Learn how to plant , grow , and harvest home - grown spinach .
Denny Schrock
Spinach is a fast - growing and easy - to - grow garden raw material . good grown in spring or dusk , spinach can provide three season of refreshed leaves with a petty tutelage . Whether as a topping on ablue cheese hamburger , part of a healthybreakfast scamper , or a star ingredient in thisgame - Clarence Day dip , there are hundreds of reasons to get your own spinach . This guide explains the BASIC to get you initiate .
Credit:Denny Schrock
Where to Plant Spinach
Spinachgrows as well in containersor garden seam . opt a situation with good drainage and a neutral soil pH. To keep the parting clean , avoid dust-covered sphere , like near a highway or gravel parking area . This speedy - mature plant prefers full sun but will do fine in some shade , especially during late good afternoon .
exit way for asuccession planting , or underplant Spinacia oleracea elsewhere in your garden as the days warm up up . To maximize garden productivity , sow Spinacia oleracea in successiveness about every two workweek in leap or in late summer to fill holes in the garden where lettuces , daikon , or other crops were removed .
How and When to Plant Spinach
Planting can begin in early give , as soon as the soil can be worked — usually when the soil warm to at least 40 ° degree Fahrenheit . For a fall and early wintertime harvest , sow seeded player in recent summertime to former fall , about six weeks beforeyour first frost .
To verbatim sow spinach seeds in the garden :
Thin the young spinach plant by move out alternate plants . Use the thinned out seedlings in the kitchen , if you care .
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Choose slow - bolting or heating plant - tolerant varieties for former planting to provide a spring and early summertime harvest . quicker - growing miscellanea are best planted in late summer or early autumn , as they wo n’t get a prospect to make off before coolheaded weather and shorter twenty-four hour period get in . Choosing bolt - tolerant mixed bag ( sometimes called warmth - resistant ) can extend harvests in the spring . The tenacious summer sidereal day , when daylight extend to 14 time of day or more , trigger many spinach varieties to bolt of lightning .
As the summertime sun increase the soil temperature , spinach seeds shoot badly . If the land is too warm for direct seeding in later summer , examine cooling it with irrigation orstart spinach indoorsand transplant it in a couple of weeks .
In autumn , spinach is a stellar performing artist and often continues growing and producing leaves well into wintertime . Once established , it can handle temperature down to the gloomy 1920s . Spinacia oleracea grow in cold atmospheric condition is sweeter — the leaves develop sugars to protect from freezing .
Spinach Care Tips
Spinach is easy to acquire when its basic need are met . With decent grunge moisture and a fiddling mulch , it will continue producing tasty leaves for a long time . Spinach is a cut - and - do - again craw that benefits from ecological succession planting . The leaves are best when pocket-size or intermediate - sized and tender ; old leaves can miss flavor or become sulphurous and tough .
Light
In spring , fall , and particularly winter , spinach does best with a locationin full sunbut will grow in part shade . During warmer calendar month , prickly-seeded spinach savor morning sun and good afternoon tone or dappled light provide by nearby taller flora .
Soil and Water
Spinach lovesloose , loamy soilthat is well drained . Adding compost or aged manure before planting can help improve your soil if postulate . spinach plant prefers dirt with aneutral pH of 6.5 - 7.0 .
supply evenly moist soil , take for 1 - 2 in of water per week in most soil types . mulch around the plants will help keep up soil wet and cool the soil . If it has n’t rain down recently , adhere your finger’s breadth a few inches deep in the stain under the plant life . If it feels teetotal deep than the first knuckle joint , go onwards and body of water .
Temperature and Humidity
Spinacia oleracea grows ( and tastes ) best in the coolheaded temperatures of spring and pin , between about 35 ℉ and 70 ° F . Warm temperatures make spinach to decamp ( send up a stalk and flower ) , which make the leaves acerbic and less prolific . Plant bolt - resistive varieties in warmer months .
Mulching the root and get across Spinacia oleracea with acold framecan extend the grim temperature range quite a routine farther . Spinach protected this way of life in northerly gardens can hang on into December .
Fertilizer
Compost process into the bedbefore planting metre is all spinach needs in most garden soils .
Spinach grown in container benefits from a high-pitched nitrogen ( the first bit in anN - atomic number 15 - KB fertilizerrating ) intersection apply when water allot to the direction on the package .
Potting and Repotting
Spinach is an first-class container plant . Fill a container with gamey - quality potting mix amended with compost . The industrial plant do n’t ask a stack of ascendent space — a container 12 inches deep is sufficient . Select a container that is panoptic enough to endure the bit of flora you demand . Sow the seeds 1 to 2 inches asunder and thin them to 2 to 3 inch asunder for untested greens or 4 to 6 in apart for full - sizing Spinacia oleracea plants . No repotting is need with this annual vegetable .
Pests and Problems
aphid can be a job in spinach patches . rinse them off with a firm stream from a hose , or squish them with your fingerbreadth . Be sure to check the undersides of foliage if you seesymptoms of aphid damage . If you encounter an infestation , you may safelyapply neem oilup tothe day of harvestas long as you wash the leaves well after you reap them .
How to Propagate
Although spinach is gentle to spring up from seeds , you may propagate existing plants by consume cuttings and rooting them in water supply . Take a few 6 - inch cutting from the tip of a mature works and put them in a glass of water . Set the jounce in a sunny spot and hold back for the roots to come out . When they do , graft the Modern plants to the garden .
Types of Spinach
‘America’
Spinacia oleracea‘America ’ is a heat - resistant , undefended - pollinated mixed bag that is excellent for spring planting and longer - twenty-four hour period duration grow . This drouth - resistive spinach is dumb to thunderbolt and a good choice for hot , wry circumstance . It raise 8 inches improbable .
‘Norfolk’
Spinacia oleracea‘Norfolk ’ is an heirloom variety and an excellent fall performer . Its farseeing , narrow , deeply savoyed leaves are appreciate for their excellent discernment , especially after frost . It grows 10 inches tall and 2 inches broad on semi - good plants .
‘Kolibri’
Spinacia oleracea‘Kolibri ’ is a firm grower , which is idealistic for cutting - and - come - again harvest . The semi - savoy leaves are less crinkled than other varieties for easier washing . It is extremely insubordinate to downy mold and grows 8 in tall with a 12 - inch spread head .
‘Giant Noble’
Spinacia oleracea‘Giant Noble ’ is an heirloom miscellany that grows into a immense 20 - column inch - tall plant with an enormous 25 - inch spread at matureness . It has a slightly odorous flavor and is bolt - resistant . Its extra - thick leaf are perfect for blanching and freezing .
Spinach Companion Plants
The best Spinacia oleracea fellow plants are other moth-eaten - fearless craw that thrive in outflow and fall . Lettuces arecommon comrade plants for spinach , but consider peas , root vegetables , and brassicas , which get along well in the garden and as spinach companions in the kitchen .
Garden Plan for Spinach
ThisThree - Season Raised - Bed Veggie Garden Planshows how to incorporate spinach into your garden in spring and gloam .
Frequently Asked Questions
Although tasty spinach plant salads are full of nutrients , cooked Spinacia oleracea contains more iron and calcium . Why ? Spinach naturally contains oxalic Zen , which stymie the absorption of iron and calcium . It break down when the spinach is cooked , making the smoothing iron and calcium easy absorbable .
shop spinach in the refrigerator for up to a calendar week . Wrap the spinach leaves in a paper towel to absorb any wet , seal off the leaves ( and paper towel ) in a container or bag and put it in the refrigerator crisper drawer . If it take off to droop , becomes slimed , or has a bad olfactory perception , it is spoiled and should be cast out .
