What it is
Orach (Mountain Spinach) (Atriplex hortensis) is in the Amaranthaceae (Amaranth) family. An old-world spinach substitute that handles heat and alkaline soil far better than spinach — and the red type is gorgeous.
How to grow it
It wants full sun, water it low to moderate, and give it average; tolerates salty/alkaline soil. Target a soil pH around 6.5–8.0. Space plants about 12 in apart. Expect roughly Leaves in 40–60. Cool-to-warm annual.
How it's used
Orach (Mountain Spinach) is used: young leaves.
🔎 How to identify it
- Arrowhead leaves, green or deep red
- Tall seed spikes
- Tolerates poor, salty soil
Edibility
How to grow & propagate orach (mountain spinach)
Everything I've worked out about starting this one, keeping it alive through a Texas year, and turning one plant into many — free.
How to propagate orach (mountain spinach)
This family — the amaranths, beets, chard, spinach and their wild cousins — is grown from seed sown right where it'll stand. The grain amaranths and quinoa throw enormous seed heads you can harvest by the handful and re-sow for free. Beets and chard seed are actually little clusters, so each 'seed' can send up several seedlings you'll need to thin.
Growing orach (mountain spinach) in Texas
Give it full sun and average; tolerates salty/alkaline soil. Match the spot to the plant and most of the battle is already won.
Time your planting to our long warm season and watch the frost dates at both ends; the live weather tool on this site is built for exactly that.
Once it's rooted in, this is a low-water plant — overwatering does more harm than drought here. Water deeply to establish, then back off and let it prove how tough it is.
Harvesting
Figure on roughly leaves in 40–60 before you're harvesting. Harvest at peak and keep harvesting — most vegetables produce harder the more you pick, and one left to over-mature tells the plant its job is done. The part you're after: leaves.
Making more for free
Every seed we sell is open-pollinated, which means you can save your own from the best plants and it'll grow true next year. Let a few of your strongest plants finish and go to seed, dry it fully, and store it cool and dark. That's the whole point of heirlooms — buy once, grow forever.
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.