Appreciate your input on those varieties of Spinach.

I didn't get any spinach. Don't know why it didn't come up. Malabar spinach (I know it's not real spinach, but...) I seeded in First week of April and it germinated and stalled. It was right in the middle of the swale/flooding. t's very much alive, like just waiting on the heat to show up. Has grown a bit over the last couple warm days. Amazing stuff. I look forward to watching it thrive. It must have some seriously aggressive roots.

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Helpful Amy! I've never tried many varieties. Bloomsdale and one other which i cant remember. The only thing I've noticed is when I transplant spinach which was started indoors it always bolts! Direct sowing definitely does better here. Mine bolted about two weeks ago here in Edmond.

I planted an entire container of Space about a month ago, and it never came up. Not one leaf. Hmm. This post reminded me of that. I can plant more, though. I rarely have trouble with spinach bolting, but I grow it in dappled sunlight.

I had heard the twisting trick for fall tomato plants when you want them to ripen green tomatoes. I tried it, I didn't see a difference with tomatoes. It would be easier to see with greens.

Yeah, I had spinach survive all winter one year. I have a bad habit of not harvesting soon enough, or often enough and then, boom, we're done. Still trying to get the rhythm down. I froze the excess yesterday. Sadly blanches down to gross little mounds that hardly make a meal. One thing I read said they didn't blanch, just washed and dried well. Anyone tried that? I assume you'd have to use it quickly.

I have not seen the rabbit this year, so maybe I can get a stand of Egyptian spinach for summer greens. Also trying a different form of amaranth called calaloo for summer greens. I would love it if we could mostly eat fresh and not have to preserve as much. Either that or I need another freezer, or to learn how to cook with dehydrated food.

Have you watched the dehydrate2store videos? Most of the dehydrated recipes I can't use but I do dehydrate for soups stews and smoothies.

Hey Amy, have you tried the New Zealand variety? I'm growing it for the first time this year and hope it'll provide us with salad greens in the summer.

I've not tried New Zealand, I grew Malabar one year but didn't care for it. I like the Egyptian spinach cooked. I like purslane and Jewels of Opar raw in salads. I have grown Tokyo Benkana and Fun Jen, which if you don't mind the taste, is supposed to grow in heat. I didn't care for it, but my chickens adore it. I've been on a quest to discover all the greens we might like. Most of the Asian greens have that distinctive taste. Usually cooked they're ok, but not raw. I keep saying I'm going to do sprouts or micro greens, hasn't happened, but one day.

When I grew New Zealand spinach, we liked it better cooked than raw. When you eat it raw, the texture just isn't right. I don't know why. I like Red Malabar, but the sliminess takes some getting used to. I really haven't found a heat-loving summer green that is just right. I suspect the answer is to grow lettuce indoors under lights, but with cats and dogs in the house, I don't bother.

The Dash spinach bolted quickly, despite being cut back. The Okame has not bolted! The Summerfest komatsuna had a couple of plants that bolted, but it put out the highest volume of greens. I didn't mention the American spinach (arrow leaf) variety before. It was kind of under a tomato plant, so I may not have cut it back. It was bolting today. The tatsoi and pac choi have not bolted. I cut the Yokatta-na way back. It was shading the beets. I'm leaving a couple of Bloomsdale plants to set seed. The spinach shaded the ground nicely, very few weeds under it, and it did a nice job of keeping the soil from splashing up on the tomatoes. I left the roots, I don't know if it will regrow to cover the soil. I was thinking about the "summer" lettuces to replace it. Probably too late, I never time those right. The chickens got so many greens they're acting picky. Jeez, you'd think they would devour it.

Maybe I'll put some Swiss chard there where the spinach was.