Spinach is and always has been a classic. Whether you like local or foreign cuisine, you can do a lot with it. Spinach is a leafy vegetable that contains many minerals. If you choose to cook or stew it, the leaves are nice and tender, but it is also a vegetable that can be eaten raw. In short, you have many choices. If you want to grow your own spinach, here are some tips to help you out!
Sow
Sow in rows on the spot. Sow close together (1 to 2 cm sow spacing in the rows) and you will get soft, light green leaves. If you want slightly harder and darker leaves, you can thin them out or simply sow a little apart.
Spinach is always sown immediately in the open field or greenhouse. This vegetable does not need to be pre-seeded. You can push plant spinach indoors in February and plant it outdoors three weeks later if you want to accelerate the process. Sowing spinach seeds in loose soil is not recommended. During transplanting, spinach will be too damaged to grow well.
Location
The ideal location depends, of course, on the time of year when the spinach is sown. It is best to plant in a slightly cooler, i.e. slightly shaded, location for summer sowing. During winter time, they should be sown in a shaded area. In spring and fall, spinach can be sown outside in the sun, as temperatures are slightly cooler and generally less likely to be disturbed by insects. A greenhouse or tunnel is recommended if you’re pre-sowing spinach in February. It will be fine outdoors at the end of February as long as it is on light soil that is not waterlogged.
Soil and fertilizer
Spinach has soil requirements, which should be well-ventilated while retaining sufficient moisture. This plant also grows quickly and requires a lot of fertilizer. Spinach is sensitive to food scraps, so well-rotted compost is preferable. Spinach generally does not like acidic soil (pH 6.5 or higher), so if you have a lot of acidic soil, you may want to spread a little lime.
Care
Spinach grows quickly, so weeding is unnecessary, and often only hoeing is needed. Little rain for a while? Water spinach frequently, preferably in the morning, so that the crop dries out during the day. Keeping the soil free of weeds will make it easier to harvest later.
Diseases and Pests
The biggest threat to spinach in the garden is being eaten by animals. Rats, birds, snails, and insects generally like spinach leaves. Various leaf spot diseases can also invade the leaves. The best known is “powdery mildew,” also known as wolfsbane. This fungus produces soft fungal hairs on the underside of the leaves that look a bit like fur, hence the name wolfsbane.
In addition to these pests, overshoot is the biggest challenge to growing spinach. Overshooting means that the spinach plant will erect flower stalks above the plant. This can be caused by the length of the day and by stresses such as too overwatering or too little fertilizer. Spinach is best harvested before the shoot stem protrudes above the plant.
To Harvest
It is important to cut spinach as soon as it is ready to harvest. If you wait too long, the leaves will turn yellow and store nitrates. Spinach can sprout quite early, depending on the variety and when it is sown. Spinach can be harvested as baby leaves when the first leaves are about 10 cm long. The spinach is harvested by cutting off the leaves just above the growing point. The plant can then grow back and be harvested a second time. This spinach is ideal for salads.
Larger leaves can be harvested a little later. This is best suited for boiling or steaming. If you increase the planting distance, the spinach will grow a little more, and then you can harvest the whole plant. Harvesting should be done early in the morning, while the plants are still fresh and firm.
Let us know if these few tips have helped you in the comments below!
