Monstrous Viroflay Spinach



Monstruex de Viroflay Spinach leaves grow pretty large.

 Whilst looking for good varieties of leafy greens that might do well in Arizona I happened upon a company called Condor Seeds. They are based out of Yuma, Arizona - which happens to be in Yuma County, the “Winter Salad Bowl Capital” of the U.S. With this knowledge I began scanning Condor seeds’ website until I found what I was looking for. The company happens to sell only one kind of spinach, which just happens to be open-pollinated. So what did I do? I waited and looked around at seed racks in my area until I found the exact same spinach variety as sold by Condor Seeds - Monstrueux de Viroflay. This translates into “Monsterous Viroflay” spinach – Viroflay is a city in France.

My first crop of Viroflay Spinach in January.



2nd Harvest of Viroflay (March) - the yogurt cup is for bugs



So far this winter variety this giant French Spinach has done rather well. I have had disease and growth problems with spinach in the past, but so far so good. Not all leaves are huge, but given adequate spacing I see how this spinach could be very beneficial in supplying both a baby spinach crop during thinning and a heavier large-leaf crop during final harvest. This variety tends to not become bitter even when temperatures get up to 90 degrees - though they may bolt. This means for an Arizona climate this winter crop can be extended into March or April. These fine leafy beasties are fit for a cool crisp salad or a hearty spinach lasagna.

A delicious Spinach Lasagna made by my loving wife.