Water Spinach Cuttings on the Balcony: One Pot Feeds You All Year

If you had to name the most constant guest on southerners' summer dinner tables, water spinach would absolutely take first place! Once the season arrives, the markets pile it higher than anything else, and however you cook it, it's so good you'll lick the plate clean -- even kids who hate greens will spoon down two extra bowls of rice.

A video of a woman growing water spinach on her balcony instantly opened the eyes of beginner gardeners -- it turns out you don't need to buy seeds: just snap off a few stems as cuttings and you can grow a little edible "vegetable garden" you can harvest by pinching. Even a netizen from Guangdong couldn't resist commenting: "Plant one pot of this and you really can eat from it all year!"

The woman took water spinach she had just bought from the market, first pinched off the tender top parts to save for stir-frying, then cut the remaining stems into10 cm or so segments, leaving each segment with3-4 leaves, trimmed the bottom at an angle into a small opening, then pushed them into a pot filled with soil and watered thoroughly, moving as skillfully as if she planted them all the time.

The woman said: "Now whenever I want some, I just pinch off the topmost tender shoots, and within a few days new branches sprout from below. The more you pinch, the more vigorously it grows."

What's more, water spinach really "understands" southerners: the hotter the weather, the more vigorously it grows. Pinch one round and another comes up; even a single pot on the balcony is enough to eat from for a long time. Gently pinch the tender stem of the water spinach and snap it off near a branch point, and in no time you've picked a small handful -- enough to stir-fry a plate. Within a few days the plants left in the pot send up new tender shoots again, packed densely, even more lush than before.

Someone in the comments asked: "Can it be grown in the north? What should I watch out for when taking cuttings?" "As a Guangdong native, let me tell you the truth -- water spinach is so easy to grow! Pinch it and it grows back, clean and fresh!" "I grew a pot on my balcony before; in summer I could pick it twice a week, and it's delicious stir-fried with garlic or with fermented black beans -- more tender than what you buy at the market, and no pesticides!" "I tried the cuttings too, and in just one week new roots sprouted!" "I'm heading to the market right now to buy water spinach and save the stems for cuttings -- next time I can save the grocery money!"

Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) is a common leafy green vegetable in southern summers, named for its hollow stems; it is also called water spinach, and it is easy to grow and tastes great. It looks very distinctive: the stems are slender and long, smooth to the touch, and the leaves are pointed and willow-leaf-shaped, a vivid green. Most special of all, the middle of the stem is hollow, so the name "hollow-stem vegetable" fits perfectly. The taste is excellent too: once stir-fried soft it is crisp, tender and juicy, with a slight sweetness when chewed. Whether flash-fried with garlic, braised with fermented black beans, or tossed with fermented bean curd, it soaks up flavor beautifully -- even the sauce is delicious over rice.

Water spinach is also especially "tough": heat-tolerant and moisture-tolerant, it grows vigorously even in the high temperatures of a southern summer. Take a few stem cuttings on the balcony, keep the soil moist, and you'll soon harvest a round. As a cheap and delicious green vegetable, it reigns over many people's summer tables and is a classic presence in home-style cooking.

For balcony vegetable growing, easy-to-grow, fast-growing plants like water spinach are especially suited to beginners. Pinch off what you grow yourself and turn it into a home-style dish -- it's fresh, gives you a sense of accomplishment, and adds a bit of life to the balcony. No wonder so many people love growing vegetables on their balconies these days!