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Hardiness: USDA Zone 2a: to -45.5 °C (-50 °F) USDA Zone 2b: to -42.7 °C (-45 °F) USDA Zone 3a: to -39.9 °C (-40 °F) USDA Zone 3b: to -37.2 °C (-35 °F) USDA Zone 4a: to -34.4 °C (-30 °F) USDA Zone 4b: to -31.6 °C (-25 °F) USDA Zone 5a: to -28.8 °C (-20 °F) USDA Zone 5b: to -26.1 °C (-15 °F) USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3 °C (-10 °F) USDA Zone 6b: to -20.5 °C (-5 °F) USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7 °C (0 °F) USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9 °C (5 °F) USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 °C (10 °F) USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 °C (15 °F) Not Applicable
Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade
Danger: N/A
Bloom Color: Pale Green
Bloom Time: Late Spring/Early Summer Mid Summer Late Summer/Early Fall
Foliage: Grown for foliage
Other details: May be a noxious weed or invasive Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater Self-sows freely; deadhead if you do not want volunteer seedlings next season
Soil pH requirements: 6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic) 6.6 to 7.5 (neutral) 7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline)
The neutral rating is due to lack of long-term experience with strawberry spinach; last year was the first I've tried it, so I don't yet know if it'll be real "pesky" (invasive-wise) or not.
I found it to be a delightful plant, leaves & "berries" alike. I like the flavor of the sweet red things - sort of corn-like, but with lots of other overtones. Great in salads.
It does contain oxalic acid, but that's not a concern unless you plan on using it as a mainstay of your diet!
We'll see what I think after the 2010 growing season.
It was a nice trial in my vegetable garden for the first year, growing with fennel and making a lovely scene. But strawberry spinach is a real weed since it produces tons of seeds ! I now have to dig it up each spring in my yard. Leaves are suitable as a substitute of spinach but don't expect something of the fruits : it looks like a strawberry but tastes like a sickly sweet beet !
On Sep 2, 2005, Farmerdill from Augusta, GA (Zone 8a) wrote:
45 days Tender, fast-growing greens with a delicate flavor. Try raw in salads (good mesclun ingredient) or cooked like spinach and chard. As a bonus, the small, red berries are cheerful as well as edible, and can be mashed, in quantities, to make a juice or to color other foods. Attractive enough to grow in gardens or containers.
On Mar 6, 2005, saya from Heerlen Netherlands (Zone 8b) wrote:
The flowers turn into red during setting seeds and look like little strawberries. They taste a litle sweet. It can be grown as a vegetable for its leaves that taste and can be cooked like spinach.
On Sep 4, 2001, Joy from Kalama, WA (Zone 8b) wrote:
The tiny flowers produce a small fruit that looks like a tiny strawberry and is edible, although not especially tasty. It will easily grow in a container.
Regional...
This plant has been said to grow in the following regions:
, (2 reports) Franklin Park, Illinois Cresaptown-bel Air, Maryland Millersburg, Michigan Mechanicville, New York Slingerlands, New York Kalama, Washington