Normally 3 cuttings are made with an interval of about 5 weeks between each one. Impressive yields up to 90 tons per hectare are possible. Kangkong is sometimes eaten raw in salads but more commonly as a vitamin rich potherb. As the name implies this plant is native to New Zealand and can be used as a substitute for spinach. It is a low growing plant that, unlike spinach, thrives in hot weather.
Harvesting usually begins about six weeks after planting.
Young leaves are added raw to salad and older ones are boiled or stir fried. New Zealand spinach contains relatively high levels of oxalic acid which makes its calcium difficult to absorb. A relatively common weed in gardens and along stream banks in the northern temperate zones, nettles is considered to be an indicator of rich fertile soil. It gets it name from the irritation or sting that people experience when brushing their skin against nettles leaves. This irritating quality is quickly lost when the leaves are either cooked or dried.