Spinach

Harvest leaves as baby spinach as early as 8 weeks after sowing, and then decapitate the plant leaving the pink-white stems that will resprout. Spinach appreciates being sown after peas or beans for the most delicately flavoured of leaves. Some partial shade in hot regions can extend the harvest period by discouraging it from bolting. While ‘traditional’ spinach is a variant of Beta vulgaris, the ancestor that spawned beetroot and silverbeet, a number of other species also fill the role of easy-to-grow, green leafy vegetables including Spinach ‘Bloomsdale’ (Spinach oleracea), Spinach ‘Malabar Red’ (Basella rubra) and NZ Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides).