Good King Henry
| Good King Henry | ||||||||||||||
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| Chenopodium bonus-henricus L. |
Good King Henry, also called mercury, lincolnshire spinach or poor man's asparagus is a variety of goosefoot which has been grown as a vegetable in cottage gardens for hundreds of years, although this dual-purpose vegetable is now a rarity.
Good King Henry is a perennial plant which grows up to 2 ft high. It should be planted in a fertile, sunny spot which is free from perennial weeds. Seeds should be sown in April in drills which are a quarter of an inch (1 cm) deep and 1.5 feet (50 cm) apart. The seedlings should then be thinned to 1 ft. Good King Henry does not respond well to transplantation.
Typically, very little is produced in the first season. The plants should be regularly hoed and well watered. Harvesting should be moderate, with just a few leaves at a time collected from each plant.
Foliage should be cut in autumn, and a mulch--such as peat, leafmold or well-rotted compost--applied to the plot. Cropping can begin in spring. Some of the new shoots can be cut as they appear (usually from April until June) and cooked like asparagus. All cutting should then cease so that shoots are be allowed to develop. The triangular succulent leaves are picked a few at a time until the end of August and cooked like spinach.
External links
Categories: Leaf vegetables