Ditto on Denninmi's comments on NZ spinach. Germination would likely be very poor, as has been reported by others. I recommend planting in cells as well, with the added step of soaking & pre-sprouting before planting. Soak the seeds in water over night (always use sterile water if possible), then drain excess water & keep moist until the first signs of sprouting appear. I keep the still-wet seeds in a covered bowl, then pluck out the seeds as they sprout & plant them. I should say "seeds" in quotes, since they are not really single seeds, but seed clusters. There is another advantage to planting in pots - the sprouts look like weeds! Some who report no germination might have pulled them out by mistake. NZ spinach will sprawl quite a bit; it forms thick clumps even in my short summers. The plants in the photo below are 12" apart. I even had some volunteers appear under one of my squash patches, and they were quite happy in the shade, spreading to 3' across! Of all of the "spinaches" (Egyptian, Malabar, etc.) NZ spinach is the most spinach-like in flavor & texture, IMO. The yield can be enormous. It has a fairly high oxalic acid content, though... a little higher than regular spinach.

Hi Becca My wife and I honeymooned on the south island 5 years ago, and the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch is the place to start! You will really enjoy NZ, because they grow things there year around that would be an anual here, thus the size of the plants is huge compared to what you would see here. We traveled to Queenstown from Christchurch, and back to Picton thru Greymouth on the west coast. My wife says that you will not be allowed to bring back live plant material, but you can buy seeds and bring them back. If your looking for a place to stay in Christchurch I highly recommend Buckingham Palace Hotel. Its a mom and pop operation as most hotels are in NZ. A tip on driving in NZ, as they drive on the other side of the road from us, is to follow behind someone........then you won't get into trouble, and watch yourself while crossing the street as you will naturaly look the wrong way when stepping off the curb and you can get run over that way, as I nearly did! I was told on my first trip that while God was making the world, he saved a small peice of everywhere and put those pieces together to make NZ. If you are luck enough to get to travel NZ you will see that its true. NZ is a beautiful place and so are the people. Bill

There is a small section on Oca in the book, "The Garden Gurus - A Guide To Water Wise Gardening" by Trevor Cochran and Neville Passmore. This book is quite specific to WA gardening and conditions. I'd assume because there is a section on Oca, they can be successfully grown in at least some parts of WA and can be obtained locally. They also have a website www.thegardengurus.tv. I tried emailing this, but I got no reply - frustrating!

I usually buy Palmolive and don't find it's heavily scented. I've purchased plain old Dawn before and like it okay, too. Last year, before the shutdown, I bought one of these at Costco to take to a friend's cabin where I am frequently a guest. I try to bring some supplies to replenish what gets used when I visit, but someone else had brought the same exact thing that weekend, so she insisted I bring mine home (not a lot of storage). I began using it during the shut down because I was out of my regular and it's quite nice. It says it is citrus, but I do not get that scent from it at all. It's very lightly scented (I'd prefer none) but it's not at all offensive. I use it at the sink to wash my hands, too, and it's very gentle. Seems to cut grease well, too. With costco's generous return policy, you might want to try it - it's not heavily colored either. It's lighter, more transparent than this pic shows.