Spinach growth stages

How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest Spinach

Spinach is a great-tasting early-season green. Next to the dandelion is the first green that can be harvested in early spring. It is also one of the best fall and winter crops.

Spinach is a cool-season annual. Plant spinach before the weather warms in spring and again as the weather cools in early autumn. (When days lengthen in late spring and the weather becomes dry and hot, spinach bolts and stops making new leaves.)

Spinach can be grown under cover in cold weather. Plant spinach in early fall then cover plants with a plastic tunnel or set plants in a cold frame for a harvest of fresh spinach, both tender leaves cut and come again or the entire plant in winter. Where winters are mild, spinach can be harvested without cover from October to April–and that is the time of year when it is not bothered by insects and diseases.

Here is your complete guide to growing spinach!

Table of Contents

Where to Grow Spinach

Grow spinach in full sun in spring and autumn in most regions. Grow spinach in partial shade in warm regions.
Plant spinach in loamy soil rich in organic matter. Adding aged compost to the soil should ensure good drainage. Add two inches of aged compost or a commercial organic planting mix to the planting beds before planting then turn the soil to 12 inches (30cm) deep.
Spinach prefers a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.8. Spinach does not grow well in alkaline soil.
Spinach is hardy and thrives in cool weather; ideal spinach growing weather is 50°F to 70°F (10-21°C).
Warm weather and long days will cause spinach to bolt—that is it will flower and go to seed.

More tips: Spinach Planting.

Sow spinach indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last average frost date in spring.

Spinach Growing Time

Spinach is a cool-season annual. It needs 6 weeks of cool weather from seed sowing to harvest.
Spinach grows best when planted outdoors in early spring and then again in autumn. In mild-winter regions grow spinach outdoors in winter.
Sow spinach seeds directly in the garden as soon as the soil temperature reaches 35°F and the ground is workable.
Direct sow spinach outdoors or set out transplants 4 weeks before the last average frost date.
Sow spinach indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last average frost date in spring for transplanting out as early as 4 weeks before the last frost. However, seedlings may suffer transplant shock if the roots are disturbed at transplant time.
Plant succession crops of spinach in spring every 10 to 14 days until daytime temperatures are consistently greater than 75°F. Succession planting will ensure a continual harvest of fresh spinach leaves.
Long days and temperatures greater than 75°F encourage mature spinach plants to bolt.
Young plants may bolt if exposed to temperatures below 40°F for one or two weeks after they come up.
In mild-winter regions, plant spinach in late summer or early autumn for harvest in autumn or winter; sow spinach for autumn harvest 6 to 8 weeks before the first fall frost.
Spinach can be grown through the winter everywhere in a cold frame or plastic tunnel.
Spinach planted in autumn can survive the winter under thick mulch; plants will resume growing in the spring. The best alternative is to grow winter spinach in a cold frame or plastic tunnel.
Temperatures of 20°F or below can freeze leaves and kill plants.
Don’t grow spinach through the summer in hot summer regions. Instead, grow New Zealand spinach or Malabar spinach which are heat tolerant.

Thin spinach to 12 inches apart; s[ace rows 12 inches apart.

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Planting Spinach

Plant spinach seed ½ inch (12mm)deep. Cover seed lightly with soil.
Refrigerate seeds 1 week before sowing to help germination.
Sow seed 2 to 4 inches (5-10cm) apart.
Space rows 12 to 14 inches (30-35cm) apart.
Spinach seed will germinate in 5 to 9 days at 70°F (21°C) Germination will take longer if the soil is cooler, about 21 days at 50°F (10°C).
Thin spinach to 12 inches (30cm) apart when seedlings are 3 inches (7cm). Thin to the strongest seedlings. Remove weak seedlings by cutting them off at the soil level with scissors.
Thin spinach so that there is good air circulation between mature plants.
Grow 15 plants per household member.

More tips: Spinach Seed Starting Tips.

Container Growing Spinach

Spinach will grow in a container. Allow one plant for each 8-inch (20cm)pot; in large containers plant spinach on 10-inch (25cm) centers.
If you plan to harvest young leaves or young plants, you can grow 4 plants in a 12-inch pot. To harvest mature leaves, grow fewer plants in a pot.
Spinach is heat-sensitive; move containers into the shade on warm and hot days.
Containers will warm more quickly than garden soil in spring.

Companion Plants for Spinach

Grow spinach with other greens.
Spinach is a good companion in the shadows of tall crops such as corn, pole beans, or other members of the amaranth family such as beets and Swiss chard.

Watering and Feeding Spinach

Keep the soil evenly moist throughout the growing season to grow spinach quickly.
Water spinach at the base of the plant. The base of plant watering will avoid splashing muddy water onto leaves.
Mulch around spinach plants with straw, chopped leaves, or garden compost to prevent soil moisture evaporation and to avoid splashing soil on leaves.
Side dress plants with compost tea or a dilute solution of fish emulsion every two weeks during the growing season.
Side dress spinach with aged compost at midseason.

Mature spinach plants can tolerate temperatures as cold as 20°F.

Caring for Spinach

Keep planting beds free of weeds to avoid competition for light, water, and nutrients.
Cut weeds at soil level rather than digging them out; spinach has a deep taproot but shallow feeder roots that can be injured easily.
Mature spinach plants can tolerate temperatures as cold as 20°F (-6.7°C), but it is best to protect plants from freezing weather by covering the bed with a portable plastic tunnel or row cover.
Spinach will bolt in temperatures greater than 75°F (24°C). If the weather warms, try protecting spinach under a shade cloth set over a frame.

Spinach Season Extension

Plant spinach in a cold frame in late winter (February), and the crop will be ready in early spring.
Choose heat- and bolt-resistant cultivars.
Grow spinach in light shade when the weather warms; plants in containers can be easily moved from a sunny location into a cooler, shady location.
Plant hardy cultivars for fall and winter harvest (check seed packets for hardiness).
Overwinter spinach plants by covering them with 8 to 12 inches of straw; when daytime temperatures reach 50° to 60°F in spring, gradually remove a few inches of straw each week.
In warm winter regions, plant spinach in fall as a winter crop.

Spinach Pests

Spinach can be attacked by aphids, flea beetles, leaf miners, slugs, and spider mites.
Knock aphids off plants with a strong blast of water. Pinch out heavily-infested foliage.
Remove leaves in which leafminers are tunneling-. Look for the eggs on the underside of the leaves. Floating row covers can exclude leafminer flies from the planting bed.
Spray flea beetles and spider mites with spinosad.
Use row cover over young plants to exclude attacks by flea beetles and caterpillars. Row covers can remain in place as long as temperatures are moderate.
Leafminers can spread quickly; till the soil at the end of the growing season to expose leafminer eggs to winter cold.
Keep slugs and snails away from spinach by sprinkling a barrier of diatomaceous earth around plants.

More on pests and diseases: Spinach Growing Problems: Troubleshooting.

Spinach Diseases

Spinach is susceptible to mildew, rust, and mosaic virus.
Plant rust and disease-resistant varieties.
Mildew and rust are fungal diseases. Spray-mist leaves with compost tea to prevent fungal diseases.
Plants hit by mosaic virus should be removed from the garden. The mosaic virus will cause leaves to be mottled or streaked with white or yellow spots.
Keep the garden clean of debris. Remove and destroy diseased plants.
Good air movement discourages fungal diseases such as downy mildew, white rust, and anthracnose.
Hot temperatures encourage Fusarium wilt and other fungal diseases, as well as promote bolting.
‘Melody’, ‘Indian Summer’, and other cultivars resist mosaic virus and downy mildew. ‘Fall Green’ is a white rust-tolerant cultivar.

Cut leaves 4 to 7 inches long from plants that have 6 to 8 leaves.

Harvesting Spinach

Spinach leaves can be harvested as soon as they are big enough to eat.
Cut leaves 4 to 7 inches (10-17cm) long from plants that have 6 to 8 leaves. Cut the older outer leaves first. Allow the remaining young leaves to grow on to maturity.
If you harvest all of the leaves from a plant, cut the leaves 3 inches (7cm) above the soil; new leaves will grow on for a second harvest.
Very large leaves and older leaves can be bitter; harvest leaves sooner rather than later.
Lengthening days (days longer than 14 hours) and warming weather (temperatures greater than 75°F/24°C) will cause spinach to bolt, flower, and set seed. Bolting will mark the end of the harvest.

Storing and Preserving Spinach

Wash spinach thoroughly to eliminate the grit that sometimes sticks to crinkled leaves.
Spinach can be refrigerated for up to one week.
Spinach can be frozen canned or dried.
Spinach seeds can be sprouted.

Spinach in the Kitchen

Spinach can be eaten raw or cooked.
The dark green leaves of fresh spinach will add color to a lettuce salad.
Spinach can be pan-steamed in the water it is rinsed with.
Stir-fry spinach with garlic or bacon grease.
Bake spinach with alternating layers of pasta and cheese.
Add spinach to mushroom soup or cream soup.
Add spinach to omelets and quiche.

More tips: How to Harvest and Store Spinach.

Bloomsdale Long Standing spinach has crinkled leaves.

Saving Spinach Seeds

Spinach is a wind-pollinated, self-fertile annual.
Spinach will not cross with New Zealand spinach, but other spinach varieties will cross when the fine pollen is carried by the wind.
Plant spinach varieties apart to avoid cross-pollination or do not allow plants to flower.
Save seeds from late-bolting plants that are good-sized and abundantly leafy.
When green leaves turn yellow, pull up the plant and hand-strip seed stalks.
Spinach seeds will remain viable for about 5 years.

Spinach Varieties to Grow

‘America’ (52 days): crumpled, dark green glossy leaves; mostly heat and drought tolerant.
‘Bloomsdale Long Standing’ (43 days): thick crinkled, dark green, glossy leaves; slow to bolt; mosaic virus tolerant.
‘Giant Noble’ (45 days): smooth flat leaves; leaves are large, thick, and pointed; resistant to mosaic virus.
‘King of Denmark’ (46 days): rounded, slightly crumpled, dark green leaves; hardy plant.
‘Melody’ (42 days) large plant with semi-crinkled leaves; resistant to mosaic and powdery mildew.
‘Tyee’ (37-53 days): resistant to downy mildew.

Hot Weather Spinach Alternatives

Malabar spinach: vigorous climbing vines; native to tropical Asia and Africa.
New Zealand spinach: grows naturally as a trailing ground cover.

Spinach Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What causes small white cottony blotches on the upper surfaces of spinach leaves (there are usually yellow spots on the undersides)?

A: This is called white rust, a fungus disease that can be controlled with an organic fungicide. Also, avoid overhead watering which can spread disease.

Q; What causes spinach to become stunted with yellow leaves and twisted leaves and stems?

A: This is caused by a disease called spinach blight or spinach yellow, which is spread by aphids. Grow resistant varieties (check seed packets) and control aphids as soon as they appear.

Q: What causes spinach to flower before it is ready to harvest?

A: Long days and warm summer temperatures force spinach to flower prematurely. Plant earlier in the spring or in fall, when days are shorter and cooler.

About Spinach

Spinach is a cool-season annual grown for its leaves.
Spinach forms a rosette of dark green leaves that can be flat or crinkled (savoy leaf spinach).
Spinach is related to beets and Swiss chard of the amaranth family.
Botanical name: Spinacia oleracea
Family: Amaranthaceae
Origin: Asia

More tips:

Spinach Growing Tips

How to Grow New Zealand Spinach

How to Grow Malabar Spinach

Grow 80 vegetables: THE KITCHEN GARDEN GROWERS’ GUIDE

Spinach Growing Stages - A Complete Guide on Its Life Cycle

January 31, 2022October 11, 2021 by Mustafa

Growing spinach in your garden is very easy if you know all the growth stages of the spinach plant and what to do to keep it healthy and thick in the growing season.

Spinach is a fast-growing plant with low maintenance and a good source of nutrition to be included in the human diet.

The growth stages of spinach plants start in the cooler season from sowing directly into the garden, then the seeds germinate in 5 to 9 days. After 12 to 15 days the plant has first true leaves and after 7 days third, true leaves grow. After 20 to 25 days of seeding the plant, it will have bigger leaves that can be harvested, and the plant will be mature enough to fully harvest in 38 to 45 days.

Now you know the growing stages of the spinach plant in brief. But how you should grow the plant and what things you should keep in mind in all these stages. Let’s talk about these things in detail.

When to plant spinach In your garden?

The best time to plant spinach is in the cooler season of the year. You can either plant the spinach 4-5 weeks before the last frost in the spring months or you can plant spinach in the late summer to fall when the temperature is cooler than usual so that you can have a harvest before the first frost.

The spinach is a fast-growing plant which means if you plant it before the last frost you can harvest the plant before the summer heat begins or if you live in a location where there is mild winter then you can plant the spinach in the fall and can harvest the plant all winter.

Keep in mind, spinach is a winter plant which means it will bolt in the hot temperature or in the summer so timing is very crucial when planting the spinach seed.

Growth stages of the spinach plant

Seeds – there are several types of varieties of spinach seeds that you could grow in your garden. Some are grown for their flavor and some have different textures to them, some seeds are bolt proof or have slow bolting and some have larger leaves.

Some of the varieties include Bloomsdale, Monstrueux viroflay, lavewa, butterfly, and matador which all can be planted in the winter season.

Seeding – spinach is not a plant that likes to be transplanted from the pot to the garden. If transplanted after the germination, the plant will bolt early and the harvest would be useless. If you want to speed up the germination you can soak the seeds in water first and then plant the seeds in the soil.

Spinach grows best in moist and nitrogen-rich healthy soil. Keep the soil well-fertilized and make it loose so that the spinach plant can grow deep taproot.

Sow the seed six weeks before the last frost so that the plant can grow in cool soil so it doesn’t bolt faster and have a good harvest. If you are sowing in the hotter days then you need to sow heavily in the soil as the germination rate is low and not many seeds will germinate.

Germination – the seeds after sowing can germinate in five to nine days if the temperature is not extremely cold and ideal for the spinach plant. Keeping the soil moist and well-watered will help the germination of the seed. watering twice a day will help the seeds.

First true leaves – after 15 to 20 days the plant will grow small leaves. These are called the first true leaves. This is the sign that the germination was good and the plant is healthy. This is the most crucial time for the plant to grow. It needs proper care and maintenance. In this stage, you should fertilize the soil with liquid fertilizer. You can also use tea water

Thinning – protecting the plants from weed and thinning can damage the plant and hinder the growth so to prevent weed and kill the small sprouts, spread the mulch, straw, or grass clippings around the plant and on the bare soil around the garden. This will help the remaining plant to grow healthy without having to face any suppression from weed or other seedlings. Every plant have at least 4-6 inches of space in between after or before thinning

Third true leaves – after 20 to 25 days you will see third true leaves growing from the plants. This is the time where you will see the plant growing fast. You need to give fertilizer and heavy watering to grow bigger and greener leaves. The plant will now take another 20 days to grow big leaves for the harvest.

The first harvest – after the sixth week, the plant will start to get mature enough for the first harvest. You can start to take out leaves from the plant which has at least six 3 to 4 inches leaves. Carefully removing the big leaves from the plant will increase the productivity of the plant and will give you a better harvest at the end.

Full harvest – after the first harvest the plants will grow faster and you can have multiple harvests in the cooler months. Whenever you see the plant is bolting, that’s the time you need to cut the whole plant off from the ground to prevent it from bolting or going bad.

Flowering (bad) – after the plant has grown big enough. It will have flowers growing which is called bolting which is bad for eating. So you need to make sure that the plant doesn’t bolt. If you see that the plant is big enough or growing flowers

Common Problems on growing spinach

If the seeds are not germinating, you need to check two things. The freshness of the seed and the conditions. If the seeds are old they won’t germinate in the soil so always use fresh seeds as old spinach seeds don’t germinate very well. The second thing to check is the conditions, the soil shouldn’t be too wet or too dry and it has to be cooler so that the seeds can germinate. If these things are not met then the seeds won’t germinate.
Slow or no growth after germination is also a very big problem. The biggest reason for slow growth or no growth is the temperature as spinach is a very easy plant to grow. If the temperature in the soil or the air is hot then the spinach will stop growing so need to ensure that you are planting the soil at the right temperature. The plant will also bolt and die if the temperature is too hot.

What does spinach look like growing?

The spinach plants have big green leaves which are ovate or triangular. The size of the leaves varies from 5 to 30 cm long and 1 to 15 cm broad with larger leaves growing in the base of the plant and smaller leaves growing in the top. The whole plant can grow up to 30cm tall. The leaves are dark green with light color lines in them and the texture is soft and hairy.

How long does it take for spinach to grow?

The spinach plant takes around 38 to 45 days to fully grow and harvested from the garden. It will take longer for the plant to grow in the summer season and it can bolt. In the winter season, when the temperature is ideal for the plant, will mature and be ready in 38 to 45 days or 5 to 6 weeks.

How many times can you harvest spinach?

The spinach can be harvested multiple times as long as the temperature is ideal for the plant to grow and not bolt. If the temperature is cooler all year long, you can harvest spinach all year but if you have hot summer days then the plant will bolt and won’t be useful.

Will spinach grow back after cutting?

Yes, spinach will grow back after cutting the bigger leaves from the plant only. Harvest only 1/3rd of the plant so that it doesn’t get stressed and have leaves to grow. It will continue to grow bigger leaves as long as the temperature is cold and ideal for the plant to grow.

Does spinach come back every year?

No, spinach doesn’t grow back every year as it is an annual crop which means it just grows for one season and then bolts and dies. The spinach plant can grow as long as the temperature is ideal for the plant but once the season ends the plant dies.

So there are 9 growth stages of spinach plant from seed to flowering and it takes around 45 days to complete these stages by the plant.

Hope you find out all the information you needed to grow spinach in your garden!

90,000 growing spinach on a windowsill of step -by -step seeds in 2022 on the Gudgrint

Content

Description of the plant, spinach varieties for window sill
Preparation for sowing
Planting
Care for spacing
9000
Problems of growing
When and how to harvest
Storage
Benefits of spinach

Some types of fresh herbs are available throughout the year, even in winter. Growing spinach greens from seeds is within the power of every gardener. Spinach is a valuable product, indispensable for dietary and children's menus. This plant is unpretentious, takes root on any soil, withstands cold snaps and yields even in cool conditions.

Characteristics of the plant, spinach variety for window sill

Spinach is an annual herbaceous crop that produces juicy and highly nutritious leaves. They contain minerals and vitamins in high concentration, and the calorie content is very small - 23 kcal per 100 g. In spring and summer, spinach feels good in the garden, and in room conditions it can grow all year round.

For home cultivation, early maturing, often hybrid varieties of spinach with resistance to greenhouse conditions are selected.

Varieties with good taste:

Fat-leaved - a variety of spinach with soft and textured foliage. Rosettes of leaves reach 25-30 cm in volume. Greens are suitable for food already 25-40 days after the appearance of sprouts.
Gigantic - medium-sized leaves, have a mild taste. This variety is used for conservation, it is recommended for feeding children. Leaves are edible 30 days after sprouts appear.
Matador - a variety with smooth grayish leaves that ripen in 35-50 days. This type of spinach is adapted to adverse conditions, rarely exposed to pests.
Victoria - this species has rounded leaves collected in a small rosette. Early ripe variety, the crop ripens in 25-40 days. Due to its compactness, it is one of the most popular varieties for growing on the windowsill.
Strawberry is interesting with a light berry aroma emanating from the bush. Both leaves and fruits are edible. One of the earliest ripe varieties, 2-3 weeks is enough for him.
Krepysh is a mid-season variety that gives a large yield in conditions of regular watering. Releases flower arrows late. Suitable for outdoor cultivation.

Tip! If spinach is grown for the first time, then gardeners recommend sowing several varieties at once for testing.

Greens differ not only in leaf size and maturity, but also in taste. The crop is harvested within 2 months, during which time you can decide which variety to give preference to in the future.

Sowing preparation

Spinach seeds medium size, round, light brown. Before planting, they are soaked for a day in warm water, since the dense external structure will not allow them to germinate in a dry form. Then the seeds are moved for 2-4 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection, and dried with a paper towel before sowing. If the material has not been soaked, then it is necessary to water the soil abundantly after planting. Gardeners recommend not to ignore soaking, as the percentage of germinating seeds increases.

Tanks are selected in accordance with the further cultivation of seedlings. If it will be located on the windowsill, and the crop will be harvested at home, then long, wide and shallow pots are taken. If the sprouts dive into open ground, then smaller containers are taken. The material of the growing pots does not matter much, regular flowerpots will do. A prerequisite is drainage holes at the bottom to remove moisture.

Spinach is an unpretentious plant, it takes root in any soil. The only rule: there should be no peat in the soil. Increased acidity adversely affects the quality of the crop. Self-preparation of soil for sowing seeds: 1 part of coconut fiber + 2 parts of biohumus. Coconut fiber is sometimes replaced with perlite. To exclude seedling diseases, the soil must be calcined in the oven or poured with a solution of fungicide or potassium permanganate.

Tip! To harvest throughout the year, sowing seeds is carried out every two weeks.

Landing

Spinach seed sowing steps:

A drainage layer of broken bricks or expanded clay is placed in the prepared container.
The treated soil mixture is poured onto the drain.
Spinach seeds are buried 1-2 cm into the soil.
All plantings are sprinkled with soil.
Immediately after sowing, the soil is slightly moistened. This will speed up the appearance of inputs.
The box is covered with a plastic film or a transparent lid and moved to a bright place.

Tip! When planting seeds in a common pot, it should be borne in mind that each plant needs at least 8-10 cm of soil for normal development.

Seedling care

The first sprouts should appear on the surface a week after sowing, if the box was stored at a temperature of +15-17 ° C. When caring for seedlings, several conditions must be observed: abundant watering, maintaining air humidity and a sufficient amount of light.

Spinach likes good light, but does not tolerate dry soil. It is allowed to place a flowerpot after planting on the south side, but away from heating appliances. To maintain moisture, seedlings are sprayed with settled water from a spray bottle. The frequency of moistening the leaves - once a day, in dry times - twice. If the room is too hot, the spinach will wither and form seed pods faster.

Spinach should be watered moderately. The soil should not dry out, but the root system does not need to be poured. Each new introduction of moisture is carried out with the drying of the top layer of soil. Water is taken settled, at room temperature. After each watering, the soil is slightly loosened so that air flows freely to the root system.

Young seedlings are afraid of the scorching sun, so at midday it is recommended to shade the place where the box is located, otherwise the tender leaves will get burned. In winter, daylight hours are extended with a UV lamp by at least 2 hours in the morning or evening. The optimal number of hours of daylight is 10-12. The lamp is installed at a height of 50-60 cm above the box.

Tip! In cloudy weather or in winter, the lamp can be left on all day up to 14 hours.

The optimal temperature for growing healthy and tasty leaves is from +14 to +18 degrees, so that spinach will be comfortable both indoors and on a warmed balcony. The plant yields even at a temperature of + 7-10 degrees, but under such conditions, leaf growth slows down. At temperatures above +20 degrees, an early appearance of the peduncle is possible.

It is recommended to feed spinach from the first shoots for friendly growth. Liquid mineral fertilizers are applied. However, if the soil at the time of planting the seeds was sufficiently fertile, spring seedlings will not need to be fed. An excess of nutrients affects the taste of spinach leaves.

The cultivation of greens lasts approximately 2 months. If you plan to re-cultivate the crop in a pot, then organic fertilizer should be applied to the soil.

Outdoor cultivation

Growing spinach outdoors is convenient when you need a large amount of crop, and the windowsill does not fit large boxes. When planting, it should be borne in mind that daylight hours longer than 14 hours contribute to the rapid formation of a peduncle, and such plants are no longer used for food.

Spinach is more commonly grown outdoors from seeds rather than seedlings. Sowing is done around mid-April. Young sprouts withstand frosts down to -8 ° C. If sharp cold snaps occur in the region in spring, the seedlings are covered with non-woven material.

How to sow spinach seeds outdoors:

As for sowing seedlings, seeds for soil are soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate.
Before planting, the spring soil can be fertilized with nitrogen.
Seeds are immersed in the soil to a depth of 1.5-3 cm. A distance of 8-10 cm is observed between them. It is better to leave about 30 cm between rows.

Spinach can also be sown in summer (at the end of June), and in warmer regions - until mid-September.

Caring for spinach outdoors is practically the same as caring for seedlings on a windowsill. The plant also needs abundant watering, loosening the soil and fertilizing.

Strengthened seedlings from the windowsill are moved to open ground when the soil on the site warms up well. At first, young plantings need to be sheltered from the spring sun and protected from daily temperature changes. For this, arcs are installed and covered with agrofibre.

Growing problems

If the seedlings are stretched, then you need to increase the amount of light. It is better to move the boxes from the north, east and west windows to the south or install a lamp for additional lighting. If the spinach develops extremely slowly, the sprouts have small and weak leaves, then fertilizers must be applied to the soil.

Diseases of spinach seedlings:

Fusarium is a fungal disease. It manifests itself as darkening of the leaves and stopping their growth. The lower leaves turn yellow and die.
Anthracnose - brown or grayish spots caused by a fungus.
Root rot is another fungal disease that mainly affects young plantings. It appears as spots with a fungal formation in the center.

If the fungus has affected a small part of the plant, then it is removed, and the seedlings are treated with a fungicide solution. If most of the spinach is damaged, it is best to dig it up and plant new seeds.

Important! The leaves of the affected plant are not edible! They need to be thrown out.

Pests of seedlings appear only in open ground conditions, they rarely settle on indoor seedlings.

Pest examples:

scoop caterpillar,
aphid,
bear,
beet fly.

To expel the pest from plantings, the bed is treated with a solution of the substance anabazine sulfate: for 10 liters of water - 15 cm ³.

When and how to harvest

The crop is harvested with the appearance of 5-7 leaves on the sprout, while all the leaves are plucked at once, leaving the rosette, or part of them. Experienced gardeners recommend cutting off no more than half of the crop in one go: in this way, the formation of leaves will last for several weeks.

To separate the sheet, it is broken off or cut off. It is not recommended to pull and abruptly tear off, so as not to damage the entire plant.

The harvest is in the evening. It is noticed that the leaves plucked during the day quickly wither. If spinach is grown outdoors, the leaves are not cut during or after rain, as they quickly rot when wet.

After the appearance of the peduncle, the taste of the leaves changes, becomes rancid.

Storage

Fresh green spinach is stored for 5-7 days at temperatures from 0 to +1. If the leaves are placed in the refrigerator, wipe them dry.

Tip! The sooner a plucked leaf is eaten, the more benefits it will provide to the body. From long-term storage, greens lose valuable substances.

To preserve the crop for a long time, it is dried, frozen or canned:

For freezing, the leaves are washed, dried, and the roots are cut off. Spinach can be frozen whole or sliced. A good option is to blanch the greens before moving to the freezer (pour over with boiling water).
Spinach leaves are also stored as a puree: they are washed, dipped in a blender and chopped.
Dry the spinach crop in a shaded, dry place, preferably outdoors. After a few days, the leaves are moved to fabric bags and sent for storage.
Salting is not the most popular way to harvest spinach. Peeled leaves are placed in jars and sprinkled with salt. The product is stored strictly in the cold and for a short time.

Benefits of spinach

Spinach is useful not only fresh, but also as a winter preparation. This green is a source of fiber, vitamins A, B, C, E, K, P, PP, trace elements (iron, potassium, magnesium), organic acids, flavonoids and vegetable protein.

Spinach is useful for children as a prophylactic against rickets, has a positive effect on the health of the stomach, stimulates the intestines, improves blood composition and much more. Spinach saturates the weakened body with vitamins, is an integral part of the diet menu.

If you want to easily grow a useful and pretty plant, then there is no better option than spinach bushes. The greenery of this plant enlivens the room, looks neat on the site, and most importantly, it is a tasty and valuable product for health.

growing from seeds in open ground and at home, harm and benefits, photo

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/en/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden plants Reprinted: February 14, 2022 Last amendments: February 14, 2022

Content

Planting and spinach care
Spinach plant - description of 9000,
spinach sowing
- When planting spinach 9000 9000 9000 9000
- Growing spinach on a windowsill
  - How to grow spinach indoors
- Growing spinach outdoors
  - When to sow spinach in the ground
  - Planting spinach in soil
  - Watering spinach
  - Feeding spinach
  - What to plant after spinach
- Pests and spinach diseases
  - 9000
  - pests spinach 9000
  9000
- Types and varieties of spinach 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9,000 and benefits
  - Medicinal properties of spinach
  - Spinach - contraindications
- Literature
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Garden spinach (lat. Spinacia oleracea) is an annual herbaceous plant, a species of the genus Spinach of the Amaranth family, although not so long ago it was attributed to the family Marevy. Spinach grows wild in Asia Minor, and it began to be cultivated in Persia. Spinach was so popular in the Arab countries that Muhammad ibn al-Awwam's cousin called it "the general among the greens."

In the middle of the 7th century, along the Great Silk Road, spinach came to China, where it was called the "Persian vegetable". In Christian Europe - first in Sicily and Spain - spinach became known around the 13th century, but then a form of the plant was cultivated that is now forgotten. In Italy of the 15th century, green spinach was eaten during Lent, and in France, the Italian Catherine de Medici introduced the fashion to serve spinach at the table. Since the middle of the 16th century, spinach of the modern type has already been grown in Europe: broad-leaved, without bitterness and with round seeds.

In the first third of the 20th century, spinach boomed in popularity in the United States and Western countries because it was mistakenly believed to contain an incredible amount of iron. Remember cartoons about the sailor Popeye? However, later it turned out that there is 10 times less iron in spinach: the researcher simply forgot to put a comma in the number ... The excitement around spinach gradually subsided, but nevertheless, its producers erected a monument to the sailor Popeye in Texas in gratitude for popularizing the vegetable.

In Russia, spinach began to be eaten in the middle of the 18th century, but until the end of the next century it remained a little-known "master's" vegetable, which was served at the table with croutons and an egg, and even then spinach in Russia failed to gain wide popularity.

Currently, this crop is most in demand in China and the United States, and in America, three-quarters of the spinach crop is sold fresh. Spinach consumption in the United States has almost returned to the levels of the middle of the 20th century. Today, young spinach, the so-called baby spinach, with tender leaves up to 5 cm long, is gaining ground on the market.

Planting and caring for spinach soil - in the second half of May. Sowing seeds of early varieties directly into the ground - at the end of April, after which seeds can be sown by the conveyor method every two weeks: from sowing to harvesting - 5 weeks. Late varieties can be sown until mid-August to harvest in 6-7 weeks. Before winter, spinach seeds can be sown 6-8 weeks before the first frost - in mid-October.
Lighting: bright sunlight, partial shade and even shade.
Soil: well-drained slightly acidic loam with a pH of 6.5-7.0.
Watering: for each m² of garden watering can with a sprinkler or a hose with a sprinkler head, a bucket of water is poured. In heat and drought, spinach is watered three times a week.
Fertilizers: If spinach growth is retarded, apply nitrogen fertilizer to the soil, but if the soil was fertilized before planting, fertilization is unlikely to be needed.
Propagation: seed - seedling and non-seedling.
Pests: mining and sugar beet flies, gamma cutworm caterpillars, aphids, common mole crickets and boletus flies.
Diseases: fusarium, peronosporosis, anthracnose, curliness, viral mosaic, ascochitosis, cercosporosis and ramulariasis.
Properties: spinach is the most valuable dietary product with a laxative, diuretic, anti-inflammatory and tonic effect.

Spinach plant - description

What does spinach look like? The height of the plant is from 25 to 50 cm or more. Its stems are bare, simple and branched. The lower basal leaves of spinach are petiolate, triangular-lanceolate, often with elongated lateral ears, or oval, oblong-ovate, entire, contracted into a petiole. The upper, and often the middle leaves are oblong, pointed, with a wedge-shaped base. Anther flowers with four stamens form a spike-paniculate inflorescence, and pistillate flowers are in dense glomeruli located in the axils of the leaves. The fruits of spinach are spherical or two-horned, sometimes soldered together, but, nevertheless, do not form seed.

Rosettes of spinach leaves, which form at the very beginning of the growing season, are used as food.

Sowing spinach for seedlings

When to plant spinach

Spinach, like any other herb, can be grown in a greenhouse, at home or in open ground. You can get the earliest greens if you pre-grow spinach seedlings. To do this, in late March or early April, spinach seeds are sown in boxes, paper or plastic cups filled with a moist, loose, disinfected substrate consisting of biohumus (1 part) and coconut fiber (2 parts). A layer of expanded clay 2-3 cm thick is placed under the substrate.

Stubborn spinach seeds with a dense shell before sowing are poured for two days with water, changing it every 6-8 hours. Then they are placed for disinfection for several hours in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, after which they are dried to flowability.

Garden work in June

Growing spinach from seeds

Spinach is sown to a depth of 1-1.5 cm, then the surface is slightly compacted, the crops are covered with film or glass and kept in a warm place until germination. As soon as the seeds begin to germinate, the film is removed, and the container is moved to the southeast or south window sill - the seedlings that have appeared will need a lot of light. But spinach seedlings are undemanding to warmth: it can be grown even on an unheated loggia. Another condition for the successful development of seedlings, in addition to good lighting, is to keep the substrate slightly moist.

Spinach is planted outdoors when the soil is warm. After transplanting, install metal arcs above the bed at a height of about 20 cm and cover the seedlings with agrofibre in case of night frosts and intense spring sun.

Growing spinach on the windowsill

How to grow spinach at home

If you want to grow spinach on the windowsill, keep in mind that the life of the bush is no more than two months: after a few cuts, the spinach releases a flower arrow, and its leaves lose their necessary for food quality. How to grow spinach at home? When growing a crop in the spring-summer period, the seedlings do not require additional lighting, but if spinach is grown from seeds in the autumn or winter, it can only give a good harvest if you arrange daily additional lighting for it for 2-3 hours after the Sunset.

Sowing of prepared spinach seeds is carried out to a depth of 1-1.5 cm in the same substrate in which spinach seedlings are grown. Under the substrate, a layer of drainage 2-3 cm high is laid in the dishes. Spinach can be sown in boxes or containers at least 15 cm deep or in 1-2-liter pots, or you can grow seedlings in small cups, and in the development stage of seedlings 2- 4 real leaves, pick them into a permanent dish. Crops are covered with a film until germination.

Growing and caring for spinach at home is very easy. The optimum temperature for the development of spinach seedlings is from 15 to 18 ºC, watering should be regular and sufficient, especially in summer, since drying out of the substrate provokes premature bolting. In addition, you will need to spray your spinach daily in the early morning or after sunset. As for dressings, when sowing spinach in fertile soil, they are not needed. Spinach greens for cutting will ripen, depending on the variety, 3-5 weeks after sowing, but after 1-2 months the bush will go into the arrow and new greens will stop growing.

Growing spinach outdoors

When to sow spinach outdoors

Since spinach is hardy, it can be grown outdoors without the need for seedlings. For a spring harvest, spinach is sown 4-6 weeks after the last spring frost, and for an autumn harvest, 6-8 weeks before the first autumn cold. In the spring, as soon as it warms up and the sun shines for 14 hours a day, small flowers will appear on the spinach - a process called flowering or shooting, and it makes the leaves of the plant unfit for consumption. Therefore, many gardeners prefer to sow spinach in the fall. In the spring, at the end of April, early varieties of spinach are sown. You can sow the plant several times every 15-20 days. No more than 5 weeks pass from sowing to harvesting. Late varieties are sown until mid-August - they give a harvest in 6-7 weeks.

You can also sow spinach before winter - in mid-October. Before the onset of winter, the plant manages to form small rosettes, and in the spring, spinach left to winter in the ground will sprout very early, and in a couple of weeks you can include it in your diet.

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Planting spinach in the ground

Planting and caring for spinach in the field is quick and easy. The site for the plant should be sunny, and although the plant will also grow well in the shade, its productivity will be lower than when grown in the sun. Spinach prefers drained slightly acidic loamy soils with a pH of 6. 5-7.0. You can adjust the acidity of the soil by adding limestone to it: dolomitic limestone is added to soil that contains little magnesium, and calcite limestone is added to soil with a high magnesium content. Do this in the fall or at least 2-3 months before sowing.

Since the soil for spinach needs to be rich in organic matter, alfalfa, soybean or blood meal is added to the soil for deep digging. Or they dig up a site with mineral fertilizers from the following calculation: 30 g of superphosphate and 15 g of potassium chloride per 1 m². Before spring sowing, urea is introduced into the soil - 20 g per 1 m².

Spinach is sown in rows to a depth of 2 cm at row spacing of 20-30 cm, placing the seeds at a distance of 5-8 cm from each other. After planting the seeds, the surface is slightly compacted with the back of the rake, watered, covered with burlap for 3-4 days, and a plastic film is thrown onto the arched supports installed in advance at a height of about 20 cm. Seeds germinate at a temperature of 2 to 5 ºC in about 10-14 days.

When the seedlings have formed a rosette of 2-3 leaves, thin out the spinach - ideally the bushes should grow at such a distance from each other that they barely touch the leaves. Spinach care consists of regular watering, weeding, loosening the soil around the plants and protecting the spinach from the sun with a shade net when the air temperature rises to 26 ºC.

Watering spinach

Spinach is very moisture-loving. For watering it, it is better to use a hose with a sprinkler nozzle or a garden watering can with a splitter, but remember that with strong pressure you can wash away fragile shoots. Approximately one bucket of water is consumed per m² of beds. In dry, hot weather, watering is carried out at least three times a week, and in order to prevent water from spreading, make a furrow around the perimeter of the beds. After watering, when the water is absorbed and the surface of the soil is slightly dry, loosen the soil around the plants and remove the weeds. If you notice flower arrows on spinach, break them off.

Fertilizing spinach

If spinach grows well in the field, then it has enough nutrients in the soil, but if spinach grows slowly, feed it with a nitrogen fertilizer: cudweed meal or blood meal. Fertilizers are applied to a depth of several centimeters, after which the site is watered. In general, spinach needs top dressing only if the area was not fertilized before sowing or planting seedlings.

What to plant after spinach

To prevent soil depletion, spinach can be grown on one plot with a break of 3-4 years. According to the laws of crop rotation, roots are usually grown after tops, that is, after spinach, you can plant Jerusalem artichoke, swede, radish, radish, daikon, katran, turnip and other tuberous or root plants.

Growing cucumbers in bags in September - we eat fresh cucumbers before frost

Pests and diseases of spinach

Diseases of spinach

The most harmful diseases of spinach are fusarium, downy mildew, anthracnose, curl and viral mosaic. Spinach can also be affected by diseases such as ascochitosis, cercosporosis and ramulariasis.

Fusarium wilt, or root rot is a dangerous fungal disease that affects seedlings and young plants. In specimens affected by Fusarium, the color becomes dull, they begin to lag behind in growth, their leaves lose turgor, turn yellow, and the plants die. The process begins with the lower leaves, and when the plant is dug up, its roots are found to be rotten. You will not succeed in curing spinach from fusarium, especially if the process has covered the entire plant, so the affected bushes must be removed from the garden. As a preventive measure, you need to grow disease-resistant varieties of spinach, make sure that the bushes do not grow too close to each other, regularly loosen the soil around them and remove weeds, and the seeds must be disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate before sowing.

Downy mildew, or Downy mildew is a fungal disease that appears as yellowish spots on the upper side of spinach leaves, while a grayish coating forms on their underside. Then the spots become brown-brown, the leaves droop, wrinkle, dry out and crumble. The disease progresses in cool damp weather. Ways to protect against peronosporosis, as well as from root rot, are mainly preventive, since when using chemical preparations, the toxic substances contained in them, accumulating in the leaves, will make them unsuitable for food. Folk remedies for fighting fungal diseases can come to the rescue:

treatment of plants with a solution of 10 drops of 5% pharmacy iodine in 1 liter of milk, which is then mixed with 9 liters of water;
treatment of spinach with an ash solution: 2 cups of ash are brewed with three liters of boiling water, allowed to cool, filtered through a triple layer of gauze, diluted with 10 liters of water and spinach is treated with this solution;
200-300 g of onion peel is poured into 10 liters of water, brought to a boil, allowed to infuse for 1-2 days, filtered and treated with infusion of the plant;
1-1. 5 g of potassium permanganate is diluted in 10 liters of water and sprayed with a solution of spinach.

Anthracnose covers the leaves and their petioles with rounded dark spots, in the center of which there are black raised pads.

Cercosporosis also affects the leaves and stems of spinach. First, rounded spots with a diameter of 2-4 mm are formed on them - red-brown with an ashy middle. Then the spots grow, merge with each other, the tissue inside the spots becomes thinner, dries and spills out, leaving holes in the leaf plates.

With ascochitosis , spots also appear on leaves and stems: convex, of various shapes and colors, but most often brown with a dark border. Affected tissues gradually dry out.

Ramulariasis, or leaf spot covers spinach leaves with grey-brown spots with dark edges. With the development of the disease, the leaves die.

Cucumber mosaic viruses and can be stored in soil, on seeds and plant debris and transmitted by sucking insects. Viruses penetrate the plant through damaged tissues, their presence is manifested by the formation of yellow or light green strokes and star-shaped spots on spinach leaves, which gradually merge with each other. The leaves are deformed, stunted, become dwarfed.

Leaf curl results in thickening and uneven growth of the leaf tissue, causing the leaf to curl, become wavy and blistered. Curly hair is often accompanied by necrosis, spinach leaves dry up and fall off.

Curly and mosaics are viral diseases and there is no way to cure them - the plants must be destroyed. And with fungal diseases, you can fight with preventive methods and folk remedies, which we have already described to you.

Spinach pests

Spinach pests are also numerous. Among them are mining and beet flies, gamma scoop caterpillars, aphids, common bears and babanukhs.

Miner fly lays its eggs in the leaves of the plant, and the larvae that appear in June eat their flesh, which kills the spinach. You can scare away the pest by alternating rows of spinach with rows of beets, which the fly does not tolerate. However, you should not sow spinach in an area where the beets have just been harvested, as it can get root rot.

Green or brown cutworm is one of the worst leaf-destroying pests of spinach. You can fight caterpillars by treating bushes with tobacco or pepper infusion, as well as infusion of tomato tops. And don't forget to weed the garden regularly.

Beet fly also lays eggs on spinach leaves. Destroy it by treating the plant with a two percent solution of Phosphamide.

Aphid is a sucking insect that makes punctures in young leaves of plants, sucking juice from them, and often infecting them with viral diseases. Processing spinach with an ash-soap solution will help you cope with aphids: 200-300 g of ash should be boiled in a bucket of water for 30 minutes, then cool, strain and add 40 g of grated soap or liquid dishwashing detergent. Most likely, you will not be able to get rid of aphids at once, but if you spray the spinach with an ash-soap solution 4-5 times with an interval of several days, the aphids will disappear.

Medvedka is a large and dangerous pest that feeds not only on plants, but also on small insects. She can move underground, on the ground and even through the air, which makes it very difficult to fight her. Nevertheless, it must be destroyed, since not only spinach, but also other garden and garden plants can suffer from this pest. The main thing is to find its nest and all the passages to it in the footsteps of the bear, and the tracks are best seen after rain. The discovered nest must be very carefully dug out so as not to frighten away the insect in it, put into a bucket and burned, and a drug to destroy the bear or pour soapy water into each passage in case there is no pest in the nest.

Babanukha is a cabbage or horseradish leaf beetle that also eats spinach leaves with pleasure. These bugs are best picked by hand and destroyed, and after harvesting, it is advisable to dust the spinach with a mixture of wood ash with hot red pepper powder and dry mustard.

Types and varieties of spinach

According to the maturation period, garden spinach varieties are divided into early-ripening, mid-ripening and late-ripening. The best early maturing varieties include the following:

Gaudry is a variety ripening for food in 2-3 weeks. It can be sown both in early spring and late autumn, both in open and closed ground. The diameter of the rosette of leaves of the Gaudri variety is about 23 cm;
Gigantic is one of the most well-known cultivars producing leaves two weeks after sowing. This variety is one of the best for canning. Rosette of elongated fleshy leaves sometimes reaches a diameter of 50 cm;
Virofle - an early maturing French variety, prone to the early formation of a flower arrow. The rosette of oval, fleshy, tender and smooth, greenish-yellow leaves reaches a diameter of 30 cm. The plant is resistant to cold, so it can be sown in early spring;
Stick is a high-yielding variety cultivated in our country since 1995, used both for fresh consumption and for canning. The rosette of leaves up to 19 cm long and up to 14 cm wide is half raised and reaches a diameter of 30 cm.

Of the mid-season varieties most often grown:

Matador - frost-resistant and moisture-loving, as well as not prone to early shooting, a productive variety of Czech selection, which gives leaves already three weeks after sowing. The plant has a medium-sized compact semi-vertical rosette consisting of smooth, glossy oval grey-green leaves;
Bloomsdalesky is a new variety of Dutch selection, resistant to bolting, with a high rosette with a diameter of about 25 cm. Leaves of deep dark green color, smooth, juicy and fleshy, in slightly pronounced bubbles;
Krepysh is a high-yielding frost-resistant variety, not prone to early bolting, with a rosette of about 25 cm in diameter of semi-raised, glossy, obovate green leaves with slight vesicles.

Late-ripening varieties of spinach include:

Victoria is a moisture-loving and high-yielding variety with resistance to peronosporosis and bolting, which gives foliage 30-35 days after sowing. This plant has a compact rosette with a diameter of 14-19cm with dark green with a bluish tinge, strongly bubbly leaves up to 10 long and up to 7 cm wide;
Spokane is a high yielding hybrid Dutch variety that is resistant to bloom and is recommended for both fresh consumption and canning. It has rounded, wavy, wrinkled-bubbly dark green leaves 10-14 cm long and 6-11 cm wide, collected in a compact medium-sized rosette;
Varyag – a variety with a raised compact rosette of large green oval medium bubble leaves of slightly sour taste with medium length petioles. The variety is suitable for salads and soups.

In addition to those described, spinach varieties such as Khorovod, Povar, Zhirnolistny, Popeye, Nikitos, Normal, Prima, Casta, Melody, Mazurka, Virtuoso, Tarantella, Ladya and Dolphin, Puma, Space, Emerald hybrids have proven themselves well.

Also known in cultivation is the so-called New Zealand spinach, or tetragonia, an annual plant of the Aizaceae family. This plant is not related to spinach, although the nutritional value and taste characteristics of these plants are very similar, and in some respects tetragonia even surpasses spinach.

But many-leaved spinach, or zhminda, or spinach-raspberry is a relative of garden spinach and is valuable not only for tasty and healthy leaves that are added to soups and salads, but also for berries similar to mulberries, from which jelly, compote and jam are cooked.

Malabra or Ceylon spinach, or Basella, from the Basella family, is a herbaceous plant, a creeper whose fleshy leaves are tasty both raw and cooked. A refreshing drink is obtained from the infusion of the leaves. In nature, Basella grows in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and America, and in our climate it can be grown in the garden as an annual plant.

Benefits and harms of spinach

Medicinal properties of spinach

Spinach has many medicinal properties. Why is spinach useful? What valuable substances are contained in its leaves? They include carbohydrates, proteins and fats, fiber, organic, unsaturated and saturated acids, sugars, starch, vitamins A, C, H, E, PP, K, B vitamins, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, copper , iodine, zinc, potassium, selenium and manganese.

It is important that vitamins C and A contained in spinach are retained even after cooking. And the iron in spinach is in a form that is easily absorbed by humans and prevents the formation of cellulite. Due to the fiber contained in spinach, the intestines are cleansed, which helps to get rid of excess weight. Spinach normalizes peristalsis and eliminates constipation.

Spinach is recommended for diseases of the nervous system, anemia, malnutrition, diabetes, enterocolitis, gastritis, hypertension and anemia. Since the plant has a laxative, diuretic, anti-inflammatory and tonic effect and is perfectly absorbed by the body, it is useful for those recovering from a serious illness, pregnant women and children.

Spinach strengthens the heart muscle and relieves insomnia, and due to the lutein contained in the leaves, it clarifies vision, reduces fatigue and increases efficiency.

Fresh spinach juice helps cleanse the body, replenishes energy reserves, stimulates the functioning of organs - the liver, intestines, kidneys. With inflammation of the gums, they rinse their mouth, and with sore throats - the throat. Fresh chopped spinach leaves are applied externally for abscesses and stings of bees, wasps and other insects, and a paste of spinach leaves boiled in olive oil treats eczema and burns, removes freckles and whitens the skin of the face.

Spinach is eaten fresh, boiled or baked and is used in many complex dishes, snacks and sauces.

Spinach - contraindications

Spinach contains large amounts of oxalic acid, therefore it is contraindicated for people with problems with the urinary tract, suffering from urolithiasis, nephritis and similar diseases.