General Culture: Click for monthly care information.
Spring seed thickly directly in rows 1-1/2 ' to 2-1/2 ' apart as early as ground can be worked, with successive plantings every 20 to 30 days to insure a tender crop. Thin to 6 to 10" apart. Water and fertilize to insure quick and tender growth. Start harvesting leaves when plants are about 1" high. While mountain spinach can withstand adverse conditions and heat, they will tend to bolt (produce a seed head) and be less palatable. Can be kept low by clipping.
Noteworthy Characteristics:
Closely resembling lambs quarters, mountain spinach is a mild and tender salad green if grown quickly and harvested when 6" tall and under. On larger plants pick only small tender leaves. Red, green, and white cultivars are available. 'Red Orach' does not lose color when cooked. Mature seed pods are used as a dried floral decoration.
Problems:
Tends to run to seed.
Uses:
Raw in salads or as a cooked green.
© Missouri Botanical
Garden, 2001-2010
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