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Growing New Zealand spinach is a rewarding experience. The plants are easy to care for and provide a bounty of healthy greens all summer. Learn how to grow NZ spinach with these tips.
In spite of the name, New Zealand Spinach isn’t really spinach at all but tastes similar and can be cooked in recipes the same way. Also, unlike spinach, it is a heat-loving plant that is frost sensitive. So when the spring spinach bolts, and before fall spinach is planted, New Zealand spinach can fill the void and grow all summer long.
About New Zealand SpinachNew Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides), also known as NZ spinach, Cook’s cabbage, or tetragon, is a leafy plant that grows native to New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, and Japan. Captain Cook discovered the plant and used it to help his crew prevent scurvy. Sir Joseph Banks introduced the seeds to England in 1772, and it became a popular summer vegetable.
The high vitamin A, B1, B2, and C content of New Zealand spinach makes it a nutritious vegetable to include in your garden. In addition, cooking reduces the amount of oxalate content in these leafy greens making them easier to digest for those who are sensitive.
Growing New Zealand SpinachWhen I first tried growing New Zealand spinach, there wasn’t a lot of information to be found in gardening books or online. I was given seeds and told that it was spinach that I could plant for summer harvests. That’s all I knew.
After doing some research, I discovered that New Zealand Spinach isn’t really spinach at all but tastes similar
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