- Seeds of the MM Garden
- Planty Sowing Calendar
- Are our seeds organic?
- What does F1 mean on the seeds of Planty Gardening?
- African marigold - sowing and growing
- Asian salad mix - sowing and growing
- Endive - sowing and growing
- Dino kale - sowing and growing
- Bush tomato - sowing and growing
- Bush basil - sowing and growing
- Beet - sowing and growing
- Bush basil - sowing and growing
- Chioggia beet - sowing and growing
- Cos lettuce - sowing and growing
- Butter beans - sowing and growing
- Climbing zucchini - sowing and growing
- Liquorice mint - sowing and growing
- Yellomato - sowing and growing
- Marigold - sowing and growing
- Cucumber - sowing and growing
- Cilantro - sowing and growing
- Bibb lettuce - sowing and growing
- NZ spinach - sowing and growing
- Indian cress - sowing and growing
- Bok choi - sowing and growing
- Dino kale - sowing and growing
- Snow pea - sowing and growing
- Lettuce - sowing and growing
- Lettuce - sowing and growing
- Baby pumpkin - sowing and growing
- Radish - sowing and growing
- Arugola - sowing and growing
- Chard - sowing and growing
- Romano pole bean - sowing and growing
- Bacon bean - sowing and growing
- Spinach
- Bush bean - sowing and growing
- Stem lettuce - sowing and growing
- Sugar snap - sowing and growing
- Lamb's lettuce - sowing and growing
- Winter pea - sowing and growing
- Winter purslane - sowing and growing
- Winter lettuce - sowing and growing
- Carrot - sowing and growing
- Purple carrot - sowing and growing
- Sunflower - sowing and growing
Almost all information about plants has been included with the plants in our free app. So, you don't need to remember it.
View the MM app
- Seeds of the MM Garden
- Planty Sowing Calendar
- Are our seeds organic?
- What does F1 mean on the seeds of Planty Gardening?
- African marigold - sowing and growing
- Asian salad mix - sowing and growing
- Endive - sowing and growing
- Dino kale - sowing and growing
- Bush tomato - sowing and growing
- Bush basil - sowing and growing
- Beet - sowing and growing
- Bush basil - sowing and growing
- Chioggia beet - sowing and growing
- Cos lettuce - sowing and growing
- Butter beans - sowing and growing
- Climbing zucchini - sowing and growing
- Liquorice mint - sowing and growing
- Yellomato - sowing and growing
- Marigold - sowing and growing
- Cucumber - sowing and growing
- Cilantro - sowing and growing
- Bibb lettuce - sowing and growing
- NZ spinach - sowing and growing
- Indian cress - sowing and growing
- Bok choi - sowing and growing
- Dino kale - sowing and growing
- Snow pea - sowing and growing
- Lettuce - sowing and growing
- Lettuce - sowing and growing
- Baby pumpkin - sowing and growing
- Radish - sowing and growing
- Arugola - sowing and growing
- Chard - sowing and growing
- Romano pole bean - sowing and growing
- Bacon bean - sowing and growing
- Spinach
- Bush bean - sowing and growing
- Stem lettuce - sowing and growing
- Sugar snap - sowing and growing
- Lamb's lettuce - sowing and growing
- Winter pea - sowing and growing
- Winter purslane - sowing and growing
- Winter lettuce - sowing and growing
- Carrot - sowing and growing
- Purple carrot - sowing and growing
- Sunflower - sowing and growing
How to sow and grow New Zealand spinach
New Zealand spinach is a tasty summer vegetable. It's a lot like the spinach you know and love. It looks and tastes similar, but NZ spinach can handle summer weather better. You can also harvest it for a long time.
What is New Zealand spinach?
New Zealand spinach is an annual plant in the Aizoaceae family. So, it's not actually related to spinach, but it got the name because it tastes a lot like it.
It's a heat tolerant, slow-growing plant. The long shoots grow thick triangular leaves. Large seeds also grow along the stems.
NZ spinach was brought to Europe from New Zealand in the late 18th century.
It's a heat tolerant, slow-growing plant. The long shoots grow thick triangular leaves. Large seeds also grow along the stems.
NZ spinach was brought to Europe from New Zealand in the late 18th century.
Vitamins and minerals in New Zealand spinach
NZ spinach is a healthy leafy vegetable, high in vitamin C, vitamins A and B's and minerals like potassium, calcium and sodium.
It also contains many antioxidants, like carotenoids. These reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, macular degeneration (which causes you to lose your sight), and several other health conditions.
Since it also contains some oxalic acid, it's better to boil or blanch the leaves for a while to break it down.
NZ spinach retains water and has hardly any calories.
It also contains many antioxidants, like carotenoids. These reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, macular degeneration (which causes you to lose your sight), and several other health conditions.
Since it also contains some oxalic acid, it's better to boil or blanch the leaves for a while to break it down.
NZ spinach retains water and has hardly any calories.
More about our New Zealand spinach seeds
New Zealand spinach is a tasty summer green that you harvest for a long time. The vegetable is very similar to spinach: the leaves have the same taste and can be used in the same way.
NZ spinach plants produce long tendrils, so the best place for them is on one side of your garden box or near your trellis: this way the shoots can continue to grow over the edge or up the trellis.
The seeds are tough so we soak them before sowing them.
NZ spinach plants produce long tendrils, so the best place for them is on one side of your garden box or near your trellis: this way the shoots can continue to grow over the edge or up the trellis.
The seeds are tough so we soak them before sowing them.
- Species name: New Zealand spinach
- Family: leaf
- Plants per square patch: 2
- Height: about 25 cm with long shoots
- Sowing time: April to mid-May
- Sowing depth: 1 - 1.5 cm
- Germination: 10 - 18°C in 8 - 18 days
- Time to harvest: after 8 weeks
- Sunlight: can grow in sun or shade
We sell the seeds separately, or you can find New Zealand spinach in our specials seed pack:
What do you need to grow your own New Zealand spinach?
Here's everything you need to grow NZ spinach:
- a 30x30 cm patch with airy, nutrient-rich soil mix
- NZ spinach seeds
- a place with at least 4 hours of sunlight a day
In other words, an MM-Mini, or a square patch in one of our garden boxes, filled with MM-Mix.
Growing your own NZ spinach in this perfect soil mix is super easy. If you use poor-quality (potting) soil, it's much harder and the results will be disappointing. So just go for the best.
Growing your own NZ spinach in this perfect soil mix is super easy. If you use poor-quality (potting) soil, it's much harder and the results will be disappointing. So just go for the best.
How to sow and grow New Zealand spinach?
Our NZ spinach is included in the free Planty Gardening app. Use it, and you'll get step-by-step guidance from seed to harvest.
Each vegetable goes through a number of stages - we call them levels. The app tells you exactly what to do at each level and checks in when your plants are ready for the next one.
So you don't need to know how to grow NZ spinach in advance: the app takes you through every step.
But if you'd like to read more about those steps, here's what the process looks like:
Each vegetable goes through a number of stages - we call them levels. The app tells you exactly what to do at each level and checks in when your plants are ready for the next one.
So you don't need to know how to grow NZ spinach in advance: the app takes you through every step.
But if you'd like to read more about those steps, here's what the process looks like:
Level 1 and 2: Soaking and sowing the seeds
First, put the seeds in a cup with water and let them soak for 24 hours. This will help them germinate.
Choose a square patch at the side of your garden box. Loosen up your moist MM-Mix and sow like this:
- poke 2 holes in the patch diagonally from each other (no deeper than 1.5 cm)
- put 2 to 3 seeds in each hole
- carefully cover up the holes with soil mix
After about 8 to 18 days, you'll see something green come up. It depends a bit on the weather.
Level 3: New Zealand spinach seedlings
When you see the first seedlings in your NZ spinach patch, you know it's going well. They probably won't all come up at once, but give it another day.
Then it's time for the next level.
Then it's time for the next level.
Level 4: Thinning New Zealand spinach seedlings
When several seedlings come up in each spot that you sowed, choose the best and remove the rest: that's called thinning out. It might sound harsh, but it's necessary.
New Zealand spinach seeds are actually small nuggets containing 3 - 5 seeds each. So if they all come up, you'll have too many plants.
Take a pair of scissors, leave the biggest and prettiest seedling per spot, and cut off the others along the soil mix. The remaining plants will thank you later.
New Zealand spinach seeds are actually small nuggets containing 3 - 5 seeds each. So if they all come up, you'll have too many plants.
Take a pair of scissors, leave the biggest and prettiest seedling per spot, and cut off the others along the soil mix. The remaining plants will thank you later.
Level 5: Caring for your New Zealand spinach plants
After a week or 2, your seedlings will become small plants.
You hardly need to do anything: if the weather's dry, give them some water and remove the odd dead or yellow leaf. Easy 🙂
You hardly need to do anything: if the weather's dry, give them some water and remove the odd dead or yellow leaf. Easy 🙂
Level 6: Harvest the leaves and buds
About 7 to 8 weeks after sowing, the little plants are ready for the first harvest.
You harvest the leaves, but not the whole plant.
Leave the center: it will continue to grow and eventually produce flowering stems. Harvest the leaves and the tops of the budding stems. The more you do that, the more the plant will produce new side shoots.
This way you can keep harvesting all year long - until the frost rolls in.
You harvest the leaves, but not the whole plant.
Leave the center: it will continue to grow and eventually produce flowering stems. Harvest the leaves and the tops of the budding stems. The more you do that, the more the plant will produce new side shoots.
This way you can keep harvesting all year long - until the frost rolls in.
What do you use New Zealand spinach for?
NZ spinach leaves are usually used like ordinary spinach: the taste is almost the same.
Toss the raw leaves into a salad. Or cook them briefly and add them to your mashed potatoes. Also delicious in green smoothies, soups, stir fry dishes, and sauces.
Toss the raw leaves into a salad. Or cook them briefly and add them to your mashed potatoes. Also delicious in green smoothies, soups, stir fry dishes, and sauces.
The last level
As long as the plants still look nice, you can continue to harvest. Harvest often and a lot, because the more flowering stems you harvest, the more new leaves the plant produces.
Until the temperature drops below freezing. Then the leaves get limp and ugly. Time to remove the plants from the patch or MM-Mini, and prepare the soil mix for the next round of sowing.
Until the temperature drops below freezing. Then the leaves get limp and ugly. Time to remove the plants from the patch or MM-Mini, and prepare the soil mix for the next round of sowing.
So: what's stopping you from growing New Zealand spinach yourself?
In the summer, it's a perfect alternative to spinach. If you have a cold frame or greenhouse, you can start earlier and still harvest late into the year.
Plus: with our app and materials, it's pretty much impossible to fail 🙂
Order your New Zealand spinach seeds here or get started with a complete starter kit:
Plus: with our app and materials, it's pretty much impossible to fail 🙂
Order your New Zealand spinach seeds here or get started with a complete starter kit:
Enjoy!
About our seeds
- Seeds of the MM Garden
- Planty Sowing Calendar
- Are our seeds organic?
- What does F1 mean on the seeds of Planty Gardening?
- African marigold - sowing and growing
- Asian salad mix - sowing and growing
- Endive - sowing and growing
- Dino kale - sowing and growing
- Bush tomato - sowing and growing
- Bush basil - sowing and growing
- Beet - sowing and growing
- Bush basil - sowing and growing
- Chioggia beet - sowing and growing
- Cos lettuce - sowing and growing
- Butter beans - sowing and growing
- Climbing zucchini - sowing and growing
- Liquorice mint - sowing and growing
- Yellomato - sowing and growing
- Marigold - sowing and growing
- Cucumber - sowing and growing
- Cilantro - sowing and growing
- Bibb lettuce - sowing and growing
- NZ spinach - sowing and growing
- Indian cress - sowing and growing
- Bok choi - sowing and growing
- Dino kale - sowing and growing
- Snow pea - sowing and growing
- Lettuce - sowing and growing
- Lettuce - sowing and growing
- Baby pumpkin - sowing and growing
- Radish - sowing and growing
- Arugola - sowing and growing
- Chard - sowing and growing
- Romano pole bean - sowing and growing
- Bacon bean - sowing and growing
- Spinach
- Bush bean - sowing and growing
- Stem lettuce - sowing and growing
- Sugar snap - sowing and growing
- Lamb's lettuce - sowing and growing
- Winter pea - sowing and growing
- Winter purslane - sowing and growing
- Winter lettuce - sowing and growing
- Carrot - sowing and growing
- Purple carrot - sowing and growing
- Sunflower - sowing and growing