What it is
New Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides) is in the Aizoaceae family. Not a true spinach, but a heat- and salt-tolerant sprawler that gives spinach-like greens all summer.
How to grow it
It wants full sun, water it low, and give it tolerant, even sandy soil. Target a soil pH around 6.0–7.0. Space plants about 12–18 in apart. Expect roughly 55–70. Warm-season; heat-loving.
How it's used
New Zealand Spinach is used: cooked (briefly blanched).
🔎 How to identify it
- Thick triangular fleshy leaves
- Sprawling succulent stems
- Tiny yellow flowers
Edibility
PartsLeaves and tips
UsesCooked (briefly blanched)
CautionBlanch to reduce oxalates.
🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.
Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.