Growing Spinach

God's Warrior · Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 9:48 pm Post subject: Growing Spinach

Growing spinach

Spinach
Paying $3 for a bag of organic spinach will soon be history--for a while at least. You can harvest your own in scarcely more than a month after seeding, and it will be ever so much fresher. If you prepared the soil in fall and it's now snow-covered or frozen, not to worry; scatter the seeds over the snow and they'll germinate as the ground thaws. Better yet, start some in planters or raised beds; you won't have to worry about working wet soil.

Savoy (crinkly) types typically don't wilt or turn yellow. Choose a variety like 'Skookum' or 'Melody' that's best for spring planting. For easier cleaning, plant a smooth-leaf type like 'Giant Nobel' or 'Olympia'. Plant seeds two to four inches apart; if you're using fresh seed, you'll have good germination and won't have to thin them later.

gardenwife · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 97 Location: Central Ohio

So, can you stagger the sowing and harvest spinach all summer, or does it not like the heat at all?
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God's Warrior · Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:19 am Post subject:

Good question. I have only done spring planting so maybe someone else can answer that for us.

Mary · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 761

My limited understanding is that it likes cool temperatures to germinate. It also will bolt quickly to try to make seeds when the weather gets hot. Today I will harvest most of mine and see what happens next. The plan is to take about 3/4 of each plant leaving the roots and a few big leaves. It might try to grow more tops which would give us another meal. Stand by for more on this, either success or failure. Gardenwife, you could try starting a few seeds in pots in the coolest place you have, or maybe even in the referigerator, and then set the plants out into the garden. A variety called Malibu is supposed to be slower to bolt.

gardenwife · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 97 Location: Central Ohio

Thanks for the info, Mary. I'm wondering the same thing about cilantro. I know it self-seeded like crazy in the garden, but don't recall if it was the same season or if spring came and I had oodles of seedlings. I have basil and cilantro seeds, but am not sure what to do.
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Mary · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 761

Spinach update. I cut it back leaving just about 5-6 of the older leaves on each plant, and watered them well. In about 3 weeks there was enough new growth to do it again, but after the second clipping they did not recover. I think I will try to get some seed to germinate in cooler conditions (pots in the house) and set them out in the rows when we get cooler weather. I might get a fall crop that way if the timing is right.

gardenwife · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 97 Location: Central Ohio

Thanks for the update, Mary. So you got two harvests from the plants. That's not too bad.

I need to water my containers today, probably run the soaker hoses, too. The high's supposed to be around 95 today.
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Mary · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 761

If the germination rate had been higher I could have harvested by taking a few leaves from each plant which would stress the plant less. Also pinching out any sign of a seed stalk before it got out of control would have made more of the plant's energy available for growing leaves and would have encouraged side shoots and even more leaves. I planted them a little bit late and the ground was too warm for good germination.

God's Warrior · Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:46 pm Post subject:

Once you get this figured out, I am going to use your experimental knowledge to start my own spinach. I love it but have never tried to actually raise it myself.

texaspampas · Joined: 06 Sep 2006 Posts: 38 Location: TX

After the spinach scare, I've started thinking seriously about growing spinach myself. Who knows, maybe we'll be, if not self-sufficient, vegetable-sufficient : -)

I don't know much about the different varieties or when to plant them here in the Houston area, but I'm going to try. I love it and often buy the frozen, and keep the canned on hand for emergencies.