Atriplex hortensis
200 seeds
Maturity: 45 days
Also called Mountain Spinach, Purple Orach dates back to the Middle Ages as a staple in Eurasia and it is making a comeback today. Related to cultivated spinach but easier to grow, slower to bolt, and just as tasty and highly nutritious. If well maintained, dark purple velvety leaves can be harvested from Breakup until the first hard frost. Best eaten young and tender, harvest small leaves for a beautiful addition to salads, otherwise plants can grow upwards of 4’ tall and are best for cooking. Purple Orach thrives in Alaskan gardens similar to its wilder relative, Lambs Quarter, and will self seed readily for early spring greens the next season.