WARRIGAL GREENS/ SEA SPINACH Tetragonia tetragonioides Seeds

Also known as Botany Bay spinach, Cook’s cabbage, k kihi in M ori , sea spinach, and tetragon Its Australian names of warrigal greens and warrigal cabbage

Tetragonia tetragonioides is found scattered throughout Australia
It is a prostrate, sprawling plant with soft stems and foliage and can spread to around 2 metres The small, greenish yellow flowers appear at the leaf bases throughout most of the year

The plant is easily grown in moist, reasonably drained soils in sun or partial shade It is, however, short lived and needs to be regularly propagated, although under suitable conditions the plant will self seed and new plants will regularly appear in other parts of the garden to where the original plant was located

Few insects consume it, and even slugs and snails do not seem to feed on it

Bush food: Has similar flavour and texture properties to spinach, and is cooked like spinach The species, rarely used by indigenous people as a leaf vegetable, was first mentioned by Captain Cook It was immediately picked, cooked, and pickled to help fight scurvy, and taken with the crew of the Endeavour
Although edible, the leaves contain a high level of oxalic acid which must be leached out by blanching before eating This can be done by plunging the leaves into boiling water for a 3 4 minutes and then draining The water should be discarded

Germination: The thick, irregularly shaped seeds should be planted just after the last spring frost Before planting, the seeds should be soaked for 12 hours in cold water, or 3 hours in warm water
The seedlings will emerge in 10 C20 days, and it will continue to produce greens through the summer Mature plant will self seed