New Zealand spinach: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
When and how should you sow New Zealand spinach under cover?
Sow New Zealand spinach under cover in spring to raise young plants before moving them outdoors. Start roughly three to four weeks before frost danger normally passes where you garden, adjusting to the warmth available. A cold shelter may not be enough: this warm-season plant germinates better in warmed growing medium. Do not treat it like cool-season true spinach.
The hard, angular units sold as seeds are fruits that can contain several seeds. Soaking them in water for about 24 hours may help emergence; sow afterwards without letting them dry out. Fill pots with drainage holes using freely draining seed compost, moisten it and sow one fruit per pot about 1 cm deep. Cover and water gently so the seed is not displaced.
Maintain steady moisture without soaking the compost. Emergence may take two to three weeks and can be uneven, so do not empty apparently unproductive pots too soon. Once shoots appear, provide plenty of light and ventilate without exposing seedlings to cold. If several seedlings emerge together, retain the strongest. Gradually acclimatise plants outdoors before planting after frost danger has passed, leaving space for their spreading growth.
When and how should you sow New Zealand spinach outdoors?
When and how should you harvest New Zealand spinach?
