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Growing spinach in australia


Growing English Spinach - Australian Handyman Magazine

Famous for giving Popeye his bulging muscles, most of the iron in spinach is not easily absorbed by the body but this leafy annual is still a nutritional powerhouse.

It’s an excellent source of vitamins A and C, and antioxidants. It’s also rich in B group vitamins like folate, plus protein and magnesium.

Like many vegetables, spinach loses some of its nutritional value in cooking, so just wilt the leaves when boiling or steaming.

Spinach grows best in a cool climate as in warm areas it is likely to bolt to seed. Grow in full to part sun in soil that is rich in nitrogen.

Turn the soil over before planting so the taproot has a clear path for strong growth, and add well rotted compost. Good drainage is essential so the roots don’t rot.

Spinach is a hungry and thirsty plant, which explains its juicy, deep green leaves. Water regularly and apply a liquid fertiliser every two weeks to encourage fast growth. If the plant is slow to grow it can taste bitter.

If you have more spinach than you can eat, trim the stalks, wash and drain the leaves then blanch them for two minutes in small batches.

When it is cool enough to handle, squeeze out any excess moisture, pack into containers and freeze for use in soups and stews.

TIP Cultivate spinach alongside strawberries, broad beans and cauliflower for healthier plants.

Choosing a variety

Viking

Viking spinach has dark green leaves and grows best in shady spots


Bloomsdale

Bloomsdale spinach is an heirloom variety and is a compact growing plant

Medania

Medania spinach has a sweet and earthy flavour and is a reliable cropper


Growing Tips

A fast-cropping winter green, spinach is ready to harvest about 10 to 12 weeks after sowing.

SOW SEEDS into beds 100mm apart for picking leaves regularly or 200mm apart to harvest mature plants. Keep the soil moist but not wet and don’t let plants dry out or they’ll bolt to seed. Sow seeds every six weeks for a constant supply, soaking them in cold water overnight to speed up germination.

HARVEST the outside leaves with a sharp knife when the plant has at least six leaves, each about 100mm long. If the plant looks like it is about to bolt, cut it at the base just below the soil surface and remove it.

WATCH FOR downy mildew during prolonged periods of damp. Remove the worst affected leaves and spray with a mixture of 100ml full cream milk, 900ml water and a pinch of bicarb soda.

Cucumber mosaic virus can be spread by aphids. Remove and burn stunted leaves with yellow mottling and spray aphids with white oil.

Pick off caterpillars by hand and destroy or sprinkle with derris dust.

Spinach is ready to harvest 10 to 12 weeks after sowing

How To Grow And Harvest Spinach

Grow your own baby spinach leaves – they’re nature’s superfood, rich in iron, vitamins and fibre. A cool-season crop, sow in autumn and you’ll have leaves throughout autumn, winter and early spring.

 

What you need to know about spinach

Name: spinach, English spinach, common spinach (Spinacia oleracea).

Height: 30cm, but varies depending on variety.

Foliage: annual.

Climate: best in cold climates, but can be grown in all climates depending on variety and time of year. 

Soil: prefers a free-draining soil enriched with compost and decomposed manure.

Position: full sun during the cooler months, or part shade in warmer weather.

Flowering and fruiting: remove flowers to keep plants from running to seed.

Feeding: apply regular applications of seaweed solution during the growing season.

Watering: water regularly, especially during dry or hot weather.

Appearance and characteristics of spinach

The term spinach usually refers to the traditional cool-climate English spinach (Spinacia oleracea), which is usually grown during autumn and winter. However, it has also become a general term for many different greens, including warm-season crops such as Chinese spinach (Amaranthus sp) and French spinach (Atriplex hortensis), both of which are related to English spinach, as well as New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia sp), Egyptian spinach (Corchorus sp) and Indian, Malabar or Ceylon spinach (Basella sp). All varieties produce leafy green growth that can be eaten fresh, steamed or cooked, or added fresh to smoothies.

 

How to plant and grow spinach

English spinach grows best during the cooler seasons, as it is slower to bolt (run to seed) and is not subjected to any heat stress.

The soil should not be waterlogged but should not dry out too quickly.

  1. Improve soil prior to planting with compost and decomposed manure.
  2. Create a channel in the soil only 2cm deep, and sow seed every 5cm. Don’t worry if you sow a few extra seeds; plants can be thinned after germination, and either transplanted or used as a microgreen.
  3. Cover the seed and water well.
  4. Apply snail and slug pellets to prevent your germinating seeds from becoming a snail’s late-night snack.
  5. Mulch with sugar-cane mulch or pea straw when plants are around 3–5cm tall.
  6. Water regularly if weather is unseasonably dry. 

How to harvest spinach

Spinach is an easy to grow crop that tastes best when grown quickly during the cooler months.

  1. Harvest leaves regularly, taking a few from each plant rather than harvesting one plant at a time – this will help to extend your season.
  2. Pick young leaves regularly, and cook only lightly in order to retain as many nutrients as possible. 

How to care for spinach

Water regularly during seed germination and during hot or dry weather. Apply a seaweed solution fortnightly to maintain optimal plant health and vigour.

Diseases and pests affecting spinach

Humans aren’t the only ones who find spinach delicious – snails and slugs are a problem throughout the entire growing cycle of spinach. Lay pet-friendly snail pellets or traps to minimise damage.

How to propagate spinach

  1. Propagate by seed by letting one plant flower at the end of the growing season. 
  2. Wait until the flowers have finished and seeds have formed in their place.
  3. Cut the flower spikes off at the base and hang them upside-down to dry. You may like to hang them over a bucket or inside a paper bag to avoid losing any precious seed. 
  4. Once completely dry, run your hand down the stalk, inside the bucket or bag, to capture all the seed. 
  5. Using a sieve or colander, separate the seed from the dry foliage. 
  6. Place the seed in an envelope carefully labelled with the variety and the date collected. 
  7. Place in a dry cupboard or drawer, ready for sowing next year.

Safety tip

After applying fertiliser, delay harvesting for a few days and rinse well before cooking and eating. If using products to deal with pests, diseases or weeds, always read the label, follow the instructions carefully and wear suitable protective equipment. Store all garden chemicals out of the reach of children and pets.

If you like this then try

Peas: another cool-season crop that’s easy to grow with an abundant harvest.

Brussels sprouts: love them or hate them, they are a star of the winter garden.

Broccoli: a wonderful and nutritious cool-season crop that’s packed with antioxidants. 

Start planting today

Check out our huge range of plants now and get your garden growing.

 

90,000 New Zealand spinach (tetragonia): Growing from seeds

Content

  • 5 Care instructions
  • 6 Diseases and pests
  • 7 Conclusion
  • 8 Reviews

    • New Zealand spinach or tetragonia is still an unusual crop in the garden. This leafy vegetable, originally grown in New Zealand, Australia, Africa and South America, has long gained popularity in Western Europe. Russian summer residents are just beginning to get to know him.

    Description of the tetragonium

    Tetragonium is an annual plant that got its name due to the shape of the fruit in the form of a square box. The stem is strongly branched, creeping, reaches a length of 60 cm, but specimens up to 1 m long can be found. Sometimes it has a reddish tint.

    Green, fleshy, triangular leaves grow spirally on the stem, with a serrated edge and short petioles.

    Small solitary yellowish flowers form in the leaf axils. New Zealand spinach blooms from mid-summer to autumn and bears fruits in the form of a box, each of which contains from 3 to 8 seeds. Seeds begin to ripen from the end of September.

    The root system is branched, superficial.

    Leaves and young shoots are eaten raw and can be harvested 5-6 weeks after planting. They have a very pleasant taste and have a high nutritional value. The plant contains vitamins C, PP, carotene, potassium, calcium, iodine, iron. New Zealand spinach is a dietary product. It is easily digested and leaves a feeling of satiety for a long time. It is added to salads, soups, vegetable side dishes, sauces and used as fillings for pies and casseroles. In general, they can completely replace regular spinach. To preserve this leafy vegetable, it is pickled, dried, and frozen.

    Attention! Stems and old leaves accumulate oxalic acid, so they are not recommended to be used without heat treatment for children of primary preschool age, so that calcium is not washed out of the body.

    Due to the fact that oxalic acid is destroyed during cooking, even the thickest stems are used in cooking.

    Advantages and disadvantages

    Despite the fact that New Zealand spinach is a novelty for our gardeners, they immediately appreciated its advantages. Positive qualities of spinach:

    Among the conditional shortcomings of culture, the following features can be noted:

    How New Zealand spinach differs from regular spinach

    Although tetragonium is not a relative of the usual spinach, but belongs to a different family, the cultures have a similar taste, and therefore tetragony also began to be called spinach. And yet the differences between these cultures are very significant:

    Growing technology

    New Zealand spinach cultivation is quite simple and practically does not differ from the technology of growing other leafy vegetables.

    Planting dates

    New Zealand lettuce can be grown both outdoors and in a greenhouse. Seeds are sown on the beds at the end of May, in the greenhouse you can start planting about 2 weeks earlier. In the northern regions, it is recommended to start planting no earlier than June, since the plant does not tolerate frost. Due to the fact that this is an early ripening crop, and the collection of greenery continues until late autumn, it is possible to sow seeds almost all summer.

    The crop is sown before autumn, then the first green mass can be obtained 1–2 weeks earlier.

    The plant reproduces well by self-seeding. If you leave New Zealand spinach in the garden until late autumn, the next year the seeds will sprout vigorously, so it is enough to plant the crop once, and then just take care of the plantings.

    Site selection and soil preparation

    New Zealand spinach prefers full sun but grows well in partial shade. Best of all, he will feel on breathable fertile light and medium loamy soils. Since autumn, the site is dug up, compost, superphosphate, lime and potash fertilizers are added. When growing a crop on heavy clay soils, sand and small sawdust are also added. In the spring, additional urea is added.

    The crop can grow alongside other leafy vegetables, but its propensity to grow must be taken into account. Since New Zealand spinach grows slowly at the beginning of the growing season, other early-ripening greens can be planted between the rows: leaf lettuce, radish, watercress. While the spinach is gaining green mass, these crops will have time to ripen and can be removed from the garden.

    Seed preparation

    Growing New Zealand spinach from seed is very easy. You can use both seedling and seedless method.

    Seedlings are driven out from mid-April, after soaking the seed in warm water for 48 hours - this will achieve earlier shoots. To prevent mold from appearing during this time, the water should be changed several times a day. Seeds are best sown in small individual containers, placing 2-4 pcs in each. You can plant in a cup and a whole seed box. After 2–3 weeks, one of the strongest plants is selected and left from the seedlings that have appeared.

    Before planting in the open ground, it is useful to harden the seedlings by taking them outside for several hours a day for a week.

    Attention! Keep in mind that New Zealand spinach takes a long time to germinate. It usually takes at least 2-3 weeks from sowing seeds to the appearance of the first shoots.

    Planting algorithm

    New Zealand spinach grows very fast, so it needs a large area. Seedlings are planted according to the 50x50 cm scheme. Plants tolerate transplanting well, but they cannot be planted deeper in open ground than they grew in a pot.

    When sowing seeds in open ground, they are buried by 2-3 cm. You can also sow whole seed boxes.

    Before planting, the soil is fertilized with urea or ammonium nitrate at the rate of 5 g per 1 sq. m of land.

    Attention! New Zealand spinach is characterized by high yields and the ability to regularly harvest green mass throughout the season, so for a family of four it is enough to plant about 10 plants on the plot.

    Care Instructions

    New Zealand spinach seeded into the ground is thinned several times until the desired planting density is reached.

    Plants that are 13–15 cm tall are pinched to stimulate the formation of a young green mass. In addition, shoots are cut every week. New Zealand spinach tolerates this procedure well and restores its green mass very quickly.

    Although tetragonium is a drought tolerant crop, it requires abundant watering to produce tender, juicy greenery. With a lack of moisture, the leaves become coarse and lose their taste. Plantings are usually watered once every two days; in case of dry summer, daily watering is allowed. Also, the plant needs periodic top dressing with organic matter and mineral complexes. Fertilize New Zealand spinach 2-3 times per season - in the first week after planting, then every three weeks.

    Like other crops, New Zealand spinach is loosened and weeded as needed.

    If the air temperature drops below +15°C, it is recommended to cover the planted beds with foil.

    Diseases and pests

    Gardeners who have already become acquainted with this unusual leafy vegetable do not note its susceptibility to diseases. There are references to the danger of damage to plants by Fusarium root rot, anthracnose, mealy fly, and a bear. The invasion of slugs and snails on young shoots can be a particular nuisance.

    Conclusion

    New Zealand spinach or tetragonia is a leafy vegetable that will undoubtedly become popular with gardeners in Russia. Those who have already experienced the cultivation of this unusual crop invariably speak well of its excellent taste and unpretentiousness and recommend it to other amateur gardeners.

    Reviews

    Elena Broy, 39 years old, Zelenograd

    I tried New Zealand spinach in Germany 4 years ago - I met an unusual herb with an unfamiliar taste in a salad in a restaurant. They explained to me that this is tetragonia (spinach). I had never heard of such a plant and decided to bring seeds for planting. So I have it from Germany. Grew up in the first year. I add it everywhere. The herb taste is unobtrusive and pleasant, suitable for any dish. And for the winter I just freeze it. I think this spinach is much tastier than regular spinach. And I have already distributed my seeds to all the neighbors.

    Galina Kormchuk, 26 years old, Moscow

    I plant only greens in the garden. Feeding, pinching, mulching, seedlings in cups, etc. - all this is not for me. I need to plant and forget. Then he remembered and narwhal. And then a neighbor in the country brought three bushes in pots for testing. I planted in the garden with other greens. And, by the way, only watered regularly, nothing more. And, as needed, plucked into a salad. I really liked this plant! And most importantly - it has been rising by itself for the third year already. I don't plant, I don't do anything special. It will only spread strongly, you have to pull out extra bushes.

    90,000 spinach cultivation - landing and care (St. Petersburg)

    Content ✓

    Foreign recipe books and movies often mention spinach. At the same time, none of my gardeners I know has ever grown this crop on their site. And two years ago I decided to get acquainted with a mysterious foreigner.

    Planting spinach

    The season before last, I ordered seeds from a catalog on the Internet and planted them in the ground without prior preparation. Spinach rose for a long time and, as it were, reluctantly, but I still got the harvest, collecting the first fresh leaves for the table.

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    At the same time, I allowed four bushes to grow without tearing off their leaves, and they released arrows, faded safely, which gave me the opportunity to stock up on seeds for further planting, since not only me, but also my family liked the taste of spinach.

    The next year, in preparation for planting, I pre-soaked the seeds for two days, then dried them, and only after that planted them in the ground, in the place where potatoes had grown before (from

    In vain, oh, and in vain our gardeners do not this overseas culture with his attention and love, but it corresponds to many of their desires and dreams. And this time, the seeds germinated much faster, so within three weeks of the shoots appearing, I was harvesting another crop of spinach,

    I noticed that spinach is moisture-loving and with regular watering the leaves are especially juicy and tasty.

    See also: Planting spinach

    Spinach care

    On the sandy loamy soil of my site, this culture feels quite comfortable, especially in sun-exposed beds.

    When the shoots grow, I remove the weak ones and thin them out so that the growing bushes do not shade each other.

    At the same time I loosen the soil. I plant spinach from early May to mid-August, as it easily withstands frost.

    Therefore, I have already got used to the fact that almost all summer we have this treat on the table, along with other greens.

    Picked leaves keep well in the refrigerator for up to a week.

    And in order to have dishes with spinach on our table in the winter, in the autumn I put part of the harvested crop into the freezer - freezing does not affect the taste of spinach in any way.

    See also: New Zealand spinach tetragonia - photo and cultivation

    I recently read in the literature that in order to get fragrant greens of spinach already in early spring, it can be planted before winter - in November , before the onset of stable frosts, so that the seeds do not have time to germinate. This option seemed interesting to me, and I, perhaps, will try to do this at the end of this fall.

    It turned out that spinach is a real storehouse of vitamins and nutrients. We put spinach in various salads, add it to second courses as a side dish and use it as a filling for pies.

    Our family loves Italian food, so we often make garlic and spinach cream sauce - a great addition to pasta, fish, poultry and rice!

    If you haven't tried to grow spinach in your dacha yet, be sure to try it! It is both tasty and healthy, and relatively unpretentious in cultivation.

    GROWING SPINACH - PLANTING AND CARE: ADVICE AND FEEDBACK FROM COTTAGE RESIDENTS AND GARDENERS

    SPINACH - EMERALD GIFT

    For many people, health care comes down to reading all kinds of dangerous advice in the press and the Internet. But to plant a miracle plant in the garden - where is it, our ancestors did not grow it! Let them imprison in the West, but we are better for doctors, for doctors ...

    Once upon a time, in the late 80s, I went abroad for the first time on a package trip to Germany. We were fed in restaurants, and spinach was present in many dishes. At that time, I did not even hear that we grew it. Returning home, I studied the literature and realized: yes, the Germans are not fools! This is an unusually useful green culture! But we still have very few people growing it. Of course, it lacks pronounced taste qualities, but the value is undeniable.

    Spinach is a useful early and early maturing crop. I decided that he must be in my family's diet, because he:

    An extremely important property of spinach: it is useful in any form, as it does not lose its beneficial properties during heat treatment.

    I sow spinach very early, as the culture is cold-resistant, withstands up to -18°. Then I sow in several steps - in summer, autumn and before winter. In the spring I sow several times with an interval of 8-10 days.

    Spinach loves fertile soil, responds well to top dressing with fermented grass, chicken manure, ash within the normal range. Loves moisture: I make sure that the soil always remains moist, so I mulch the plantings. He does not like thickening - the less often the planting, the more magnificent the bush, and the leaves grow from the palm of your hand.

    I add spinach to soups, borscht, salads, main courses, carcasses in butter and serve as a side dish - very tasty! I put it in the dough for dumplings, dumplings, pancakes. I bake cakes with the addition of spinach, dill, parsley. I freeze puree and juice, and then use it as jelly to decorate cakes: spinach gives a beautiful emerald color, and this magnificent color does not change during heat treatment (without affecting the taste in any way).

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