Horned Tetragon NT - Ferme de Sainte Marthe seeds

Horned Tetragonia, also known as New Zealand Spinach, is a vigorous vegetable plant that resembles and cooks like spinach while offering a unique iodine flavor. It performs very well in heat and drought conditions and does not go to seed. The sowing period extends from March to May for a harvest from July to October.

New Zealand Spinach is not, from a botanical point of view, a spinach but rather a distinct species called Tetragonia. It is an annual vegetable plant that belongs to the Aizoaceae family, which generally includes plants that are very resistant to drought. It is named Tetragonia because of the shape of its seeds, which have 4 sides.

Commonly grown in traditional vegetable gardens, Tetragonia seems to be making a comeback in recent years because, in terms of flavour, it is far from being a pale imitation of spinach: it is similar but its leaves are fleshy and have a very interesting, slight iodine taste. Many chefs have been incorporating it into their menus in recent years.

In cooking, Tetragonia is prepared like spinach and can be consumed raw or cooked, in salads, steamed, or quickly sautéed in a pan. It is a vegetable rich in vitamin C and minerals.

This plant grows fairly quickly to form, at maturity, a spreading clump that can reach 60 cm (24in) in height. Its leaves are triangular and particularly large. Unlike spinach, it does not easily go to seed even during episodes of intense heat.

Harvest: The harvest of New Zealand Spinach takes place approximately 3 months after sowing, leaf by leaf, depending on their growth and needs. The leaves located around the base are taken, which allows the heart to continue developing and producing new leaves without damage.

Storage: New Zealand Spinach does not keep well in the refrigerator as it tends to become soft. It is best to consume it a few hours after harvesting. However, you can freeze it after blanching it for 3 minutes in salted boiling water.

Gardener's tip: Once the soil is well warmed, we recommend mulching it with thin successive layers of grass clippings, if possible mixed with dead leaves. This protection, which keeps the soil moist and limits watering, also limits weed growth.

Untreated or "NT" seeds come from conventionally grown plants (often with the use of pesticides), however they do not undergo any treatment after harvest. These seeds are allowed in organic market gardening when organic seeds are out of stock.