New Zealand Spinach

Tetragonia tetragonioides

How to sow New Zealand spinach: Direct seed outdoors after last frost, thin seedlings to 30cm

Sun requirement for New Zealand spinach: Plant in Full Sun

New Zealand Spinach is a warm-weather spinach alternative that is not directly related to spinach, but has a similar flavor and texture. The plant has a bushy, spreading habit and pointed, succulent, bright green leaves. Leaves can be eaten fresh in salads or cooked like spinach. Unlike spinach, New Zealand Spinach thrives in warm temperatures and will not survive the first hard frost. Seeds germinate slowly and benefit from being soaked before planting.

14: plantings
6: harvests
4: seed packets

Growing New Zealand spinach

Perennial

living more than two years

First harvest expected

12 weeks after planting

Height

60cm

Spread

90cm

Row Spacing

10cm

Grown for

leaf harvested 6 times

How members grow New Zealand spinach

Sunniness

Planted from

Harvested for

Photos

New zealand spinach plantings

DSC00553

by shiny 2017-04-06 0

DSC00580

by shiny 2017-04-07 0

IMG_20170422_110850

by shiny 2017-04-22 0

20170506_153451

by shiny 2017-05-06 0

IMG_20180404_112115

by shiny 2018-04-04 0

New zealand spinach harvests

IMG_20180422_105401

by shiny 2018-04-22 2

IMG_20180423_180728

by shiny 2018-04-23 0

IMG_20180502_171237

by shiny 2018-05-02 0

New zealand spinach seeds

IMG_20261011_120738

by shiny 2026-10-11 0

IMG_20261011_120259

by shiny 2026-10-11 0

More photos

Video

Where New Zealand spinach grow

Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.

What people are saying about New Zealand spinach

Indigenous plants

by shiny,

I've been growing several indigenous plants recently. Theres a miro tree that will eventually have berries. I've added karaka tawa, and hīnau to the growstuff database too, as these were (and are) food sources for the people living here for centuries…