Lovers of the cold, spinach is a fast growing vegetable, a relative of turnips and chard. You can plant them in spring, fall, or both seasons if you want a crop twice a year! Spinach is delicious both raw and cooked, and is packed with calcium, iron, antioxidants, and essential vitamins like A, B, and C. Follow these steps to learn how to grow your own spinach.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Choosing the Variety
Step 1. Spinach grows well in cold to medium areas
They prefer temperatures ranging from 2 ° C to 20 ° C.
Step 2. If you sow them in the fall, choose the dark, crepe leaf varieties that will perform best in cold weather
Step 3. For fast growth, choose smooth leaf varieties instead
These spinach grow vertically producing lighter colored leaves. They are quick and easy to grow and make a perfect addition to any summer salad.
Part 2 of 4: Prepare the Planting Area
Step 1. Choose a sunny area
While they prefer a mild and not hot climate, they love full sun. They will also grow in partial shade but in this case the plants may not be very productive.
Step 2. Make sure the soil drains well
Spinach likes a humid climate but doesn't want to be drowned in water. If you can't find a suitable area in the garden you can build a raised box or plant them in a pot.
- If you are growing spinach in a raised bed, choose cedar wood. It will not rot in contact with water.
- Since spinach are small plants that don't have deep roots, you won't need much space if you grow them yourself.
Step 3. Test the soil pH
Spinach prefers the slightly acidic one with a pH between 6, 5 and 7. You can add limestone if necessary to adjust it manually.
- Evaluate calcium and magnesium to figure out what kind of limestone to add. If the soil is low in magnesium, add dolomite limestone. If it has high values, add calcite limestone.
- Add limestone two to three months before planting so that the soil absorbs it well. Once mixed, check the pH of the area again.
Step 4. Fertilize well
Spinach needs soil rich in substances such as manure, alfalfa, bean sprouts, cottonseed and any other nitrogen fertilizer. Mix at least a couple of inches of fertilizer to the soil to ensure its richness.
- Before fertilizing, remove rocks and other debris from the area where you want to grow spinach. Rake to check for debris and collect anything you don't need.
- Pull up weeds or plants that have grown on their own. They could deprive spinach of nutrients or transfer disease.
Part 3 of 4: Planting Spinach
Step 1. Decide if you want a spring or fall harvest or both
Plant spinach four to six weeks before the last spring frost or six to eight weeks before the first fall frost.
- During the spring harvest, the plants will grow tall and with small flowers as temperatures rise and there will be more than 14 hours of light per day. This process is called 'bolting' and stops the production of leaves. So get your spinach before it happens.
- Because of bolting, it is usually recommended to plant a fall crop that is safer than spring.
- If you live in a particularly hot climate, consider using cold canopies or greenhouses to keep the soil cool when temperatures rise. Also remember to sow more seeds than the required amount, watering twice a day in this case.
Step 2. Sow 1cm deep and 4cm apart
Double check that the rows are spaced at least 6 inches apart. By doing so, the seeds will germinate without having to struggle for space. Buy fresh seeds every year because they don't keep for long.
- If you are repotting, spread out the seedlings about 10 to 12 inches. So they can grow and expand their roots without bothering each other.
- You can also buy the seedlings directly in a greenhouse or seed shop or create them yourself in the trays. However, it is recommended to grow spinach from seed as the seedlings are difficult to allocate and the roots could be damaged.
Step 3. Cover the seeds with soil and compact gently
The soil should not be a compact block on the seeds but rather light and soft. Just check that the seeds are not exposed to air.
Step 4. Mulch the area
Cover the sown ground with a few inches of hay, leaves, straw or grass to prevent weeds from growing. In fact, weeding could damage the spinach seedlings and the roots that are very fragile, so a valid alternative is to prevent the weeds from growing completely.
Step 5. Water the area
Always use a hand shower. A direct and strong jet could undermine the seeds and wash them away.
Step 6. Adapt the area to temperatures that are too high
If you live in a particularly hot climate, consider using covers to keep the soil cool during the scorching summer days. Also be sure to sow more seeds and water daily if you are planting in hot weather.
Part 4 of 4: Caring for Seedlings
Step 1. Thin out
As the plants grow, thin them out to keep them from suffocating. The plants need to be far enough apart so that the outer leaves hardly touch each other. Remove any plants you need to reclaim this space.
Step 2. Keep the planting area moist
Your spinach needs to grow in soil that is always moist but not soggy. Depending on the climate, you should water about once or twice a week.
Step 3. Cover the ground with a tarp if the temperature rises above 20 ° C
Remember that spinach hates heat. If temperatures start to rise, cover the growing area with a shaded tarp so the soil stays cool.
Step 4. Only fertilize when needed
If your plants are growing slowly, you will need to add nitrogen fertilizer. As mentioned earlier, spinach likes rich soil. Also add some water when you fertilize.
Step 5. Collect the spinach
As soon as the leaves are large enough to eat (usually about 6-8cm wide) you can harvest the vegetable. It will take about six to eight weeks after planting.
- In spring, remember to harvest before bolting. Once this process is triggered, the leaves turn bitter.
- Spinach is harvested with extreme care by removing the outer leaves. Grab them at the base of the stem with your fingers or use garden shears to cut the stem.
- Alternatively, you can harvest the spinach by removing the whole plant from the ground. Not having very solid roots, it will come off easily.
- By removing the outer leaves and leaving the roots alone, more leaves will be produced or those inside will grow, producing more spinach.
Step 6. Overwinter the spinach
Spinach is a plant that growers often keep over the winter to have an early harvest the following year. During the winter, protect your plants by placing them under a ventilated, PVC roofing structure to prevent overheating on sunny days. Spinach will be semi-dormant during the darker months; they do not require frequent watering and it is not necessary to fertilize. Once the days start to get longer and the plants begin to wake up and grow, use some water-soluble fertilizer and care for the spinach as you would at other times of the year.
Some varieties can handle the cold more than others. Check the seed catalog or contact the supplier for more information
Advice
- Always wash your spinach before eating it.
- Remember that once cooked they decrease in volume.
Warnings
- Watch out for insects, spiders, and aphids that feed on the leaves.
- Heat for several consecutive days will destroy the crop. Don't try to grow spinach in the middle of summer.
- Dewy mildew and white rust are two diseases that can affect spinach plants.
