Atriplex hortensis var. rubra organic seeds - Red orache

These are organic seeds of Red Orache (Atriplex hortensis var. Rubra), a vigorous annual leaf vegetable. Its large, triangular, bright purplish-red leaves can be eaten young in salads or cooked like spinach. It is easy to grow and tolerates most well-worked soils, preferably rich and moist, in sun or light partial shade, withstanding summer heat well. Sown from March to August, it will provide regular harvests all summer long while adding beautiful height and colour to the vegetable garden.

Red Orache belongs to the Amaranthaceae family, formerly classified among the Chenopodiaceae. The botanical species Atriplex hortensis has many common names: orache, red orache, garden orache, cultivated orache, arronse, belle-dame, bonne-dame, giant spinach, or even chou d’amour. Red Orache is an old selection, chosen for its deep red, very decorative foliage, more colourful than the green forms.
In the wild, Atriplex hortensis is an annual originating from Central Asia, Asia Minor, and the Caucasus, where it grows on steppes, fallow land, field edges, and rich soils; it has since become widely naturalised in many temperate regions of the globe.
The plant develops a fairly deep taproot that anchors it well in the soil. The stems are erect, then branched, reaching 1.50 to 2 m in height. The basal leaves are large, triangular, sometimes slightly crinkled, up to about twenty centimetres long, initially covered with a fine bloom, becoming distinctly purplish to wine-red in sunny positions. In summer, long panicles of tiny greenish to reddish flowers develop at the top of the stems, from July to September. These inconspicuous flowers have no decorative petals. Orache is monoecious, bearing male and female flowers on the same plant, and pollination occurs mainly by wind and self-pollination. The fruits are small utricles surrounded by thin bracts which contain two types of seeds, of different sizes and colours; they remain viable for several years, which explains the frequent self-sowing.
Therefore, you will naturally find seeds of varied hues in the same packet, without this affecting the quality of the crop. A fast-growing plant, Red Orache appreciates deep, humus-rich, well-drained soils, preferably moist, but tolerates occasional heat, a little drought, and even slightly saline soil.
It is a very old vegetable: mentioned historically by Theophrastus, then recommended in the Middle Ages in the Capitulare de villis, it was cultivated for a long time as "mountain spinach" before being forgotten, and is now returning to natural vegetable gardens for its culinary and ornamental interest.

Orache leaves can be cooked like spinach, eaten raw in salads or cooked quickly by steaming, in gratins, in pies... They pair very well with Sorrel. It is a low-calorie vegetable, containing a lot of fibre, vitamin C, and minerals. However, due to its richness in oxalic acid, it should be consumed in moderation by people with kidney stones.

Orache is not demanding, it is content with a fairly poor soil or one previously manured and a position in partial shade. Its only weakness is its tendency to bolt quickly during dry spells. To remedy this minor inconvenience, we advise you to stagger the sowings over time.

Harvest: pick the leaves as they develop, as needed. The first harvests generally occur 4 months after sowing.

Storage: Orache does not keep very well in the refrigerator as it tends to become limp. It is best to consume it a few hours after harvesting. You can, however, freeze it after blanching for 3 minutes in salted boiling water.

The gardener's little tip: to limit weeds, mulch the soil with thin successive layers of grass clippings, if possible mixed with dead leaves. This protection keeps the soil moist and also limits watering.

Organic or "AB" seeds come from plants grown without phytosanitary products (insecticidal, herbicides). These seeds also do not undergo any post-harvest treatment. They bear the AB label and are certified by Ecocert, which is an independent body.