombucha with them, and dry both the stalks and leaves for herb tea. Very high antioxidant levels and lots of questionable health claims online.

Malabar spinach only likes the heat. The bigger leaves can taste pretty slimy, but small leaves are close to spinach. I haven't tried using the stems or anything. It self-seeds readily. The Gynuras are cutting only.

And finally, I just started seeds for Ipomea aquatica - "Water Spinach", commonly referred to as Kangkong. I have read about it on permaculture forums for years, but could never find a US seed vendor. I believe this is banned as an invasive plant, so maybe that's why. I took a chance and ordered from a Chinese seller on ebay. I'm always looking for fast-growing spinach alternatives, and I have eaten this in restaurants many times and love it. I promise not to let it escape into the wild.

This is great! I need to start my malabar and New Zealand spinach. Never tried either one and summer is the time of year I start to crave my greens,although I often make do with basil.
I've got some lemon grass rooted from stuff I bought from Amazon. I'd like to find a little kefir lime for my greenhouse but boy are they pricey!
Our favorite Asian foods are sushi,Vietnamese pho and spring rolls and Thai dishes.
I'd like to try the water spinach. I have plenty of places to grow water plants.

[MarianneW]

I went to Lee Lee's today and smelled the mountain of herbs and thought of you! I know I don't know you, but I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who loves it.

[fonseca]

I currently have an excess of red malabar spinach. A 10 G container of this is taking over everything. I can do it in miso soup or coconut curry, but otherwise I'm removing it from my list of good raw. Maybe it's the weather, but this year it has been extra mucilaginous, even the small leaves.

I'm going to run a batch through the dehydrator and see how it does as a powder for thickening soups.

[Tropicalgrower]

Where were you able to find the Ashi-Taba fonseca?The wife really wants to have some in the garden when we get back stateside.

[fonseca]

I bought from Horizon Herbs, now called Strictly Medicinal.

Several of my plants are starting to flower! They are nearly two years old. If I get viable seed I will share them here.

I described them as celery-like in flavor, but they have a more herbal taste to them that I can't really compare to anything.

[Tropicalgrower]

Originally Posted by fonseca

I bought from Horizon Herbs, now called Strictly Medicinal.

Several of my plants are starting to flower! They are nearly two years old. If I get viable seed I will share them here.

I described them as celery-like in flavor, but they have a more herbal taste to them that I can't really compare to anything.

They are starting to flower?That sounds promising for sure.Hope you are successful.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by KC.Sun

I have red Shiso growing like a weed right now, I'm glad I grew it in a container last year. If you can find fish mint Dap Ga, I hear that's pretty easy to grow. I like to add that to shredded chicken salads.

Galanga may take some effort. I tried growing ginger last year, but it rotted really easily. I think you have to grow the roots in the ginger family under partial shade.

Have you tried growing Holy Basil? I'm trying that this year, but have not been able to start the seeds.

For some reason my Shizo didn't germinate. Maybe too warm in my greenhouse. Haven't tried holy basil yet.
Maybe the dehydrated malabar could thicken gumbo?

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by fonseca

I currently have an excess of red malabar spinach. A 10 G container of this is taking over everything. I can do it in miso soup or coconut curry, but otherwise I'm removing it from my list of good raw. Maybe it's the weather, but this year it has been extra mucilaginous, even the small leaves.

I'm going to run a batch through the dehydrator and see how it does as a powder for thickening soups.

I haven't tried it yet,since hubby doesn't like the texture of okra,though I do.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by MarianneW

I went to Lee Lee's today and smelled the mountain of herbs and thought of you! I know I don't know you, but I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who loves it.

I brought a suitcase of spices back from Lee Lee's when we visited last month.

[PhilaGardener]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

For some reason my Shizo didn't germinate.

Try winter sowing. Purple Shiso would come back year after year in my garden as a weed.