Growing Spinach In A Home Garden

Anyone interested in planting their own vegetables as a means to add readily accessible greens to their diet should try growing spinach. This vegetable provides a great source of vitamins as well as calcium and iron. The varieties of this vegetable vary in size, color and texture. Certain times of the year are ideal for production of this leafy green. This tasty vegetable is not hard to grow as long as you nurture the soil.

Spinach that has dark green leaves that are crinkled and crisp are referred to as savoyed or semi-savoyed type. This type is ideal for growing during the colder months of the year. Another variety of this vegetable is smooth-leafed. This is characterized by a lighter shade leaf that grows vertically and is easy to wash. This type grows quickly and can be picked and eaten before it reaches full size.

Placing seeds in a protective box outside or inside during the winter months is ideal. If you choose to plant in the fall you should do so before the first frost occurs. Remembering that this vegetable grows quickly, you’ll need to plant seeds about every three weeks. Because the climate and the soil need to be in good condition for this vegetable to grow, you should avoid planting seeds during the summer months.

For best results soil should be loosened and mixed with soybean and alfalfa meal. Growth is more likely to occur if seeds are planted one half inch into the ground and approximately two inches in distance from each other. Because the leaves of this vegetable can spread out, space rows about eight inches apart.

To store and harvest this vegetable you can take off individual leaves to be used for cooking about six weeks after planting. Be sure to leave the foundation of the vegetable in tact so that it does not prevent future growth. Once the stem of the plant becomes tall enough, which usually occurs in the springtime, you can uproot the plant from the ground.

To avoid rodents that can kill a crop, keep the vegetables evenly spaced. Slugs are damaging too and typically live where mulch is present. Therefore, be sure to limit mulch where seeds are going to be planted. Plants that demonstrate older or yellow leaves should be uprooted as they have the potential of transmitting viral diseases to the others.

Planting seeds regularly after plucking leaves is optimal if you want to continue to grow this vegetable. An advantage of spinach is that it does grow rapidly so you can enjoy its sweet flavor not too long after planting the seeds.

Although relatively easy to harvest, growing spinach takes special care and consideration. There are many recipes you can create using this vegetable. Its sweet flavor and essential nutrients provide a tasteful, healthy snack or addition to a meal. Experimentation with different varieties as well as recipes will help you find the best way to use this vegetable.

And if you enjoyed reading Susan’s article here on how to grow spinach, you may also like this related one on growing spinach.