Strawberry spinach: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you sow strawberry spinach outdoors?
Sow strawberry spinach, Blitum capitatum, in spring or early summer according to your climate and packet. It is not ordinary spinach: its cycle includes flowering followed by small red fruits. April to June is a guide for outdoor growing, to adapt to your climate. Use the seed coverage suited to your seeds. Autumn sowing does not automatically succeed as an outdoor winter crop.
Prepare a bright area in sun or partial shade when heat is strong. Weed and refine the surface of moist, fertile, well-drained soil. Moisten before sowing. Make rows around 30 cm apart and distribute the small seeds fairly thinly.
Around 0.6 cm of cover is a possible guide; use the depth suited to your seeds. Cover gently without a compact layer and water with a fine spray. Maintain even moisture during emergence without standing water. Mark rows to avoid pulling young shoots when weeding.
At four or five leaves, thin gradually. For plants also grown for fruits, around 25–30 cm between plants allows space for upright growth. Remove surplus seedlings without damaging retained roots. Watch for slugs and drying in young plants. Harvesting actions are described separately.
How do you plant strawberry spinach?
How to care for this plant
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Thin seedlings
If your spinach seedlings are crowded, thin initially to about 7–8 cm apart. For full-sized leaves, make more room later by harvesting alternate plants. Thinning is usually unnecessary for baby-leaf crops.
How do you harvest strawberry spinach?
