Summer Spinach

~ New Zealand Spinach ~

Just three short weeks ago, I wrote that the spinach that I'd sown was doing really well along with some chard.  I should have kept quiet because, of course, it has bolted. So, one cut of leaves and then flower spikes.  Not really what I had in mind.

Spinach really doesn't like a lot of heat.  Traditionally it's a leaf crop that can be sown in early spring and again in the autumn for a winter crop.  Depending on the variety and mildness of your winters, you can protect your autumn crop with cloches and harvest right through the colder months.

That doesn't really sort me out for now though, does it?  There are alternatives, of course.  Perennial spinach, mountain spinach (Atriplex rubra aka red orach) and the chenopodiums (Good King Henry and Magentaspreen) but, in my book, nothing beats a good old plate of real spinach - smooshed into a smoothie, wilted into pasta or dhal, stirred into a stew, tossed and dressed in a salad. I eat a lot of spinach.

So what's a gardener to do?  It looks like summer has finally arrived (for this week, at least) with heat and sun aplenty so the first thing is to look for a shady spot in the garden - or create one with cloches or plants.  I'm not growing sweet corn this year which would provide shade for spinach but I am growing my own beads in the form of Job's Tears (Croix lachryma-jobi), a plant with similar sword like leaves - exciting, huh? I'll tell more about that project later :o)  Spinach seeds can be sown in between those plants and the tall broad bean plants from my second spring sowing.

The next box to check is the soil - as always!  Spinach likes a good 30cm (12 inches) of fine nutrient rich soil that retains moisture. Regular watering (twice a day, roots only) is also key for summer spinach - don't let your spinach dry out, which is probably what I did when temperatures soared. My bad. So make sure your soil is lump free and add nitrogen with blood, fish and bone or chicken manure pellets.  The spot I've chosen won't need extra nitrogen as I'm cutting down the winter sown broad beans to make a space, leaving behind the roots with their nitrogen fixing nodules. I might also dig in a spade or two of Dalefoot's latest addition to their excellent range: peat free compost for Vegetables and Salads.  It's a wool and bracken compost that I've been trialling and is lovely to use and, so far, has given good results.

And last of all: seeds.  For this, I turned to Chiltern Seeds. Why? Because their brochures and range are excellent plus they're located near to where my niece lives ... which shouldn't matter, I know, but I like local and family. Their beautiful website provided several options so I rang them and asked for help in choosing seeds to sow now.  They've kindly sent me two options: 'Giant Winter' (a true spinach with large leaves for winter and spring use) and 'New Zealand Spinach' which is a spinach lookalike - Latin name Tetragonia tetragonioides.  Rather excitingly, it's a low growing spreading plant that originates from the stony beaches of the Antipodes and will tolerate some drought, although the taste is best when grown in moist soil. According to the PFAF database, it cannot be grown in the shade and is an evergreen perennial.  Chilterns sell the seed as a half-hardy annual so this is going to be a plant worth watching.  An edible beach plant - what's not to love!

Spinach lovers, I'll let you know how my trial goes.  Has anyone else had success with summer spinach?  And have any Antipodean readers grown New Zealand spinach - I'd love to know!

PS.  I've just been chatting to my plot neighbour at the allotments this morning - he always grows New Zealand spinach for his wife who is from NZ and tells me that this year two sowings of this spinach failed to germinate. It hasn't been a problem in previous years so I'm wondering whether the erratic temperatures this year have been to blame - spinach prefers a soil temperature of between 50F to 72F to germinate.

Too hot for gardening

Spotted in the garden: either a baby cricket or the aphids are now on steroids

I've been sheltering from the heat for the last few days.  Mmmm, wow.  Amazing, given this damp, gloomy and often barely warm summer we're having here in the UK.  Just three weeks ago it was chilly enough to want some heating on yet on Tuesday it was 35C (95F) in North London. Thirty-Five Degrees!!  Luckily I have lovely cool floors (terracotta tiles and wood) and windows that are designed to keep the heat out in summer. Even so, the temperature indoors rose to 27C which is still a bit on the sticky side for my liking and definitely too hot to be outside gardening. Yes, I know. Wimp.

Some plants are also finding this heat a bit much, especially when combined with a brisk breeze which is what we had yesterday. It's crucial to check the soil around plants for dryness morning and evening in this weather -  wind can be just as damaging as hot sunshine. If you forget and plants get a bit wilted, just move them into the shade and give them a good big drink of water.  I've just had to do this to one of my chilli plants that I'd moved to the edge of my balcony to grab a few rays - chillies like heat, right? - but noticed that it was looking rather sad and windswept within a couple of hours.  Shade and water perked it up in no time.

It's all a bit overwhelming and I'd much rather have some constant gentle sunshine (and rain!) rather than these extremes we're experiencing. How's everyone else doing in this heat?  Me, I'd quite like a nice cool night's sleep!

The past few weeks have been somewhat of a whirlwind for me, accustomed as I am to my simple life of home, work, garden, write.  I've been to shows, I've been to gardens - and, unexpectedly, I've been to Leeds.  My son and his stuff needed to be collected in my tiny car the weekend before last; I wasn't anticipating spending the weekend cleaning the little house he and two friends have just moved into but, on closer inspection, it was another necessity. You know how it is, student life doesn't stretch to much cleaning and the previous tenants appear to have been heavy smokers to boot.  The solution was to glove up and get on with  it - parents are gifts that just keep on giving!  While clearing rubbish from the flagstone back yard, I did note that it would look much better for a few pots and perennials in the tiny back border - one to think about for the return trip!

I'll be doing a few catch up posts about shows and garden visits but, for the past weekend and this, I'm really happy to be back in the garden here.  There's lots to be done. There's still time to sow a last round of carrots, some more beetroot, french beans, chard, kale and lettuce - not to mention the continuous deadheading to be done.  And a question: can anyone tell me if I can prolong flowering of Sweet Williams by deadheading?  I've absolutely loved having them in the garden this year but they're all starting to die back now, too soon for my liking!