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
...
Sounds interesting – could I find seeds now ? and where – perhaps by the beach? have you got a pic of the seeds per chance?
Like or Dislike:
2 
0 (+2)
Is there likely to be anything red hiding under it?
Like or Dislike:
1 
1 (0)
Like or Dislike:
3 
0 (+3)
If you come across the seeds, please show us a photo, because I can’t imagine them from the description.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0 (+1)
Don’t bother trying to grow if you live away from the coast in colder climes – the plant doesn’t like it.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0 (+2)
Don’t eat too much – high in oxalic acid, which I think is particularly harmful to the liver, and not destroyed by cooking.
Like or Dislike:
2 
2 (0)
Found this (what a url!!!)
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
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
McTap-Thanks for the warning, we grow a lot of this because it suits our sandy soil and I wasn’t aware of the potential health risks.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0 (+1)
Nz Spinach is very popular with American gardeners for some reason.
My friends like it because you just keep picking it and it always looks tidy in a window box or urban garden.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0 (+2)
thank you sir, now I know what I did wrong trying for this veg — needs sand and salt.. and mebbe an urban windowbox..
not even transplants took hold… so seeds… huh.. like the lady said earlier what do they look like and where does one acquire them..
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
Found this Frog
(still thinking about your horse-tail photo you see)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/calamites/2263280387/in/set-72157624015375922/
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
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.
Like or Dislike:
3 
0 (+3)
Oxalic acid in NZ spinach and swiss chard?
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).
Like or Dislike:
1 
0 (+1)
GF @ May 12, 2010 at 9:45 AM
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.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
Oops sorry, I forgot.. does kiwi spinach make for muscles.. Popeye ! or is that one yankee thing kiwis can do without..
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
tomfarmer – rhubarb in the trench – I doubt it is effective against slugs, who won’t burow down there in any case. Comfrey in the pre-potato trench will provide nutrients and minerals for the growing spuds and healthiness is the best defence against pest creatures. Cabbage and silver beet cast-offs won’t help with mollusc problems at all. The best defence against slugs is a head-lamp and squeezy fingers.
If you are looking for pop-eye, try a jalapeño.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0 (+1)
Eric Toensmeier mentions it in his book “Perennial Vegetables”. It looks like it can be grown as a perennial in some areas and as an annual in most places (the book is targeted at the US, however). It can be propagated through cuttings.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0 (+1)
Like or Dislike:
3 
0 (+3)
Be careful if gathering from the wild as in some places (like Wellington) NZ spinach is increasingly uncommon. A pity ‘cos the coastal growing spinach comes pre-salted – delicious!
Check it out on the NZ Plant Conservation Network website:
http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.asp?ID=325
Like or Dislike:
2 
0 (+2)
Tetragonia grows and seeds vigorously on Auckland volcanic soils. My first attmpt to grow it on the CNI volcanic plateau was not successful, but I will be giving it a second go.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0 (+1)
The best way tgo ensure NZ Spinach stay plentiful is to ask for it at your nursery or gardening shop every weekend until they keep it in stock.
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.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0 (+2)
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.
Like or Dislike:
3 
0 (+3)
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.
Like or Dislike:
4 
0 (+4)
Hey! Someone’s linking to this discussion.
http://www.sces.org.nz/pmwiki.php/Content/GreenGardener
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
Even better for slugs is a headlamp, a pair of kitchen tongs (not advised for re-use in the kitchen) and a bucket of beer slops – they crawl out of water but drown in beer. And then there’s the mat on the garden trick, where the slugs that seek refuge under it during the day can be picked off easily, and given their last rites in a bucket of beer.
Rimu prickles sounds like a good one.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
Long and way too late for sentient pertinance here, but I just got told how the US buck – highest in 14 months – is on kiwi spinach (gotten muscles, see).. guess you have readers afar who seek blessings from this star..
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)