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Good King Henry has
many other names – mercury, Lincolnshire
spinach, poor man’s asparagus and so on,
and it has been grown as a vegetable in cottage
gardens for hundreds of years. But fashions change,
and now this dual-purpose vegetable is a rarity.
It is a perennial which reaches about 2ft (60cm)
high. Pick a fertile, sunny spot which is free
from perennial weeds and sow the seeds in April
in drills which are 1/4in (0.5cm) deep and 1 ½
ft (45cm) apart. Thin the seedlings to 1ft (30cm)
– do not transplant. You must not expect
too much in the first season – keep the
plants regularly hoed, well watered and each time
you harvest pick just a few leaves from each plant
for cooking.
Cut down the foliage in autumn and mulch with
peat, leaf mould or well-rotted compost. Cropping
can begin in the spring – cut some of the
new shoots as the appear from April until June
and cook like asparagus. Cutting should then cease
and all shoots must be allowed to develop. The
succulent triangular leaves are picked a few at
a time until the end of August and cooked like
spinach.
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