How to Grow New Zealand Spinach? The Latest Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial

New Zealand spinach, also known as French spinach, New Zealand spinach, etc., is an annual succulent herb of the genus Tetragonia in the Aizoaceae family, widely distributed along the southeastern coastal areas. It is rich in iron, calcium, vitamin A and various B vitamins. It can be used as a vegetable, and also as medicine to clear heat and detoxify, dispel wind and reduce swelling. It has high cultivation value. Let us take a look at the cultivation techniques of New Zealand spinach!

Growth Habits of New Zealand Spinach

New Zealand spinach prefers warmth, tolerates heat, and resists drought. It is suitable for cultivation in various soils and also grows wild on beaches. It has strong adaptability, tolerates low temperatures and resists drought, but its aboveground parts are not frost-tolerant. The suitable temperature for growth and development is 20-25°C. It is not strict about light conditions and grows well under both strong and weak light.

Sowing Techniques of New Zealand Spinach

1. Seed preparation: If New Zealand spinach seeds are plentiful, dense sowing or dense planting can be considered, followed by thinning and harvesting, which can increase early-stage yield. New Zealand spinach can be direct-sown or raised as seedlings for transplanting. If seeds are insufficient, it is best to raise seedlings for transplanting. Direct sowing requires 4-5 jin of seeds; seedling raising requires plug trays or nutrition pots to reduce root damage and requires 1.5 kg of seeds. Seedling raising can save seeds and allow earlier sowing.

2. Land preparation and bed making: Because New Zealand spinach has a long growing period, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied, 10,000 jin of organic fertilizer per mu. When making beds, consider the soil characteristics and the fact that New Zealand spinach likes moisture but fears waterlogging. Watering should be convenient and drainage should also be good. If sprinkler irrigation facilities are available, flat raised beds can be considered, so that both irrigation and drainage can be better managed.

3. Sowing method: Open-field direct sowing can be done anytime from April to May, but earlier sowing can bring greater benefits. Seedling raising can be done in mid-March, with transplanting in mid-to-late April. For a 4-chi bed, plant two rows, with a plant spacing of 30 cm; for a 5-chi bed, cultivate 3 rows, with a plant spacing of 40 cm. Final plant population is 3,000-4,000 plants per mu.

Field Management of New Zealand Spinach

1. Water: New Zealand spinach has a relatively hard seed coat, emerges slowly, and needs watering during spring droughts. When raising seedlings for transplanting, because New Zealand spinach has weak root regeneration ability and recovers slowly after transplanting, water should also be replenished in time to promote recovery. When sowing or transplanting is late, light is strong, or drought occurs, water in time to prevent viral disease. To accelerate plant growth, keep the soil moist. When plants grow vigorously and branches and leaves are dense, be careful not to let the soil become too wet; it should be dry between waterings and wet after watering. Too much moisture can easily cause rot, and in summer pay attention to preventing waterlogging.

2. Fertilizer: Under the condition of sufficient base fertilizer, field management mainly focuses on topdressing chemical fertilizers. Apply less at the seedling stage, and during vigorous growth, topdress chemical fertilizers as appropriate.

3. Pruning: New Zealand spinach is originally an extensive cultivation crop, but under artificial cultivation, due to good fertilizer and water conditions, it grows even more vigorously. However, because of its vigorous growth, creeping vines are sparse when creeping and upright when dense, quickly covering the field. If not harvested in time, growth becomes too dense, invading the harvesting bed ridges and causing poor internal ventilation. Stepping on stems and vines causes wounds, and poor ventilation leads to rot. Therefore, consider cutting off stems and vines that creep onto the bed ridges, or thinning stems and vines between beds to improve ventilation and avoid stepping damage.

4. Harvesting: After the plants recover from transplanting, they enter vigorous growth. When the plant height reaches 20 cm, tender tips can be harvested, and side branches will grow out in 10-15 days. In open-field cultivation, the old leaves of New Zealand spinach are especially rough and do not have a smooth, tender feel, so special attention should be paid during harvesting. In protected cultivation, because light is weaker, the quality is more tender, and the harvested tender stem tips can be longer. Because New Zealand spinach leaves are very thick, grow quickly, and have a long harvest period, New Zealand spinach is a high-yielding vegetable. Open-field cultivation can be harvested for 5 months, with a yield of 3,000-5,000 kg.

Pest and Disease Control of New Zealand Spinach

1. Cabbage caterpillar: For cabbage caterpillar, spray 32% BT wettable powder at 2000 times dilution, or 10% nicotine emulsion at 500-1000 times dilution, or 5% chlorfluazuron emulsifiable concentrate at 2000-3000 times dilution for control.

2. Fusarium wilt: For Fusarium wilt, drench the roots with 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder at 800-1000 times dilution, or 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 800-1000 times dilution, once every 5-7 days, for 2-3 consecutive root drenches. For viral disease at the seedling stage, spray 10% 83 elicitor at 100 times dilution 1-2 times, once every 15 days. At the early stage of disease onset, use 20% virus A wettable powder at 500 times dilution, 1000 times dilution of zhibingling, or 5% xunduqing wettable powder at 300-500 times dilution for control, once every 8-10 days, spraying 3-4 times consecutively.