How and when can you plant the orache in your own garden? What should be considered when caring for, propagating and harvesting the plant and what can it be used for? And how can you remove the garden alarm? Find out all this in our special article.
For a long time, the garden orache was considered a harmful weed that only made gardening more difficult. Today, however, we know: the garden alarm is more useful than you think. The undemanding leafy vegetable scores particularly well in the garden with its uncomplicated cultivation, but also shines with its taste and nutritional quality.
Garden reporting: characteristics and origin
The garden orache (Atriplex hortensis) is widespread in Germany and accordingly has many names: In addition to "Spanish lettuce" and "Spanish spinach", it is also known under the name "Orache ” or simply known as “Report”.
As a member of the foxtail family (Amaranthaceae), the garden orache is closely related to the cultivated plants we are familiar with, such as spinach (Spinacia oleracea), quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and beetroot (Beta vulgaris). The garden orache probably has its home in the Near East and the Orient, but quickly found its way to Europe, where it was valued by the ancient Romans and Greeks as a food and medicinal plant. was first described. The Romans and Greeks also brought the orache to Central Europe and Germany, where it was on the menu well into the Middle Ages.
It was only with the discovery and cultivation of spinach that garden orache was slowly pushed out of the kitchen gardens. Nowadays, the garden orache can still be found as a wild plant throughout Europe and in Central Asia as far as China, but is often regarded as a weed. It has a high site tolerance and low nutrient requirements, which is why it occurs everywhere in nature as a "weed" or weed.
In contrast to its relatives, garden orache does not form a basal leaf rosette. Instead, the plant grows continuously in height, so that over the course of its lifereaches an impressive height of up to 2.5 meters. The arrow-shaped, triangular or oblong-ovate leaves of the garden orchard are arranged alternately on the stem and are about 5 to 25 centimeters long. They have smooth or slightly serrated edges. The inconspicuous red or green flowers of the garden orache are clustered in inflorescences and are pollinated by wind or insects.
Tip: This annual plant can easily be confused with the closely related and very common White Goosefoot (Chenopodium album). However, this is characterized by a white coating on the leaves, while the garden orache develops green, sometimes red, yellow or even violet colors.
The best varieties of garden orache
Even if the garden orache has not been cultivated commercially for a long time, it is possible to differentiate between different varieties. The garden orache is roughly divided into various selections, which differ in their colors: The best known and most frequently encountered variant is the green garden orache, which is characterized by dark green, rather round and smooth-edged leaves. The yellow garden orache impresses with light green, sometimes almost yellow leaves. Red forms of the garden orache only rarely occur in nature, but are extremely popular in horticulture because of their special appearance. Their color intensity is only increased by the purple garden orache.
In addition to this rough classification, which refers almost exclusively to the color intensity of the garden orache, the plant is also divided into different species and varieties. These not only stand out from each other in terms of appearance and size, but also in their properties as useful plants. We have summarized the best-known garden orphan varieties and their properties here for you:
- ˈRuby red garden oracheˈ: Local variety from Burgenland with bright red leaves; soft, slightly fleshy leaves; purple color is retained when cooked; also suitable as an ornamental plant.
- ˈYellow Mondseerˈ: Popular nougat with large, light green leaves; very vigorous variety that likes to sow; particularly suitable for cultivation as a useful plant.
- ˈBerndorfer Grüne Meldeˈ: Large, fleshy leaves with an excellent taste; New sowings germinate badly, ideally multiply by self-sowing.
- ˈOpéraˈ: Pretty, green-purple leaves with a wonderful taste; can be harvested for a long timeand very productive.
- ˈBlack Forest Butterkrautˈ: Traditional variety from the Black Forest; fast growth and quick maturity with high leaf mass yield.
Planting orchards: This is important to note
Low demands and hardly any maintenance requirements: The orache is ideal as a border plant or as a stopgap in the vegetable bed and is therefore an enrichment for every garden. Its suitability as part of a mixed culture in particular ensures that the orache can be found in almost every bed finds a place. Suitable neighbors include potatoes and types of cabbage, but the garden orache also gets along well with legumes such as peas or beans. Garden orache is similar to spinach in cultivation, but is considered a little less complicated.
The right place for the garden alarm
Finding the right location for the garden orphan is not difficult: In general, the plant has only low demands on its location, it can be grown in almost any bed. Sunny, humus-rich and not too dry locations are preferred, but the garden orache can often thrive in semi-shade without any problems. Although the garden report can be cultivated in almost any location, you should always pay attention to a diverse crop rotation in the garden. The garden orache or its close relatives should be grown in the same place for a maximum of three years. A change is then necessary so that the floor remains vital in the long term and is not stressed on one side.
How to sow the orchard
The cultivation of oraches is almost as easy as choosing a suitable location: between March and July, oraches can be sown directly outdoors, pre-cultivation in pots is not necessary. To give each plant enough space to develop, a distance of 25 cm between plants is ideal. Since the garden orache germinates in the dark, care should also be taken to ensure that the seeds are sown at a depth of 2 cm - this is the only way to ensure reliable germination. As a rule, it is not necessary to fertilize the soil beforehand, since the garden orphan is a particularly undemanding plant. It is only advisable to upgrade the soil with a high-quality potting soil, such as Plantura organic universal soil, in very sandy soils that are very poor in humus. In this way, the yield and vitality of the plants can be increased.
Tip:If you want to harvest small amounts of orache consistently throughout the summer, sow a little seed every three to four weeks to grow new plants.
Maintenance of the garden alarm
Although the garden orache is generally considered to be very easy to care for, it also needs a little attention every now and then in order to develop optimally. Particular attention must be paid to the space requirements of the plant: Since the mature orache reaches a stately size, the bed may have to be thinned out after emergence by removing young plants that are too close together.
In addition, an adequate supply of nutrients must be ensured , because only in this way can the orache bring a rich harvest. Although the nutrient requirements of the garden orache are rather low, the introduction of some organic fertilizer is highly recommended for exhausted and nutrient-poor soils. Caution is advised with mineral fertilizers: the garden orache often reacts very sensitively to a high supply of nitrogen with sudden susceptibility to diseases and pests. Organic fertilizers with a slow release of nitrogen are therefore better suited, as this minimizes the risk of over-fertilization. Here, for example, the Plantura organic universal fertilizer is recommended.
On hot, dry days, you should also ensure that the plants are adequately watered in order to maintain their vitality.
You should also loosen the soil between the orchards by regularly hoeing and freeing of weeds - this can increase the yield of the orchard again.
Tip: If you harvest your orache regularly, you will encourage new branches by pruning. In this way the total yield of the plant can be increased.
Grow orache
If you don't want to buy new seeds every year, you can simply take advantage of the garden orache's self-reproduction: If you let individual plants grow until they are ripe, the seeds will spread themselves in the bed, where they will germinate again in the spring. The disadvantage of this method, however, is that you can neither determine the quantity nor the location of the plants in the next year. An alternative that allows more control over the propagation of orache is to collect the mature seed pods. Stored in a dry, cool and dark place, these can germinate for up to three years. So they can be sown again next year at will.
Removal of the garden alarm
Due to its fast reproduction and its high undemanding nature, the garden orache can spread quickly in the garden. It's no wonder, then, that many see orache not only as a tasty beneficial, but as an unwelcome guest that competes with their other plants for space, light, and nutrients. If you have a problem with garden orache or you want to prevent uncontrolled propagation, timing is everything: Tear out the plants including their roots before they start to ripen seeds. Once the seeds are ripe, it is difficult to stop the spread and you will have to deal with the removal of the orache again next year.
However, combating orache with herbicides is not recommended, as these can have a negative effect not only on orache but also on other plants and pollute the environment.
Tip: Anyone who wants a garden orphan for their bed but is afraid of uncontrolled spread should opt for the red garden orphan. It rarely breeds, so it's a good option if you don't want it to spread around the garden.
Garden reporting: harvest and use
Just two months after sowing, the time has come and the orache can finally be harvested. The plants, which are already about 30 to 40 cm high at this point, are cut off about 20 cm above the ground with a sharp knife. But don't worry: the radical cut does not harm the plants. Quite the opposite: Like spinach, orache then sprout again and can be cut again a few weeks later. The repeated harvest often even promotes the sprouting and branching of the orache, so that the yield increases even further. Incidentally, the optimal time for harvesting is before flowering - this is when the aroma and nutrient content in the leaves is at its highest. Harvesting is possible until the first frost.
The use of the parts of the plant in the kitchen depends heavily on the age of the plants: in the case of young plants, the entire green part of the plant above the ground is edible. In the case of older, larger garden oraches, however, parts of the stalks may already be lignified, so that the stalks can no longer be used to prepare food. In addition, older leaves from the lower part of the plant can also be less palatable. Nevertheless you have todon't throw them away: they make wonderful food for small animals. In contrast, the young leaves from the shoot tips are not only particularly tasty, but can also be eaten raw. Above all, they are therefore often used in salads or as a smoothie. Otherwise orchard is prepared like spinach, which is also the closest to it in terms of taste. In particular, it is popular as a classic steamed vegetable, but also as a quiche or in soups or sauces.
But the garden orache is not only known as a food: In naturopathy, too, various properties as a medicinal plant are ascribed to the garden orache. The plant is said to have an effect on urinary tract infections, stimulate the metabolism and relieve nervous exhaustion. Applied externally, it is said to reduce gout disorders. However, the garden orache is considered to be particularly he althy because of its high nutrient content: thanks to high amounts of vitamin C, magnesium, calcium and iron, the garden orache is considered to be significantly he althier than its familiar spinach and chard relatives. In addition, due to its comparatively low oxalic acid content, it is better tolerated by people with kidney problems or rheumatism.
Tip: If you cannot use your harvest immediately, you can easily freeze the orache (similar to spinach).
For a long time, garden orache was just considered a nuisance weed before it was recognized that it is actually a valuable crop. Other supposed weeds can also be very useful. In our post, we will introduce you to weeds that you can eat.