Spinach like plants (Garden orache)

Plant family

Goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae)

Also known as

Red Orache, Mountain Spinach, French Spinach, Arrach

Season Overview

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Moist

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

Low

Plant distance

20-40 cm

Row spacing

30 cm

Seeding depth

2 cm

Instructions

Description

Garden orchid is also known as Spanish lettuce or May lettuce and comes from the genus of goosefoot (Chenopodiaceae). Used to be cultivated as a vegetable, dyeing and medicinal plant, but then increasingly replaced by spinach, which it is very similar in taste. The plant grows up to 2 m high. The leaves of the garden orache can be green, red, and yellow. Very rich in nutrients and vitamins.

Growing tips

Direct sowing wide-spread or in rows from March. Good catch crop for all vegetables except for its own family. Keep free of weeds. Harvest before flowering, otherwise the leaves become bitter. Can sprout again when deeply cut. Also self-seeds if the flower heads are left standing. Can be harvested continuously by subsequent sowing. Do not plant too densely, otherwise diseases and pests will develop more easily.