Unique 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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Astro (Seeds by Design)
‘Astro’ is an arugula that’s popular as microgreens. It has medium-green leaves with nutty flavors. A nice variety for fresh market. Matures in 30 to 40 days.
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Aya (Genesis Seeds Ltd., Rupp Seeds)
A new generation of downy mildew protected basil. This semi-compact unique and elegant plant can be used for container and field production. Its leaves are dark, shiny, and flat-spoon shaped. Expect a massive stem and a highly productive plant from ‘Aya’. Matures in 40 to 55 from sowing.
Disease package: Pe
https://www.ruppseeds.com/vegetables/products/herbs/basil/aya
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Benefine Organic (Enza Zaden, Harris Seeds)
The heat tolerant, compact, upright, tightly-filled heads have an attractive, shiny, dark-green exterior and well-balanced interior leaves. ’Benefine Organic’ has high yields of nicely frilled leaves and proven adaptability. An excellent endive choice for any region. Matures in 48 days.
Disease package: T: Heat, S: Bolting, TB
https://www.harrisseeds.com/products/12950-endive-benefine-organic?variant=36452418748488
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Black Jack (Tozer Seeds America, Stokes Seeds Inc.)
A Tuscan hybrid, untreated kale with an erect habit and slender leaves. ‘Black Jack’s’ high production will give multiple harvests of uniform leaves. Matures in 60 days.
Disease package: T: Bolt, Cold
https://us.stokeseeds.com/hybridkale-blackjack-0540041u.html
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Cash Crop (Takii & Company, Ltd.)
A vigorous upright plant habit with long petioles ideal for bunching. A deep-green leaf color and flat leaf surface, ‘Cash Crop’ has excellent regrowth rates with high leaf count. A fine vein extension presentation. It can be stripped (as early as 50 days from transplant) and allowed to regrow. This hybrid collard is easy to harvest with good internode separation. ‘Cash Crop’ is best suited for summer-to-fall and mid-spring harvest. Approximately 75 days from transplant, but can extend to over 100 days
Disease package: HT: Bolting
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Castula (BASF | Nunhems)
‘Castula’ is a Dark-green spinach variety with thick leaf texture. It has high leaf uniformity and upright plant shape. A popular green at fresh market.
Disease package: Pe (1-17, 19), Medium Bolting T: Cf, SLB
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Cherokee RZ (Rijk Zwaan USA, Gowan Seed Company)
‘Cherokee RZ’ is a red leaf lettuce that has an excellent, intense dark-red color, and fine ribs and upright frame. Proven performance and considered the new standard variety for commercial red leaf production. It has great shelf life. Matures in 54 days.
Disease package: HR: Bl (16,21,23,32 EU)
https://www.rijkzwaanusa.com/lettuce/CHEROKEE-RZ-81-36-prdLS10213-ctgCrops.lettuce
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Diamondback RZ (Rijk Zwaan USA)
‘Diamondback’ is a semi-savoy spinach variety for cool weather growing. Diamondback RZ gives many uniform leaves on the same level for higher yield potential. Matures in 45 days in winter, and 28 to 35 days in spring and autumn.
Disease package: HR: Pfs (1-18,20), T: SLB, Cf
https://rijkzwaanusa.com/vegetable-seeds/spinach-ctgCrops.spinach
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Dragon's Fire (Tozer Seeds America, Harris Seeds)
This unique wild arugula has a deeply-lobed, bright-green leaf with contrasting red vein. The plants are vigorous with good uniformity, and the leaves hold great flavor. A vivid and spicy addition to salads and sandwiches. Matures in 40 days.
https://www.harrisseeds.com/products/13141-arugula-dragons-fire?variant=39370424057928
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Ember (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
‘Ember’ is a red-veined mizuna green. It has a refined, beautiful bright-green mizuna leaf; with purple rib and stem. Matures in 21 days.
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/greens/asian-greens/ember-asian-green-seed-5514.html
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Lizard RZ (Rijk Zwaan USA)
‘Lizard RZ’ is a smooth leaf spinach. Its’ uniform growing with upright habit makes for both high yields and great field holding. The durable growth speed can go from late spring through early autumn cultivation. Matures in 25 to 45 days, depending region and season.
Disease package: HR: Pe (1-15,17), S: Bolting
https://rijkzwaanusa.com/vegetable-seeds/spinach/lizard-rz-f1-51-347-prdSO10058-ctgCrops.spinach
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Nemesis (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
‘Nemesis’ is a wild arugula (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) that has a refined, dark-green leaf with uniform red veins. It’s very impressive color retention in a deeply-lobed, uniform leaf. Matures in 35 days.
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Prodigio (Syngenta Vegetable Seeds)
‘Prodigio’ is a multileaf red tango variety with good color penetration and crisp leaves. It is nicely compacted with excellent weight for a red. Complimentary to our ‘Green Tango’ assortment, it features high-yield potential and a robust disease package.
Disease package: HR: Bl (5-9 US), Bl (29-37, 39-40 EU), Nr: (0) TBSV
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Seaside (Sakata Seed America, Rupp Seeds)
A very uniform baby spinach leaf variety. ‘Seaside’ has a moderate growth rate and an upright plant habit. A smooth, thick, very dark-green, spade-shaped leaf, making it a perfect choice for baby leaf growers. It’s high tunnel compatible.
Disease package: DM
https://www.ruppseeds.com/vegetables/products/greens/seaside
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Seginus (BASF | Nunhems)
‘Seginus’ is a dark-green color spinach with thick leaves. They are round-oval leaf shaped and fast growing speed for cool growing conditions. A great variety for fresh market.
Disease package: Pe (1-19)
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Tatsoi Black Knight (Seeds by Design)
‘Tatsoi Black Knight’ is a mustard green with spoon-shaped leaves. A thick and compact plant, and high in vitamin content. A fresh market variety and grows throughout the U.S. Matures in 45 to 55 days.
https://www.seedsbydesign.com/seed/Mustard-Tatsoi-Black-Knight
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Top Bunch 2.0 (Sakata Seed America, Gowan Seed Company)
‘Top Bunch 2.0’ has improved uniformity over ‘Top Bunch’. The lightly savoyed broad, blue-green leaves are quick to regrow (after cutting for stripping and bunching). The average height is 16 to 26 inches tall, an upright hybrid collard. Matures in 70 days.
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Verdagio (Syngenta Vegetable Seeds)
‘Verdagio’ is a green, crispy multileaf with an erect plant habit. The beautiful compact heads feature vibrant, curly leaves for mechanical harvest. ‘Verdagio’ exhibits a crisp texture, which provides a tender yet fresh crunch to the salad bowl. It is adaptable for multiple growing regions.
Disease package: HR: Bl (5-9 US), Bl (29-40 EU), Nr (0), TBSV, IR: LMV (1)
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Verve Spring Greens (SEEDWAY, LLC)
‘Verve’ looks like a collard green, but is tender and sweet. The traditional “Spring Greens” from England. ‘Verve’ is an improved hybrid and can be grown nearly year round. It has exceptional holding both in the field and in storage. It’s grown like a point-head cabbage, and can be sold sleeved, like romaine lettuce. Matures in 60 days.
https://www.seedway.com/product/verve-spring-greens-not-treated/
View all
Astro (Seeds by Design)
Aya (Genesis Seeds Ltd., Rupp Seeds)
Benefine Organic (Enza Zaden, Harris Seeds)
Black Jack (Tozer Seeds America, Stokes Seeds Inc.)
Cash Crop (Takii & Company, Ltd.)
Castula (BASF | Nunhems)
Cherokee RZ (Rijk Zwaan USA, Gowan Seed Company)
Diamondback RZ (Rijk Zwaan USA)
Dragon's Fire (Tozer Seeds America, Harris Seeds)
Ember (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
Lizard RZ (Rijk Zwaan USA)
Nemesis (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
Prodigio (Syngenta Vegetable Seeds)
Seaside (Sakata Seed America, Rupp Seeds)
Seginus (BASF | Nunhems)
Tatsoi Black Knight (Seeds by Design)
Top Bunch 2.0 (Sakata Seed America, Gowan Seed Company)
Verdagio (Syngenta Vegetable Seeds)
Verve Spring Greens (SEEDWAY, LLC)
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.