Good King Henry Seeds

Good King Henry is a perennial vegetable that crops for years from one sowing: spinach-like leaves all season and tender spring shoots you can eat like asparagus. Once a staple of cottage gardens, Blitum bonus-henricus forms a leafy clump of arrow-shaped, mid-green leaves, followed by spikes of small green flowers. Pick the young leaves to steam, wilt into butter or add raw to salads in small amounts, and cut the thick spring shoots when they are pencil thick. It is happy in a shady corner where other crops struggle, making it a good addition to a forest garden or allotment border.

Sowing and growing

• Sow outdoors October to November, or chill the seed in the fridge for 4 to 8 weeks and sow March to May
• Depth: about 0.5 cm, sown thinly where it is to grow
• Germination: slow and uneven, from a few weeks to a couple of months
• Thin to 30 to 40 cm apart
• Position: sun or partial shade, in rich, moist soil
• Height: about 70 cm in flower; spread 40 cm
• Harvest: pick a few leaves in the first summer, then crop fully from the second spring
• Lifecycle: fully hardy perennial

What you receive: a packet of about 100 open-pollinated seeds from Piccolo Seeds, with growing instructions on the back.

Good King Henry is part of our Foraging Wild Herbs seed collection. Find more unusual edibles and the full seed range.