Strawberry Spinach

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Leaf miners

Leaf miners

Agromyzidae

Pale trails inside the leaf — mostly harmless, and out of reach of any spray.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

to keep them in check — plant InulaGood, Purple ConeflowerGood and Viper's BuglossGood nearby.

Growing from seed

Direct-sow Strawberry Spinach outdoors around your last frost date, keeping seeds in cooler soil (around 10–18 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 14 days. Grow in full sun, spaced about 25 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 60 days.

Keep track of the seeds you own.

Companion Planting

• 
  Sainfoin
  

  SainfoinGreat pair

  • ❧Sainfoin attracts Ladybugs and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Leaf miners that attack Strawberry Spinach
  • ❧Sainfoin fixes nitrogen in the soil that Strawberry Spinach feeds on
  • ❧Sainfoin roots deep while Strawberry Spinach feeds near the surface — no competition
• 
  Bird's-foot Trefoil
  

  Bird's-foot TrefoilGood pair

  • ❧Bird's-foot Trefoil attracts Ladybugs and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Leaf miners that attack Strawberry Spinach
  • ❧Bird's-foot Trefoil fixes nitrogen in the soil that Strawberry Spinach feeds on
• 
  Allard's Lavender
  

  Allard's LavenderGood pair

  • ❧Allard's Lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Leaf miners that attack Strawberry Spinach
  • ❧Allard's Lavender roots deep while Strawberry Spinach feeds near the surface — no competition

How to grow Strawberry Spinach

1. Sow0 weeks from frost
2. Germinates14 days
3. Space25 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~60 days

Water: Medium · Height: 60 cm · Soil: Well-draining, average