Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipomoea_aquatica): Kangkong (Ipomoea aquatica) is a semi-aquatic tropical plant grown as a leaf vegetable.

Ipomoea aquatica grows in water or on moist soil. Its stems are 2-3 m or more long, hollow, allowing them to float, and these root at the nodes. The leaves vary from sagittate (typical) to lanceolate, 5-15 cm long and 2-8 cm broad. The flowers are trumpet-shaped, 3-5 cm diameter, usually white in colour.

It has also been introduced to United States of America where its high growth rate caused it to become an environmental problem, especially in Florida and Texas. It has been officially designated by the USDA as a "noxious weed."
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Kangkong has done exceptionally well in my AP system maybe too well. It has spilled over onto my lawn and taken root and can probably be contained by mowing. My concern is how the root system has litterally choked the growbed to a point where you cannot separate the gravel to plant anything else. On a large growbed that would be devastating but containable in smaller growbeds.

I intend to keep the Kangkong growing because I like it in salads or steamed with butter but that growbed is not useable for anything else.

Derek, you have created a monster....it will take over the lawn.
Today Narangba, tomorrow the world.

Ipomoea is a nasty beast. I've seen Ipomoea Indica take over 5 acres of a property and choke30 meter high trees till they collapsed under the weight. Kill it before it is too late.

...might have to look at cranking up the BYAP chainsaw and give it a haircut

The other thing to be aware of is the root system and can it use the pipe network to spread to other places...certainly loves AP tho Derek

Hi Les

The pipe network seems OK, no problems there.

This thread aims to highlight the pros and cons of kangkong in AP for the benefit of others, tastes good, grows well but has management issues.

Hey Derekh, how did this plant got started? Seed?

AHHH ,, you mean Paak Buong ....., Thai language. Love the stuff , great vegie in any salad , and I wonder why it's not common in Aus.
Control is not an issue for me ,, we just eat it to control. Should be grown seperately ,, as in completely seperate container as it spreads like "wandering dew".
Try it stir fried with "pickled soya beans " ( look in your local Asian shop , usually in a bottle) , garlic and some chilli ,, yummmm.

man that spreads, remember the cane toad

Cane toads are kept under control in Thailand with the same method ,, EAT them. Yep poor Thai's have found a way to safely remove the poison glands and eat the friggen things. Maybe we should import Thai people to control our Canies.
But when they get out of control what do we bring to eat the Thai's?

Thai'gers

game, set and match on that stroke

Yes, very common in Thailand and normally sold in bunches WITH the roots (take a look at the pic on the Wiki page). This seems to be the secret to control and I think it is tastier when young. I've seen this growing in floating rafts in hydroponics.