Ever enthusiastic to try a new plant I bought some Strawberry Spinach seeds (also known as Strawberry Sticks) to trial this year.
The results:
- There were 25 seeds in the packet (costing £1.99). Germination/growth rates weren’t great which resulted in only five plants. Still those five have survived and thrived (and I am lead to believe will self-seed happily creating plenty more plants now that we’re started).
- Those surviving plants transplanted and grew on well (I think others have had some problems with transplanting), are now about 60 cm tall and look attractive.
- The young leaves of the plant are tasty (slightly strong lettuce flavour) in salads and, true to the name, taste similar to spinach if cooked.
- The berries are a disappointment – they look great; bright red and hinting that they are full of flavour but they’re not. It’s a mild, sweet taste, not unpleasant, but the fruit is very pippy.
The following article gives a great overview of growing and eating the plant with more detail than my little trial http://www.seedaholic.com/strawberry-spinach.html
Conclusion – if I manage to save some seed and I have a spare pot I would grow again, otherwise probably not.