Ipomea aquatica

Another first by Livingseeds to the South African food gardening community, and another food plant for areas one would normally not be able to use for both animal and human food.

This versatile and astoundingly fast growing relative of the common sweet potato is known by many names, water spinach, swamp cabbage, kangkong, river spinach, Chinese spinach and water convolvulus amonst many others.

A staple green vegetable in the East, this plant grows naturally all through Africa too, although it only just enters South Africa at Isimangaliso Wetland Park in Zululand, which is probably why so few Saffa’s have heard of it.

Rooting in the mud at the bottom of shallow water bodies and floating on the water surface, or growing in wet mud as a close groundcover, this plants growth rate has to be seen to be believed. It can grow upwards of a centimeter a day in season, producing a huge amount of biomass.
Very rich in vitamin C, and with a sweet taste, this is a “crunch” vegetable so beloved of Eastern chefs, and fantastic stir fried on its own with just a hint of garlic, or in a mixed recipe. It can equally be cooked as a spinach or marog with feta, or tomato and onion as you prefer.
The vegetable part of the plant is the young shoot tips and hollow stems, cut to about 10 cm long. The root stocks soon reshoot strongly and from all buds, multiplying the next harves a hundredfold. In season one wonders if you can ever harvest enough to keep on top of supply but never fear, all your livestock will appreciate this crop, from pigs to chickens it’s a ready made, ever growing fodder for man and beast alike!
Flowers look like morning glory, and are white, sometimes tinged pink.

If you have a dam or wet area on your property in full sun, consider naturalizing it to increase the carrying capacity of the space, but beware of waterfowl when the cuttings are young!

Plant your rooted cuttings the moment they arrive!
There are two main forms of the species, “green stem” which can be grown in wet soil and shallow water, and “white stem” which is more tropical and prefers deep water.
The material you are planting is of the “green stem” type. This can be grown in any very wet soil, or in a bath filled with soil much like water chestnuts.
The plant produces well in full sun to partial shade and requires regular harvesting to do well. You can cultivate more plants from cuttings, much like a sweet potato, and please, share this incredibly bearing green with anyone who has the correct conditions to grow it!

A bit sensitive to extreme cold, it would be best to cultivate small plants indoors for spring planting in areas of South Africa which experience prolonged periods below 0C, your plants will produce seed which can be planted too, but harvesting can be achieved faster from cutting grown material.

Supplied as 2 rooted cuttings.