Everlasting Spinach

[KateM]

When we took over our allotment in April, we were left with some everlasting spinach.  The plants were about a foot high and quite bushy.  We've cleaned up round the bottom of the plants removing the slug eaten leaves and have brought some home for a delicious dinner a few times and the plants seem to have benefitted from this as they are rapidly growing.  A couple of them are now easily 3.5 feet tall, and they are starting to flower.
Does anyone know if we need to remove the flowers or do anything with them?  We've pretty much left them to themselves after cleaning them up.

[KateM]

[manicscousers]

sorry I can't answer your question, Kate, we don't grow spinach..maybe someone will be along soon  :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Hoik them out and plant more. Mine are doing the same; I should have planted another lot weeks ago.

[KateM]

completely remove them?  Are they no longer any good?

[saddad]

They are bolting, you can keep breaking out the flowering stems but they will go over. Plant some more... ready in about a month at this time of year... Our replacements are nearly ready so we took the old plants out last night..  :)

[thifasmom]

yes time to say bye, bye but if you aren't rushed for the space then you can still leave them and continue to harvest the leaves as they don't go bitter when flowering but the leaves will get smaller. in the mean time sow a fresh batch.

my fresh batch sown this year will be harvested this week and i left one of my old plants from last year (it is not in my way) to flower and set seed to see if i can harvest seed from it.

PS when removing them be aware they have a heck of a root system and only a fork will do :), does anyone know if the roots are edible mine were huge :o.

[thifasmom]

so OK just did a bit of research and though the huge roots aren't thought of as edible, the flowering stems can be cooked as a broccoli substitute, according to this site:
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Beta+vulgaris+cicla
note to self must remember that for next year to prolong the harvest during that annoying hungry gap.

In my research i also found that it selfseeds if left to its own devices so if you had an area that you could dedicate to it, you could in theory treat it as a perennial.

[KateM]

That's super, thank you.  We've decided that as they are in the end of the allotment that we havn't yet got to, we shall leave them to see if they self seed.  We shall let you know how we get on!

[busy_lizzie]

Mine can last up to 10 months, but once they go to seed, they don't taste as nice and I would recommend digging them up . You may as well sow some more seed now and get some nice new delicate leaves. I would imagine it would be quite a long process to wait for them to self seed, even if that happens. busy_lizzie

[saddad]

As it is just Beta Vulgaris... from which chard and beetroot were selected it will be "technically" edible.... but to quote the "Crocodile Dundee" films... "you cna live off it, but it tastes like sh1t... or needs garlic"  :)