By Xiangtu Yijiu

A few days ago, a friend on our official account asked about how to grow water spinach. It happens to be a good time to plant it now, so today I will just talk about how to grow it.

In fact, growing water spinach is fairly simple. It likes warmth and tolerates heat, making it quite suitable for summer planting. During the growing period it likes fertilizer, has strong regrowth ability, and the first harvest comes fairly quickly. It is also rich in vitamins and fiber, which helps with digestion. It is an economical and practical vegetable suitable for home growing.

Soil preparation, seed selection, sowing

For vegetables grown for home consumption, open-field dryland growing is generally the most common. For summer planting of water spinach, small-leaf water spinach is recommended. Choose a planting site with convenient drainage and irrigation and fertile sandy soil, apply plenty of base fertilizer (decomposed organic fertilizer) and compound fertilizer, and till finely, rake evenly, and level the soil.

Before sowing, the seeds can be soaked in water for one day to speed up and ensure the germination rate. The seeds can germinate normally at around 15°C. If growing early in some protected cultivation, the temperature inside the greenhouse can be controlled appropriately.

There are no strict requirements for sowing water spinach. You can sow in rows as needed, or dibble seeds in holes. Keep row spacing at 30-35 cm and plant spacing at 20-25 cm. You can also plant somewhat densely according to conditions and needs, but later you must thin the seedlings properly. You can pour an appropriate amount of water into each hole, put 2-3 seeds per hole, and finally cover with fine soil. Be careful not to leave the seeds exposed.

Field management, timely harvesting

Irrigate appropriately, so that there is no standing water between rows and the soil is moist. Apply topdressing appropriately to speed up plant growth. Watch for leaf spot disease and focus on prevention: when preparing the soil, make sure organic fertilizer is fully decomposed, and promptly clear weeds and "residues" from the field. Once infected, treat it promptly.

Water spinach can still grow normally at a high temperature of 35°C, and it has strong regrowth ability with many branches. When the aboveground part of the plant reaches about 40 cm, it can be picked and harvested. For home growing, you can pinch off the tips and branches when harvesting, or harvest with a sickle.

Water spinach can be eaten in many ways: cold dressed, made into soup, or stir-fried. Cold dressing in particular, with seasonings added, is smooth and tasty to eat. It is truly an irreplaceable summer vegetable!

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