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New Zealand spinach or tetragonia is still an unusual crop in the beds. This leafy vegetable, originally grown in New Zealand, Australia, Africa and South America, has long gained popularity in Western Europe. summer residents are just beginning to get to know him.
Description of tetragony
Tetragonium is an annual plant that got its name due to the shape of the fruit in the form of a tetrahedral 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 in a spiral on the stem, having a jagged edge and short petioles.
In the axils of the leaves, small single flowers of a yellowish hue are formed. 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.
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 merits. Positive qualities of spinach:
- high yield, the ability to regularly collect green mass, regardless of the growing season;
- relative unpretentiousness of the plant;
- the ability to reproduce by self-seeding;
- effective appearance of landings;
- gentle soft taste of shoots and young leaves;
- wide range of applications in cooking;
- rare cases of crop damage by diseases and pests.
Of the conditional shortcomings of culture, the following features can be noted:
- stems and old leaves accumulate oxalic acid, which in large quantities can be harmful;
- exactingness to watering and soil fertility;
- slow seed germination.
What is the difference between New Zealand spinach and 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:
- New Zealand spinach is a tall, branched shrub, and ordinary spinach grows in the form of a squat rosette;
- leaves of New Zealand spinach can be consumed all summer, including during flowering, while garden spinach is suitable for food only until shooting;
- New Zealand spinach is a more productive crop compared to the usual one, since it very quickly grows a new green mass to replace the cut one.
- According to gardeners, New Zealand spinach is significantly superior in taste to the usual garden spinach.
Cultivation technology
Agrotechnics of New Zealand spinach is quite simple and practically does not differ from the technology of growing other leafy vegetables.
Terms of planting
You can grow New Zealand lettuce both in open ground 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 culture is also sown in the fall, then the first green mass can be obtained 1–2 weeks earlier.
The plant reproduces well by self-sowing. 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 preparation of soil
New Zealand spinach prefers sunny areas, 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 culture 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 seeds does not require much effort. You can use both seedling and seedless method.
Seedlings are expelled 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 open ground, it is useful to harden seedlings by taking them outside for several hours a day for a week.
Landing algorithm
New Zealand spinach grows strongly, so it needs a large area. Seedlings are planted according to the 50×50 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 land is fertilized with urea or ammonium nitrate at the rate of 5 g per 1 sq. m of land.
Care instructions
Shoots of New Zealand spinach, sown with seeds in the ground, are thinned out several times until the desired planting density is reached.
Grown plants 13–15 cm high 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.
Despite the fact that tetragonia is a drought-resistant crop, it requires abundant watering to obtain 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 beds with plantings with a film.
Diseases and pests
Gardeners who have already managed to get 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 no doubt become popular with gardeners in Our Country. 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.