Square Foot Gardening for New Zealand Spinach

New Zealand Spinach

• Also known as tetragonia, ice plant, everbearing spinach, everlasting spinach and perpetual spinach, New Zealand spinach is more heat tolerant than regular spinach (Spinacia oleracea), which fades when warm weather arrives. New Zealand spinach should be started inside three to four weeks before the last frost and transplanted. In warmer areas, you can sow it directly in the ground under 1/4 inch of soil. New Zealand spinach needs about 1 square foot per plant. Two plants per adult provide sufficient fresh greens for a season.

Square Foot Gardening Basics

• Square foot gardening maximizes small garden spaces by reducing the amount of space that is wasted when growing edible plants in rows. Instead of creating long lines and planting seeds in them, square foot gardening relies on divvying up areas of the garden into 1-foot squares. Each block supports a number of plants depending on seed spacing; if the seed packet recommends planting 12 inches apart, they should be grown one plant per square foot. A recommended spacing of 6 inches apart yields four plants per square foot, while a 4-inch spacing equates to nine plants per square foot.

Square Foot Gardening Benefits

• Because it eliminates the amount of ground needed for foot traffic, square foot gardening is a great choice for growing edibles in small gardens or yards with little suitable space available. Closely growing vegetables also prevents weeds by increasing competition with them and conserves water by reducing the overall area requiring irrigation. Mulch helps to retain soil moisture and further reduce competition from weeds. It also avoids wasting plants: instead of broadcasting and thinning seed, plant only one or two New Zealand spinach seeds in the center of the square foot and thin to one seedling or transplant only one plant.

Choosing a Site

• Before you begin square foot gardening, make sure you set yourself up for it properly. Many, if not most, vegetables grow best in sunlight, at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. Although New Zealand spinach benefits from light shade during hot summer weather, it generally likes full sun. It also needs good drainage, which is a characteristic of square foot gardens, and although it tolerates drought, it prefers consistent moisture. Stay away from shrubs or trees whose roots could interfere with spinach and other vegetable roots.