I'm growing Malabar Spinach right now and it is growing like crazy even in the near 100 degree heat. It tastes a lot like "real" spinach though the leaves are a bit thicker.

Its a vine though, so it needs support.

Does Malobar grow pretty fast?
I know it's kinda late to be starting things, but we have a very long growing season (well into Oct and sometimes into Nov), so I'd like to try it in the little real estate I have left. How many plants do you think for 2 people? Nancy

Well, you have tomatoes and cukes, bell peppers . How about some very fresh and tender zukes? Also very tender string beans. Add some basil leaves, chives, vinegar and olive oil(Italian style) .... there you have it.

Malabar spinach can be an acquired taste...and grow kinda huge.

I'm yet to have a preparation of it that I can get behind. It's not really the taste, but the texture and mouth feel that gets me. It's kinda like boiled okra mixed with a cooked green. It can be eaten raw, but that, too, is an acquired texture thing...it's kinda "thick" with it's mouth feel tough the leaves aren't exactly thick.

It is one of the few leafy veggies that survives almost any hellish summer temperatures, though. I wish I liked it.

Since you're in a zone 7 you might be able to get away with chard that doesn't get excessively bitter. During the hotter months I find that white stemmed (Fordhook) chard tends to stay less bitter than the colored varieties, fwiw.

My salad schedule goes like this:

December - April: garden greens, peas, and strawberries with purchased carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers

May-July: Garden tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and basil with purchased cheeses

July-October: Homegrown sprouts, Garden peppers and purslane and sometimes tomatoes, with purchased spinach

October-December: Whatever happens to be working that fall, usually relying heavily on chickweed.

I feel like garden salads are all about making compromises with how traditional the "green" part has to be, and accepting the fact that most of the year I'm going to have to purchase some element of the salad. I suppose if I was really committed to growing the whole thing myself I could use only sprouts and purslane as the summer greens, but I don't think it would taste great.

Malabar spinach is okay. I use it to supplement salads sometimes. I think most of the summer stand-ins for greens work well in small quantities, added to a base of purchased greens. I don't think they do quite as well as a base for the salad all by themselves. This year I'll be trying sweet potato greens - I hear they're pretty tasty!

I like strawberry spinach. It is tap-rooted and perennial but getting the seeds to germinate is a big pain in the patooty. I had some pop up that were sown last year but others I have planted this year, no dice. It is a wonderful plant though.

Malabar spinach grows really quickly--inches per day.

I loved the taste right away--I eat it raw in salads. It isn't the same super tender green that baby spinach is though.

Sweet potato leaves are also edible and the tips and young leaves can be great in salads. And sweets love the heat!