(pics) Small White Crystals on Spinach plant

sausageLord · Tue Mar 25, 2014 12:55 pm

Hello,
I'm a first time gardener and I've recently transplanted some spinach plants. They have been in the ground for about 10 days. I water them every other day in the morning at 6am for about 45min using drip irrigation system.

I noticed a couple days ago that small white crystals show up on spinach plant. Here is the pictures. The images a fairly high quality so you can zoom in for closer look. Any ideas what it is?

Album
https://imgur.com/a/7t4SQ

Single image
https://I.imgur.com/A5jyTi6.jpg

!potatoes! · Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:02 pm

yup, little crystalline hairs. they're part of the spinach itself. as the leaves grow they get farther apart and sometimes rubbed off, so they're less obvious then.

sausageLord · Tue Mar 25, 2014 11:54 pm

Since I've posted this ive earned that the crystals are Calcium Oxalate. A natural thing for some leafy vegetables. Oxalate acid is a natural acid produced by the plant. When the Oxalate combines with the Calcium from the spinach it creates the crystals. It's still unclear what purpose the crystals are for but some say it's to deter bugs. Large consumption of Calcium Oxalate can be poisonous but small amounts are not. Just make sure to wash the leaves before eating and that should do it.

rainbowgardener · Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:58 am

Very interesting! Thanks for updating us with what you found out. We have had some discussions of oxalates around here. e.g.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... =4&t=53420 (you have to scroll down the page some to get to the oxalate discussion)

It is nice to know that at least some of the oxalate will wash off. I continue to think that no one should avoid spinach and chard because of oxalates, since they are among the world's most nutritious foods:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... =4&t=56647

spinach is a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, B2, B5, B6, folic acid, calcium and iron.

Incidentally, your pictures were extremely high quality, maintaining very high definition as you zoom in and in. What were they taken with?

imafan26 · Wed Mar 26, 2014 10:39 am

Calcium oxylate can contribute to kidney stones. Calcium oxylate is reduced by soaking and cooking well. It is found in taro. Taro is cooked by boiling and roasting and cooked well. If it is not cooked well, the calcium oxylate will make your mouth itch. Some taro has more calcium oxylate than others. The calcium oxylate in spinach is not nearly as high and can be leached by soaking or cooked out.

Rairdog · Wed Mar 26, 2014 1:34 pm

Good to know. I was just looking at the crystals on mine the last few days. I guess it's not a good idea to eat them right off the plant.

sausageLord · Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:36 pm

Very interesting! Thanks for updating us with what you found out. We have had some discussions of oxalates around here. e.g.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=53420 (you have to scroll down the page some to get to the oxalate discussion)

It is nice to know that at least some of the oxalate will wash off. I continue to think that no one should avoid spinach and chard because of oxalates, since they are among the world's most nutritious foods:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=56647

spinach is a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, B2, B5, B6, folic acid, calcium and iron.

Incidentally, your pictures were extremely high quality, maintaining very high definition as you zoom in and in. What were they taken with?

Thanks for the additional links.

I used my iPhone 5 to take the pictures. The trick is finding an image hosting site that does not compress the image too much. imgur.com is currently my go to image upload. its free. fast. no account needed. doesn't compress the images too much. I don't know how this website does it. Haven't tried it.

Robinskibleh · Thu Jun 12, 2014 12:29 pm

Hi there, this is very interesting. Are you certain of this fact? This is the only forum that has this info. It does seem the most accurate as I had ruled out pests and mold, but couldn't figure out what it was. But I just want to be absolutely sure that you are certain of this info. I own a garden centre and do garden design and do not wish to pass on any false information. How did you find this out? Thanks so much!