Strawberry spinach is a persistent but beautiful, healthy and edible weed in your garden
Do you like to experiment and cook various salads, besides, do you adore flower beds and original plants? Spread strawberry spinach in the area. The leaves of a unique plant will add many useful substances to dishes without spoiling their taste. And this herb will delight you with beautiful and edible fruits in the form of small berries. They can be used to decorate salads or just feast on them straight from the twigs. And the bushes themselves with ripe berries can serve as an excellent ornamental plant. What does strawberry spinach look like, and are there any peculiarities of its cultivation?
Description of culture
Strawberry spinach actually has closer relatives, not among spinach, but in the amaranth family. He himself is his representative and "brother" of amaranth, quinoa and other cultures. It grows in the form of a rather tall bush about 50 cm in height, although there are specimens up to 80 cm high. Young bushes are actively growing a lush deciduous rosette of beautiful triangular leaves with a jagged edge. Although they have a neutral taste and no aroma, the leaves are used for salads. They contain many vitamins and microelements, and such spinach contains more iron than other vegetables.
Over time, tall shoots begin to appear from the center of the outlet. With the onset of flowering, small red inflorescences bloom on them, in the leaf axils. They can be colored red or orange. At the end of flowering, the fruits are tied. The flowers seem to grow together and form one berry. When ripe, it acquires a bright red color, which gives the plants a beautiful decorative look. What is noteworthy, berries can be eaten within 1.5 months after germination. They taste similar to green mulberries; plants with a nutty aftertaste are less common. At the same time, they need to be picked only after full ripening, when the berries become soft. True, it is quite difficult to tear off the fruit without damaging it. But it is convenient to cut off a twig and eat directly from it.
Strawberry spinach has many names. Among them, the most popular are: Mary, Jminda, Strawberry Spinach, Raspberry-spinach.
Strawberry spinach: the secrets of growing an unpretentious annual
It is not for nothing that many gardeners call the culture a weed. It is absolutely unpretentious, not afraid of frost and grows everywhere. It is enough to plant just once, and the jminda will be planted by itself annually.
It is better to start growing spinach in a seedling way, and not because it is afraid of frost. Able to survive even minus 10 °, the small bushes are very similar to a swan. They are easy to confuse and snatch together with weeds during the spring weeding.
For the rest, strawberry spinach is absolutely unpretentious:
- it can be sown both in early spring and before winter;
- grows well both in the sun and in partial shade;
- not picky about the soil;
- can grow without watering, but then the fruits will be small and not juicy.
But there is one nuance that is not typical for spinach. If you are planning to eat berries, then large bushes will need to be tied up. Otherwise, the branches will fall on the ground and the fruits will get dirty. And it will be problematic to wash them due to the soft pulp.