Strawberry Spinach – Quick Need

Strawberry Spinach in Kratky Hydroponics – Week 4

Growing Strawberry Spinach in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week4

This week saw an exciting change in our Strawberry Spinach plants. Firstly, the leaves have gotten quite a lot larger throughout the week. I could probably start harvesting the leaves around this point, but my main focus is on whether this plant will produce berries – harvesting leaves would encourage the plant to focus on vegetative growth rather than fruit growth. Which brings me to the exciting part… I can see berries developing!

Berries on the Strawberry Spinach Grown in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week4
Berries on the Strawberry Spinach Grown in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week4

The berries are minuscule; about the size of a pin head. But they are there! Along most of the stalks, usually in the crooks between main branch and the off shots, are little tiny berries. They look somewhat like miniature green raspberries.

Since my grow room lacks fresh grown fruit, I am very excited to see that the plants are beginning to produce. We are still in the process of finding that nice equilibrium of vegetables to leafy greens to fruit ratio; currently we have too many leafy greens, whilst our vegetables are very slowly producing and our fruit is rather lacking.

Have you grown a Strawberry Spinach plant before? I’d love to know if you liked how it tastes, and if you got many berries from it? Let me know in the comments below.

Strawberry Spinach in Kratky Hydroponics – Week 3

I’ve been really excited to see my Strawberry Spinach plant grow to maturity since I first discovered it. I love both strawberry and spinach, and apparently this plant is a perfect blend of both those passions: the leaves taste like spinach whilst the fruit taste like strawberries. Intriguing, right?

Growing Strawberry Spinach in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week 2
Growing Strawberry Spinach in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week 3

If we compare growth between week two and three, its clear that they have grown significantly… Much more than I had expected to be honest. That’s one thing I love about blogging; I get to look back at the growth progress of my plants and just be constantly astounded.

Growing Strawberry Spinach in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week 3

There isn’t any sign of the fruit yet, but the plant is really quite young. It can take anywhere from 45 to 60 days to mature, and its currently only 21 days. I suspect that if we are lucky in about two weeks we may see some fruit development.

Until then, I might try some of the leaves in salads. I want to keep as many leaves as possible on the plant as I suspect the fruit grows directly on the stems rather than creating their own stems.

Do you know if Strawberry Spinach creates stems for the fruit, or if they grow directly on the leaf branches? Let me, and others, know in the comments below.

Strawberry Spinach in Kratky Hydroponics – Week 2

Two weeks ago I planted some Strawberry Spinach in my Kratky hydroponic buckets. I didn’t do a week 1 update as I had guests at the time and was too busy, and they didn’t look like much (most germinated seeds look the same at one week old). Well now its been two weeks, so I thought I should show an update.

Growing Strawberry Spinach in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week 2

Unlike many of my other plants, I have noticed that the leaves appear much more yellow. I don’t know if this is a growth issue or that this species just has yellow leaves.

I am rather excited about this plant. I seem to be generating quite a lot of edible greenery, but I still lack fruit. Strawberry Spinach is meant to be that perfect compromise; the leaves taste like spinach whilst the berries they produce are reminiscent of strawberries. Sounds perfect, right?

According to my notes the strawberry spinach will take 6-9 weeks before they are ready to harvest (hopefully with berries). Fingers crossed! If they work out well, they may become a regular plant in our grow room.