Tree Spinach (magenta spreen)

£2.50

A hardy annual producing leafy shoots with an exotic pink centre. Sometimes called magenta spreen.

Description

Chenipodium giganteum

A hardy annual producing leafy shoots whose young, tender tips can be used raw in salads. Older, more mature shoots can be use as a cooked green, and are valued in both Mexican and Bangladeshi cuisines.

Tree spinach has a similar appearance to fat hen, a ubiquitous garden weed that is a close relative. Unlike fat hen, though, the leaves are tinged in a striking pink red that sadly disappears with cooking.

Left to grow naturally, tree spinach can get quite tall – we’ve measured plants that were about 2 meters high. Fortunately, height can be controlled by regular removal of the tips, starting when the plants are young – the principal is to leave some branches on the plants to regrow after each harvest. It is possible to make 3 or 4 harvests of shoots before it is better to start a new crop.

Regular harvest of the shoots also stops them from going to seed and creating yet another weed problem in the garden.

Approximate number of seeds per pack: 350