If you have never heard of this unusual plant, then we hasten to present to your attention strawberry spinach, also known as spinach-raspberry, mulberry or zhminda ordinary. The birthplace of this exotic wild plant is northern Africa, southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Already for a long time, spinach-raspberry is popular and in demand in Holland , it is grown primarily as a useful green lettuce. And recently the multilevel marsh began to move quietly to our kitchen gardens. In connection with this, a number of misconceptions related to this plant also arose. Some summer residents are sure that this is a new-fashioned western hybrid of spinach, whether with strawberries, or with raspberries. This is not so, to the last two berries zhminda has nothing to do. But spinach is really a distant botanical relative.
Plant Description and Benefits
The plant is an annual vegetable culture, which forms small bushes up to half a meter in height. Spinach-raspberry grows quite actively and in a short time forms sharp spear-like leaves of green or light-green color and small red berries, which in appearance and really remind a little strawberries or raspberries.
Green strawberry spinach has a lot of useful properties. It is because of the leaves that it is grown in the first place. First of all, the greens of spinach-raspberries are a storehouse of iron. No other vegetable culture can compete with the zhmid in this category. In addition, the greens are rich in vitamins of groups B, C, E, A, contains many useful substances, proteins and trace elements. Eating green strawberry spinach can be eaten either raw, in salads, or as an ingredient in soups or meat dishes. Leaves can be frozen, dried, salted or marinated to use throughout the year.
Spinach-raspberry berries are also edible. But, despite their attractive appearance, they are almost insipid. Use them as food, they can be used as juices or as an ingredient for jam. Berries of strawberry spinach help to normalize hemoglobin. And thanks to the bright saturated red color, fruits can be used as a natural food color.
The rules for planting and caring for raspberry spinach
The plant is unprincipled and can actively develop on almost any soil. However, to obtain a rich harvest, it is better to plant it in fertile soil with a sufficient amount of moisture. Whether it is planted on the shady or sunny side also does not play a big role in the development of strawberry spinach. The unpretentiousness of growing zhminda allows you to independently choose in your garden a place for this exotic vegetable culture.
Seeds can be sown both directly into the open ground shortly after the snow has melted and in a seedling manner. The latter option is recommended for those who want to get an early harvest -
Planting and caring for strawberry spinach are easy and without any problems. An important quality in growing in the northern regions is the frost resistance of the plant. He will calmly bear the spring frosts down to -8 ° C, and also will well hibernate under dry shelter.
During the active development strawberry spinach should be regularly weeded and watered. Fertilize the plant can be ammonium nitrate and organic top dressing. The spinach does not tolerate hot and dry weather not very well, therefore in such periods it is more often and abundantly watered with water.