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I bought a quite vigorous tree spinach plant from a specialist farm nursery this spring as the leaves are great for salad and an interesting magenta colour. It has thrived in the pot and I have since potted it on. I am not sure what to do with it as it seems to have developed some seed clumps and looks like it is diminishing and not producing the lush leaves. basicly what is the best care I can give it to get it producing through winter ?
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It's an annual Marb. Let the seeds set, bag them and start again in March. Pit can become invasive if you let it self seed although they are very easy to dig in or transplant. -
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It was on my patch before I came. I'd rather wonder how to get rid of it again
I just let it do whatever it wants, whereever I don't want it it goes into the layer of mulch, where there's enough space I let two or three plants grow (and it does do its name justice!), some I keep cutting back (for salads, spinach, and it also looks lovely in flower arrangements btw), and the following spring they are back, all over the place. ALL OVER THE PLACE!
P.S.
perhaps I should pot some up next spring and start a specialist plant nursery :P...bonkers about beans... and now a proud Nutter!Comment
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Same here Nellie - but it really does have its uses! I love the colour in a salad.Comment
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As I can't grow any spinach at all (bought or sown) it's an ideal alternative for me.Comment
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Oh absolutely. I was only joking when I said I wanted to get rid of it again, I really like it, too, it's so pretty. One thing I want to try is to sow a whole row really densely, like you would do with turnip greens, and cut it early whlie still young.
Another nice alternative is New Zealand spinach which did really well here this year, and there are also amaranth varieties that are grown for their leaves to be used like spinach, like the "Roter Meier" which onlly grows maybe 1m high, with pretty red leaves. I can send some in for the VSP if you like, I saved seed from it this year.
It's an ancient European variety, it seems amaranth was just as popular as spinach at one time but eventually spinach won over, and amaranth was nearly forgotten as a leaf green....bonkers about beans... and now a proud Nutter!Comment
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