Kōkihi
New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides), one of the country's few genuinely indigenous edible plants, historically significant as the leafy green Captain Cook's crew ate to ward off scurvy on their 18th-century voyages. Despite the name, it isn't a true spinach, and unlike the spinach already in this site's database, it tolerates real summer heat without bolting, making it a useful warm-season stand-in once true spinach has given up for the year. It sprawls considerably, so give it real room, and pick young leaves and growing tips regularly to keep new growth coming.
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- Sun
- full sun
- Water
- moderate
- Spacing
- 35cm
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Grows in
- Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Hamilton / Waikato, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Napier / Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson, Tasman, Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch / Canterbury, Dunedin / Otago, Invercargill / Southland
- Expected yield
- Regular pickings of young leaves and growing tips over a long season
When to plant by region
In Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Napier / Hawke's Bay: September-November. In Hamilton / Waikato, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson, Tasman, Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast and Christchurch / Canterbury: October-November. In Dunedin / Otago and Invercargill / Southland: November.
Growing stages
SowingSpring
- Sow 1-2cm deep and space 30-40cm apart, since plants spread considerably as they grow
- Keep soil consistently moist until germination, which takes 1-3 weeks
Establishment
- Full sun suits it best; partial shade helps if conditions turn extremely hot
- Unlike true spinach, it tolerates real summer heat without bolting
Ongoing growth & harvest
- Pick the youngest leaves and growing tips regularly; this stimulates more foliage rather than letting the plant go to seed
- Give it room to sprawl; a single plant spreads well beyond its original spacing
Self-seeding
- Becomes genuinely drought-tolerant once established
- Self-seeds readily in suitable conditions, often returning on its own the following season