5 Live Herb Plants 

• Okinawa Spinach (Gynura crepiodes)
• Longevity Spinach (Gynura procumbens)
• Sissoo Spinach (Alternanthera sissoo)
• Lagos Spinach (Celosia argentea)
• Malabar Spinach (Basella alba)
  

If you want to try growing spinach in summer, here’s your warning: It’s an uphill battle. That’s because classic spinach varieties are mostly cool-season plants. Right on time for the verdant Florida growing season, we present to you: Sow Exotic’s Summer Spin-Off! This assortment of tropical spinach plants will thrive in the intense summer heat and daylight that classic, cool-season spinach plants can’t tolerate. Each of these spinach varieties could take a unique place on your plate, or you can use it as a stand-in for your favorite summer recipes, raw or cooked. 

With this Summer Spin-Off bundle, growing spinach in the summer will be no sweat. Sissoo, Okinawa, Longevity, Malabar and Lagos Spinach are all prolific growers in tropical regions of Asia, South America, and Africa. This is that new offbeat cooking spin-off you won’t mind tuning into.

3 Live Tulsi Herb Plants 

• Krishna Tulsi
• Rama Tulsi
• Vana Tulsi

Good things come in threes, and this Holy Basil bundle is no exception. Boost your zen, improve your lifestyle, and perfect your green thumb when you reap the benefits of these tulsi plants: Krishna, Rama, and Vana. Holy basil usually consists of these three main varieties, which all complete a colorful spectrum of Tulsi adaptogen benefits. When you grow holy basil plants outside of Florida, keep them as cool-weather annuals, or add them to your collection of houseplants for year-round production. You can’t go wrong with any of these tulsi plants, which have been cultivated for thousands of years for traditional medicinal use.

Epazote, or Dysphania ambrosioides, is an indigenous Mexican plant with a seasoned history. Its use in food and medicine dates back to Aztec times. Although one common name for epazote is Mexican Tea Plant, the leaves have been used medicinally all over Latin America for intestinal ailments and issues. Nowadays, the epazote leaves are primarily used to cure the hanger of well-cultured bellies, with a place in nearly every classic and contemporary Mexican dish. 

Growing your own Epazote plant will produce more than enough herb for your personal cooking needs, so our advice is to begin collecting epazote recipes now! For holistic use, dysphania ambrosioides makes a delicious and nutritious tea with herbal notes of mint, oregano, and anise. If you want to keep things simple, just try adding a leaf of epazote for an extra kick to Mexican-style meals you know and love.

Vana Tulsi, or Ocimum gratissimum, is one type of Holy Basil. Holy Basil plants are the key to holistic life, according to Ayurvedic medicine. While plants as medicine are nothing new to traditional medicinal practices, some cultivars like Ocimum gratissimum give skeptics a run for their money with its proven antimicrobial effects. You could say Ocimum gratissimum is easy to grow, given its history of cultivation in South Asia and Africa for thousands of years.

Ocimum gratissimum has a shrubby growing habit like most basils, reaching 2-4 ft tall at maturity. Vana Tulsi blooms in the late summer, with ripples of tiny white flowers. The roster of strong aromatic oils of Vana Tulsi include Eugenol, Oleanolic Acid, Ursolic Acid, Rosmarinic Acid, and Linalool. These help make it a natural pest repellent, and contribute to the sensory healing powers of Tulsi — Sometimes, smelling, feeling, and tasting is believing. Grow Vana Tulsi to complete your collection of Holy Basil.

If you are looking to turn over a new leaf and make self-nurture your nature, meet Krishna Tulsi, Ocimum tenuiflorum. This is one type of Holy Basil, a highly aromatic perennial ayurvedic medicinal herb, which is praised by practitioners in Ayurvedic medicine. An Indian derivative of holistic medicine, Ayurvedic practices incorporate biodiverse plants, exercise, and good diet for the makings of a healthy lifestyle.

Like most basils, Ocimum tenuiflorum has a shrubby growing habit and will reach 2-4 ft tall! Tulsi has delicate pink flowers, hairy stems, and green leaves. Within the first two months of growing Krishna Tulsi, you can pick leaves and flowers fresh from Ocimum tenuiflorum to make your own "elixir of life" tea. Its cool and mellow flavor profile will invigorate your senses as you indulge in its bold familiarity to peppermint, cloves, licorice and lemon. In fact, occasional harvesting of this plant will encourage its growth even more.  

Holy Basil, The Miracle Worker in Your Garden:  Ocimum tenuiflorum has a number of practical uses, and makes an excellent companion plant! Its strong aromatic oils like Eugenol, Oleanolic Acid, Ursolic Acid, Rosmarinic Acid, and Linalool make the plant medicinally valuable, and act as a natural pest repellent.

For the horticultural road less traveled, you can take a swing at growing Black Goji Berry, or Lycium ruthenicum. Originally discovered in the higher inner Himalayas, Lycium ruthenicum holds a storied past as an ancient medicinal fruit, which is still cultivated for its benefits in traditional medicine practices. It makes a strong case for its potential healing powers, as a plant that thrives in dry climates, with a good hardiness against cold conditions.

As Lycium ruthenicum matures, its growth pattern will emerge with copious branches stemming from the original plant, flowering in the spring, and fruiting in the late summer. It fruits with purple-black berries to be eaten raw, cooked, or dried into teas and tisanes.