Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

These have been producing very well the last few weeks and I'd like to keep
them going for as long as I'm able. Should I just keep watering with some
liquid fertiliser periodically? I'm collecting leaves for salads and stuff
every second day atm. How long should I wait before I sew more seeds for a
new crop? Can I keep doing this until the weather changes? I am in
Melbourne.
Thanks

Liz

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

"Staycalm" wrote in message
...
These have been producing very well the last few weeks and I'd like to
keep them going for as long as I'm able. Should I just keep watering with
some liquid fertiliser periodically? I'm collecting leaves for salads and
stuff every second day atm. How long should I wait before I sew more seeds
for a new crop? Can I keep doing this until the weather changes? I am in
Melbourne.
Thanks

Liz

ime, rocket grows very fast & readily & flowers quickly too, so just sow
more every so often, or pick it more vigorously to put off flowering. you
don't _have_ to re-sow often if you don't want to - you can eat it even when
it's fully flowering, but a lot of people find it too peppery by then. :-)

spinach otoh is slower all around ime. i had some that lasted for absolutely
_ages_, i just picked off the outer leaves as required & they never flowered
(they died of heat instead when hot weather came ;-)). if it's not too hot
for spinach where you are atm, sow again or just try to keep them going,
it's up to you. generally speaking though, spinach gets cranky in summer. i
gave some a go, but it just didn't want to live. i might try again - we're
having a cold snap now g. all around though i find spinach really
temperamental - i'm just hanging out for my ruby chard to get a tiny bit
bigger, & eat the baby leaves of that instead. (i've also ordered n.z.
spinach (warrigal) seeds from digger's, but that's another story).
kylie

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

"0tterbot" wrote in message
...
"Staycalm" wrote in message
...
These have been producing very well the last few weeks and I'd like to
keep them going for as long as I'm able. Should I just keep watering with
some liquid fertiliser periodically? I'm collecting leaves for salads and
stuff every second day atm. How long should I wait before I sew more
seeds for a new crop? Can I keep doing this until the weather changes? I
am in Melbourne.
Thanks

Liz

ime, rocket grows very fast & readily & flowers quickly too, so just sow
more every so often, or pick it more vigorously to put off flowering. you
don't _have_ to re-sow often if you don't want to - you can eat it even
when it's fully flowering, but a lot of people find it too peppery by
then. :-)

spinach otoh is slower all around ime. i had some that lasted for
absolutely _ages_, i just picked off the outer leaves as required & they
never flowered (they died of heat instead when hot weather came ;-)). if
it's not too hot for spinach where you are atm, sow again or just try to
keep them going, it's up to you. generally speaking though, spinach gets
cranky in summer. i gave some a go, but it just didn't want to live. i
might try again - we're having a cold snap now g. all around though i
find spinach really temperamental - i'm just hanging out for my ruby chard
to get a tiny bit bigger, & eat the baby leaves of that instead. (i've
also ordered n.z. spinach (warrigal) seeds from digger's, but that's
another story).
kylie
I planted my spinach and rocket in the NW corner of the garden, with loads
of mulch around and they have been sown very densly. I have been trying to
give them regular doses of liquid fertilizer. They have been going great
guns.
I got given a plant of Warrigal greens for Chrissy! Is it nice to eat?

Liz

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

"Staycalm" wrote in message
...

spinach otoh is slower all around ime. i had some that lasted for
absolutely _ages_, i just picked off the outer leaves as required & they
never flowered (they died of heat instead when hot weather came ;-)). if
it's not too hot for spinach where you are atm, sow again or just try to
keep them going, it's up to you. generally speaking though, spinach gets
cranky in summer. i gave some a go, but it just didn't want to live. i
might try again - we're having a cold snap now g. all around though i
find spinach really temperamental - i'm just hanging out for my ruby
chard to get a tiny bit bigger, & eat the baby leaves of that instead.
(i've also ordered n.z. spinach (warrigal) seeds from digger's, but
that's another story).
kylie
I planted my spinach and rocket in the NW corner of the garden, with loads
of mulch around and they have been sown very densly. I have been trying to
give them regular doses of liquid fertilizer. They have been going great
guns.
I got given a plant of Warrigal greens for Chrissy! Is it nice to eat?

i don't know yet!! i hope so :-) eat some & let me know! i was perusing the
digger's catalogue & noted that it's a frost-hardy perennial (hurrah), so
for $2.50 or whatever it is, i thought i can't go wrong :-) it probably
doesn't taste exactly like spinach, but we'll see! (hopefully it's yummy, &
if not, life goes on).

baby nasturtium leaves are yummy, we've been putting those in the salad just
lately.
kylie

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

0tterbot wrote:
i'm just hanging out for my ruby chard to get a tiny bit
bigger, & eat the baby leaves of that instead

Apparently there is an acid in silverbeet (swiss chard) that is
bad for people with gout, and possibly for asthmatics. My
missus had an asthma attack after eating raw silverbeet,
but she doesn't have a problem when it is cooked. Just
something to think about if you use it for salads.

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
0tterbot wrote:
i'm just hanging out for my ruby chard to get a tiny bit
bigger, & eat the baby leaves of that instead

Apparently there is an acid in silverbeet (swiss chard) that is
bad for people with gout, and possibly for asthmatics. My
missus had an asthma attack after eating raw silverbeet,
but she doesn't have a problem when it is cooked. Just
something to think about if you use it for salads.

really? didn't know that!
i might see if that will work on my father in law...
just joking.

i love ruby chard and five-colour chard because it's just so utterly
beautiful to look at!! (and the baby leaves are delicious).
kylie

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

"0tterbot" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
oups.com...
0tterbot wrote:
i'm just hanging out for my ruby chard to get a tiny bit
bigger, & eat the baby leaves of that instead

Apparently there is an acid in silverbeet (swiss chard) that is
bad for people with gout, and possibly for asthmatics. My
missus had an asthma attack after eating raw silverbeet,
but she doesn't have a problem when it is cooked. Just
something to think about if you use it for salads.

really? didn't know that!
i might see if that will work on my father in law...

green potatos or rubarb leaves are best

rob

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote:

(i've also ordered n.z.
spinach (warrigal) seeds from digger's, but that's another story).

I did that, thinking it would make a nice ground cover on my native plant bed.
Well, that's like saying that Hitler would make a nice leader of Germany.
Rampant didn't begin to describe it... it went across the ground, up the
shrubs (I had to rip it off to prevent it strangling them), and now it's
coming up in the vegie patch. And I don't find it palatable.

On the positive side, it is no longer rampant because my chooks love it. They
are currently free-ranging and will keep it from being completely feral until
I pop them into their tractor again. I don't know what you'd do if you don't
have chooks...

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

I think silverbeet is related to rhubarb, so I would imagine
silverbeet contains a certain amount of oxalic acid in the leaves,
although not as much as rhubarb.

Tish

On Wed, 03 Jan 2007 12:01:00 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote:

wrote in message
roups.com...
0tterbot wrote:
i'm just hanging out for my ruby chard to get a tiny bit
bigger, & eat the baby leaves of that instead

Apparently there is an acid in silverbeet (swiss chard) that is
bad for people with gout, and possibly for asthmatics. My
missus had an asthma attack after eating raw silverbeet,
but she doesn't have a problem when it is cooked. Just
something to think about if you use it for salads.

really? didn't know that!
i might see if that will work on my father in law...
just joking.

i love ruby chard and five-colour chard because it's just so utterly
beautiful to look at!! (and the baby leaves are delicious).
kylie

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote:

(i've also ordered n.z.
spinach (warrigal) seeds from digger's, but that's another story).

I did that, thinking it would make a nice ground cover on my native plant
bed.
Well, that's like saying that Hitler would make a nice leader of Germany.
Rampant didn't begin to describe it... it went across the ground, up the
shrubs (I had to rip it off to prevent it strangling them), and now it's
coming up in the vegie patch. And I don't find it palatable.

On the positive side, it is no longer rampant because my chooks love it.
They
are currently free-ranging and will keep it from being completely feral
until
I pop them into their tractor again. I don't know what you'd do if you
don't
have chooks...

I think today's heat has done in the one I was given for Christmas :-(

Liz

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote:

(i've also ordered n.z.
spinach (warrigal) seeds from digger's, but that's another story).

I did that, thinking it would make a nice ground cover on my native plant
bed.
Well, that's like saying that Hitler would make a nice leader of Germany.
Rampant didn't begin to describe it... it went across the ground, up the
shrubs (I had to rip it off to prevent it strangling them), and now it's
coming up in the vegie patch. And I don't find it palatable.

On the positive side, it is no longer rampant because my chooks love it.
They
are currently free-ranging and will keep it from being completely feral
until
I pop them into their tractor again. I don't know what you'd do if you
don't
have chooks...

lmao, that sounds like you have super-intelligent and evil hens to use all
your heavy machinery for you....

ahem. (i do understand the chicken tractor, fear not). what you say here is
not to me a bad thing :-) firstly, i doubt my soil's anywhere near as good
as yours - it may not go feral at all. secondly, i'm always on the lookout
for easy greens for the chooks. they've been a bit grassless lately and the
colour of their yolks is SO much nicer with more greens (plus it's good for
them, since they scoff it up).

if the warrigal gets going, i'll keep a careful eye on it just in case!!!
kylie

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote:

ahem. (i do understand the chicken tractor, fear not). what you say here is
not to me a bad thing :-) firstly, i doubt my soil's anywhere near as good
as yours - it may not go feral at all.

This was my native garden bed, which is made of sandstone rubble.

secondly, i'm always on the lookout
for easy greens for the chooks. they've been a bit grassless lately and the
colour of their yolks is SO much nicer with more greens (plus it's good for
them, since they scoff it up).

Well that's all right then!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

"0tterbot" wrote in message

if the warrigal gets going, i'll keep a careful eye on it just in
case!!!

Beastly stuff IMHO. Best used for chook greens :-))

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

Tish wrote:
I think silverbeet is related to rhubarb, so I would imagine
silverbeet contains a certain amount of oxalic acid in the leaves,
although not as much as rhubarb.

That's the one.

Maintaining spinach and rocket crops
 

wrote in message
Tish wrote:
I think silverbeet is related to rhubarb, so I would imagine
silverbeet contains a certain amount of oxalic acid in the leaves,
although not as much as rhubarb.

That's the one.

I thought that the acid involved with gout was Uric acid not oxalic
acid? Does oxalic acid change into uric acid within the body?

And silverbeet is not related to rhubarb. Silverbeet is related to
the beet family as is spinach.