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Spinach

Spinach
Introduction
Mr. John Doe

Head Director

Description

A cool-weather loving green, spinach is a fast-growing relative of beets and Swiss chard. You can plant spinach in either spring or fall, or both if you want to produce a biannual harvest. Spinach tastes delicious raw or cooked and is absolutely packed with iron, calcium, antioxidants, and essential vitamins like A, B, and C. VARIETIES : Giant Noble, Bloomsdale, America, Matador, Strawberry Spinach, Good King Henry Perennial Spinach
Optimal Time/Temperature for Germination:
(Zone 3-9) Spinach is extremely cold-hardy and fares well in these mild to cold climate zones. This cold-weather crop prefers temperatures between 35 and 75°F (1 and 23°C). For an early harvest, plant your spinach four to six weeks before the last spring frost. This early crop can “bolt” (grow leggy and bloom), so harvest before you reach 14 hours of sunlight a day for best results. Some cultivars are less likely to bolt than others. For a late harvest, plant six to eight weeks before the first fall frost for a more reliable fall crop. In warmer areas spinach can be overwintered. To do this plant spinach in autumn for a small late autumn harvest, followed by a dormant winter period with an early harvest next year. Savoyed varieties are characterized by their dark green crinkly leaves. They are best for planting in the fall because they become especially crisp in cold weather. Smooth-leafed spinach grows upright and produces leaves lighter in color than those produced by savoy spinach. It grows quickly.
Optimal Soil Conditions:
Though spinach prefers a mild climate and will not do well in extremely hot temperatures, be- cause it will bolt ( go to seed) It does like full sun. Spinach will produce in partial shade, though the yield may not be as impressive, nor the plants as productive. Because spinach is a small plant that does not grow extremely deep roots, you will not need a large growing space if you are only growing spinach. If you live in a particularly hot climate, consider using cold frames or heavy row covers to keep the soil cool during hot summer days. Also be sure to sow extra seeds and water twice daily if growing in hot weather. the soil to adjust the pH level manually. Evaluate the soil’s calcium and magnesium levels in order to determine what type of limestone to add to your soil. If the soil is low in magnesium, add dolomitic limestone. If it is high in magnesium, add calcitic limestone. Add the limestone two to three months before planting when possible to allow the soil to absorb it. After the lime- stone is incorporated, check the pH again.
Seed Planting Depth, Spacing and Procedure:
To prepare the growing area make sure to remove any rocks or hard clumps of soil before adding organic fertilizer. You can use a bow rake to check for and remove any unwanted objects. Pull any weeds or voluntary plants that are growing in the planting area. These may compete with young spinach plants and crowd them and/or transfer disease to them. Sow seeds ½” (1cm) deep and two inches (5cm) apart. Make sure the rows are spaced at least eight inches (20cm) apart if planting in rows. Doing so allows the seeds to mature without having to compete for space. Make sure to buy fresh seeds for planting each year, as they do not stay viable for long. Seeds can be sown in pots indoors and transplanted out in the garden for an early start. If you are transplanting seedlings, space spinach plants about 12 to 18 inches (30.5 to 45.7 cm) apart. This allows the seedlings to grow and expand their roots without competing with each other for space. It is recommended that you grow spinach from seed if possible as seedlings are difficult to transplant and the roots can be damaged in the process. Cover the seeds with soil and pat lightly. The soil does not need to be compacted over the seeds; in fact it should be rather light and fluffy. Just be sure that the seeds are not exposed to the air and are entirely covered by soil. Water the planting area thoroughly. Make sure to use a watering can or a light shower setting on your hose. A strong setting can disrupt the newly planted seeds or even wash them away.
Best Companion Plants and Plants that Hinder:
Plant early Radishes with spinach to help to mark the row and will come up and be pulled before the spinach matures fully. Because of its saponin content, spinach is a useful pre-crop and does well planted with strawberries.

Growing Instructions

Crop Maintenance

As your spinach plants grow into seedlings, thin them lightly to prevent the plants from competing for space. You want the plants to be spaced far enough apart that the leaves of neighboring plants barely touch, if at all. Remove plants several times during growth to keep this balance, saving the tender young leaves for eating. Cover the soil with a shade cloth if temperatures climb above 80 (26°C). Spinach does not°F do well in hot weather. If temperatures begin to climb, you can cover the soil with a shade cloth to lower the temperature of the soil and keep the plants cool. Spinach is a cold-hardy crop that farmers often maintain over the winter for an early crop next year. During winter, protect your spinach plants in a “low tunnel” of row cover over a sim- ple PVC frame, with ventilation to prevent overheating on sunny days. The spinach plants will be semi-dormant during the darker months, requiring infrequent watering and no fertilization. Once longer daylight hours trigger growth in late winter, provide water-soluble fertilizer and care for the growing spinach as you would at other times of year.
Moisture Requirements & Solutions:
Spinach likes a moderately moist habitat, but will not do well in soil that floods regularly or does not drain well. If you cannot find an adequate plot in your garden you can make a raised vegetable garden bed or plant your spinach in a container or raised bed. You want the spinach to grow in soil that is continually moist but not overly drenched. De- pending on the climate, you should water your spinach crop on average once or twice per week. Spinach would benefit from a soaker hose system.
Weeding Needs & Solutions:
To reduce weeds, spread mulch over the planting area. Cover the soil of the planting area with a few inches of hay, straw, leaf, or grass mulch to prevent weeds from sprouting. Pulling unwanted weeds may harm the fragile spinach roots, so mulch is a good alternative for weed control.
Feeding Needs/Optimal Natural Fertilizers:
Spinach likes soil rich in organic matter such as well rotted manure, alfalfa meal, soybean meal, cottonseed meal, blood meal, or any other high-nitrogen fertilizer. Be sure to mix a few cubic feet of organic material into the soil to ensure adequate richness. If your spinach plants are growing slowly, you may want to add more nitrogen-based fertilizer.
Pests, Diseases & Solutions:
Making a tea from Garlic and spraying it on Spinach helps control disease. It is important to plant spinach in a fenced area that cannot be accessed by foraging animals such as deer.
When to Harvest/Number of days to maturity:
As soon as the leaves grow big enough to eat (usually about three or four inches in length and two or three inches wide), you can harvest your spinach leaves. It generally takes about six to eight weeks from planting to harvest. In the springtime, make sure to harvest spinach leaves before they begin to bolt. Once the plants bolt, the leaves become bitter.
How to Harvest:
Harvest the spinach by carefully removing the outer leaves. Either pinch at the base of the petiole with your fingers or use gardening shears to snip the base of the petiole. Alternately, you can harvest the spinach by pulling the entire plant out of the ground. Be- cause spinach does not have very firm roots, it is easy to pull a plant out of the ground entirely. Removing the outer leaves is preferred to uprooting the entire plant as doing so allows the in- ner leaves to grow larger, ultimately producing more mature spinach than if the plant is entirely uprooted.
Optimal Storage temperature and conditions:
Spinach is best eaten fresh.
Optimal Preserving Procedures:
Spinach does not preserve well although there is some potential with modern freeze drying techniques as an additive to stews and soups for winter nutrients.
Seed Saving:
Keep one or two of the female plants, and let them dry out completely. Once spinach seeds begin to ripen on a plant, a combination of mature and immature seeds will almost always be present. Plants should be harvested when at least two-thirds of the seeds are mature. Gently pull the dried stalks (so you don’t dislodge the seed) and continue drying for 10 days. Remove the seeds by running a gloved hand along the length of the stalk with a container placed underneath to catch dislodged seeds. Roll the seed clusters between your fingers. The seeds will separate. When stored under cool, dry conditions, spinach seeds can be expected to remain viable for six years.

Harvest and Storage

Notes

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