New Zealand spinach

1 lb + blanched New Zealand spinach

Seed from Botanical Interests

Spinach New Zealand Heirloom Seed

Tetragonia tetragonioides

50-70 days. Discovered by Sir Joseph Banks in New Zealand during the 1770 voyage of Captain James Cook, and enjoyed by 18th century gardeners. Also known as perpetual spinach, New Zealand is not true spinach, but a great way to have spinach flavor all summer; many even prefer the flavor to true spinach. It loves the heat, and produces abundantly. Noted for high vitamin content, especially vitamin C; it was served on Captain Cook’s ship to prevent scurvy. Small, young leaves can be eaten raw, or cooked. Bothered by almost no insects, even snails and slugs!

I planted the seed back in late August. Although it "loves the heat" I don't think it loved Mississippi August heat too much. Most of the seed did germinate, but most of the seedlings were eaten by rabbits. 

What's interesting-- and this has happened in my garden more than once-- is that seed germinates and comes up when it's good and ready. My 25' row of New Zealand spinach produced one very large spinach plant which yielded a little over one pound of spinach. AND two little spinaches which have must have come up in the last few weeks underneath the big plant.

The little guys will be spinach salad. The rest is frozen.

UPDATE:

Nutritional information for 5 ounces of cooked New Zealand spinach

I was prompted to add this after reading "Food and the Feds: An exhibition at the National Archives celebrates the government’s role" by Bruce Cole at National Review Online. Cole concludes his description of the exhibit with this:

Although skillfully done, “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?” is marred by its cheerleading for the massive role of Washington in the lives of Americans. There is never a scintilla of doubt that federal regulation has been, and still is, a good thing; never a hesitation about how the thicket of regulation and rules affects the individual liberties of millions of Americans, for good or bad. For example, the massive failure of the federal prohibition of alcohol is ignored, as are controversial farm subsidies and agricultural tariffs, among the many other less than successful, or controversial, programs.

The exhibition coincides nicely with the nutritional directives now emanating from the East Wing of the White House. The catalogue, but not the exhibition, features a full-page photo of Michelle Obama, our nation’s dietitian-in-chief and anti-obesity crusader, in her White House garden with a group of toque-wearing chefs looking like they’re eager to harvest some of the First Lady’s healthy foods (perhaps arugula). This bit of gratuitous puffery by the National Archives, an independent federal agency, is unseemly, but not out of line with its exhibition’s sunny view of big government.

As I've said before, 

I don't want to be told what to do/eat/say/think/feel. etc. Get out of my garden and kitchen, and stay away from my bookshelves. And while you're at it, get out of my life.

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The label comes from Nutrient Facts, a web site that provides nutrient information for a wide variety of food. It also has a "build your own recipe" feature-- you throw your ingredients in and it calculates the nutritional values of the final product. Sort of fun.