by frog
Tetragonia tetragonioides is our native spinach and loves the beach, growing in sandy soils and enjoying salty winds. Tastes excellent lightly steamed. New Zealand spinach has odd-looking seeds, shaped something like a cross between a spikey pillow and a manta ray. Find some and sow them in the springtime.
Published in Environment & Resource Management by frog on Tue, May 11th, 2010
Tags: photography
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
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http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CAbxtOKD8Tc/Scz_K8lUi7I/AAAAAAAAB_o/_YGPnggwpbY/s400/DSC04569.JPG&imgrefurl=http://veggies-only.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-zealand-spinach.html&usg=__YtMGlSkCog00B-23Qy0Y6SNw0rE=&h=300&w=400&sz=21&hl=en&start=34&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=mRm7Lp-6qEoUxM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnew%2Bzealand%2Bspinach%2Bseed%26start%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1Q1GGLD_enNZ356NZ356%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1
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My friends like it because you just keep picking it and it always looks tidy in a window box or urban garden.
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not even transplants took hold… so seeds… huh.. like the lady said earlier what do they look like and where does one acquire them..
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(still thinking about your horse-tail photo you see)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/calamites/2263280387/in/set-72157624015375922/
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All are excellent in fibre and my guess would be the fibre benefit for most of us outweighs any oxalic cost.
We have just planted bock choy, silver beet, cabbage and spinach. I am prone to divericulitis so these fibre rich greens are an essential part of my diet.
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Nothing to be concerned about!
It would be very difficult to over indulge in either.
For those wanting to grow some, sow it under glass – it loves the sheltered life of the tunnel house. Free draining soil, full sun (you know the drill).
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Thank you for that advice… the silver beet is really beating itself skywards around here.. tho likeness to rhubarb leaves surprises me. BTW I heard how old-timers lay rhubarb leaves in bottom o’ trenches to ban slugs.. and such from say cabbage.. could we use the silver beet castoffs to the same purpose..?
meanwhile it’s out with the tunnel houses… and in with loads of sand… etc.
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If you are looking for pop-eye, try a jalapeño.
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Check it out on the NZ Plant Conservation Network website:
http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.asp?ID=325
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Look at the example of the Tecamanthe. Only a couple of plants left on the Three Kings or wherever and now they are everywhere. I am looking at one growing over my pergola right now.
I think Maggie Barrie gave it a big boost on her TV show and its survival was assured.
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I just had a meal of NZ Spinach last night. Grown in an inland garden in Christchurch in heavy soil. I find it likes plenty of moisture and not too much sunlight. That way I get very large leaves and soft delicious stems.
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I have seen it growing well as a perennial in frost free sites under willows in the dune slacks of the Horowhenua coast, & in gravels & sand in Ruby Bay near Nelson. It also grows well from cuttings & it is a great ground cover, but best of all, … it doesn’t bolt like silverbeet or annual spinach. It will also prosper as an annual in a hanging basket or in pots located under the eaves or other frost free urban locations.
Apart from it’s use in salads, the normal cooking uses of spinach in pasta, or steamed, similar to Rocket, it is also fantastic on pizza base.
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http://www.sces.org.nz/pmwiki.php/Content/GreenGardener
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Rimu prickles sounds like a good one.
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