Spinach is a healthy low-calorie plant valued for its high content of vitamins and minerals. All benefits are preserved after cutting, cooking and freezing, and this is one of the reasons to plant it on your site. Growing and caring for spinach does not require much physical effort from you. Read the article carefully and you will succeed!
Spinach is the leader among greens and vegetables in terms of the content of useful components. No wonder the French call him “king.”
It contains a large amount of protein, organic fatty acids, fiber, all B vitamins, ascorbic acid, carotene, calcium, iron, zinc, selenium.
Spinach is useful for low hemoglobin, vascular and heart diseases, eye diseases, and diabetes. Indispensable for problems with the digestive tract, which is why it is popularly called “broom for the intestines.”
Improves the condition of gums and teeth, strengthens blood vessels, helps fight asthma and tumors. Spinach normalizes metabolic processes, removes toxins and excess fluid from the body - nutritionists strongly advise including it in the diet of those who want to lose weight and maintain beauty.
Short description
Spinach is an annual herbaceous crop, reaching a height of 30-40 cm. It forms a rosette of 10-12 leaves. The leaves can be wrinkled or smooth, round or oblong - it depends on the variety. There are many varieties. The most popular are “Victoria”, “Gigantic”, “Strawberry”, “Godri”, “Matador”.
The plant is easy to care for and tolerates frost well. It has an original taste. Many people confuse spinach with sorrel. Yes, they look similar, but the taste is completely different. Sorrel has a pronounced, sour taste, spinach has a refined taste, with a slight bitterness and subtle sourness.
Planting spinach correctly
To plant spinach, it is not necessary to have large areas - it will feel great even in a small flowerbed. It is better to plant in open, well-warmed areas, protected from gusts of wind. Preferred predecessors are cabbage, cucumbers, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, beans. Landing time is not particularly important. However, experienced gardeners advise planting it in the fall, provided that the soil is light and the future place of residence is located on a slight hill.
One of the advantages of spinach is its early maturity, which means several planting times are allowed. Do you want to provide yourself with greens throughout the summer? Sow the crop in a conveyor belt manner from March to August. Do you want to get a harvest in early spring? Winter sowing is done in November.
What should the soil be like?
Sandy loam and loam are most suitable for spinach. The soil must be drained and nutritious. Acidity is of great importance. It should correspond to 6.8-7.0. If the soil is heavy, then organic matter should be added. The soil is prepared in advance. It is carefully dug up and fertilized with compost, humus and a phosphorus-potassium mixture. If the soil is too acidic, lime, dolomite flour or chalk will save the situation. When planting in spring, the soil is prepared in the fall; when planting in autumn, in spring or summer.
By seeds or through seedlings?
Spinach can be planted through seedlings or seeds, but the second method is more common. This is explained by the fact that seedlings take root less well in open ground.
If you still decide to use the seedling method, then give preference to heat-loving varieties. Plant spinach seeds in plastic boxes with nutrient soil in late March or early April. Do not deepen them too much - just scatter them over the surface, cover them with earth and compact them slightly. Cover the plantings with glass or film, place them in a warm place and wait for germination. After this has happened, the protective cover is removed and the boxes are placed on the windowsill. Don't forget to water. You can plant seedlings in the soil when the ground has warmed up well. At the initial stage, it is necessary to protect the plantings from intense sunlight and temperature changes using arcs and agrofibre.
Growing spinach from seeds is much easier. The seed does not need preliminary preparation, but experts still recommend soaking it in warm water for 24 hours and then drying it. In the prepared soil, shallow furrows are formed and seeds are planted in them to a depth of 2 cm. The interval between individual seeds is 3 cm, between rows is 30 cm. Seed consumption is 5 g. per 1 m2. Spinach can be sown continuously, from April to August (every 20-25 days).
The best time for spring planting is the first ten days of May. You will be harvesting in early June. Spinach grows fastest in the summer. By the way, it is believed that the summer harvest is the most delicious.
Plants sprout at a rapid pace - don't miss the moment when it's time to collect them. Otherwise, the sprouts will go to waste. It is good to sow spinach in November, when the temperature drops below 0 degrees. This way you are guaranteed to receive fresh greens 2 weeks earlier than usual.
You need to know this!
To obtain uniform seedlings, be sure to compact the soil. If it is dry, water and mulch. Plants actively develop under long daylight hours and high temperatures. If the daylight hours are short and the temperature is low, then the spinach quickly forms an arrow. Take this into account and plant greens in insulated beds or greenhouses.
Never heard of insulated beds? Drive pegs into the ground and lay 4 boards on the sides so that they rise 10 cm above the ground. Plant the seeds. After emergence, provide 10 hours of daylight by covering the spinach with frames for several hours in the morning.
Never plant seeds in soil with high acidity levels - there is a high risk of losing the entire crop.
If the soil is heavy, then the application of organic fertilizers is mandatory. It is advisable to combine the application of fertilizers with digging. In areas without black soil, mineral supplements can be applied immediately before planting. Per square meter you will need potassium (10 g), phosphorus (5 g) and nitrogen (10 g). For effective growth, ammonium nitrate is required in a dosage of 30 g. per 1 m2.
The growing season for spinach is 2 months. To increase this period of time, it is necessary to tear off the tops, stimulating the formation of new leaves and stopping the formation of arrows. After the first leaves appear, the beds are weeded and thinned, leaving a gap of 10 cm between the plants.
How to care?
Caring for spinach is not very difficult. Particular attention should be paid to eliminating weak shoots. Thinning not only increases the flow of oxygen, but also prevents the development of diseases. The second thinning is done when the plants begin to touch. Now the interval should be at least 15 cm.
Remove weeds and water the soil in a timely manner. Spinach is especially susceptible to lack of moisture during seed germination and after the first leaves appear. When watering, follow the golden mean - the ground should not be too wet or very dry. Excess liquid leads to rotting of the root system, too little leads to bolting and deterioration of the taste of spinach.
If the soil was nutritious to begin with, then fertilizer is not required. Constantly inspect plants for pests and disease symptoms. If you find infected ones, delete them. Preventive measures again consist of thinning, proper watering, removing weeds, and maintaining crop rotation (plant spinach in its old place only after 3 years).
Harvesting and storage
Harvesting begins after 6-8 leaves are formed. Do not delay collecting, otherwise the leaves will become tough and insipid. The rosettes are pulled out directly by the roots or cut off under the first leaf. The best time for this is early morning or late evening.
It is important to harvest before dew appears - the spinach must be dry, because wet leaves quickly spoil.
Spinach is stored in different ways. If you plan to eat it as soon as possible, wrap it in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator. There it can be stored for 7-10 days. Long-term storage involves canning, drying and freezing. In this case, the leaves can be whole or crushed.
If you want to freeze spinach, wash it thoroughly, dry it, place it in a container or bag and put it in the freezer. To dry greens, they should be cut, laid out on paper and left in a dry, dark place. Some housewives prefer to pickle spinach or roll it in jars. In both cases, all useful substances are preserved.
Now you know the benefits of spinach, how to grow and store it correctly, which means you will always have greens rich in vitamins and minerals on your table. Eat spinach, fresh or canned, and stay healthy!
Spinach is an annual vegetable plant that resembles quinoa in its beneficial properties. Due to its high content of vitamins, protein, fiber and other microelements, it is widely used in cooking. Many gourmets prefer this dietary product. You can eat fresh leaves, preserve them or boil them. Spinach is very popular in Western countries; it is used to prepare dishes for children. Spinach puree is a source of restoration of physical strength and has a healing effect on the body. Today, spinach is often consumed by many vegetarians and healthy eating supporters in Russia.
Features of growth and development
Spinach is part of the long-day plant group. This means that it requires prolonged and intense lighting for full development and flowering.
It can easily tolerate low temperatures. Seeds can germinate at temperatures as low as 4 degrees. In hot climates, the plant enters the flowering phase. Overripe leaves already have an unpleasant taste.
Spinach is distinguished by its high yield, which is achieved in a short period of time. 40 days after the appearance of the first shoots, you can receive a batch of finished high-quality products.
Good yield is ensured when the crop is grown on fertile soil that has a slightly alkaline or neutral environment.
This plant needs constant soil moisture, but too much water can have a detrimental effect. When growing spinach at home, you need to observe certain air humidity parameters in the room.
An excellent place for growing spinach in a room is a window sill. Housewives do not have to spend a lot of time and effort to grow it.
In the summer and spring months, when planting seeds, you do not need to resort to an artificial light source, but in the autumn-winter period you need to additionally turn on the lamps. The duration of daylight in the cold season should be at least 10 hours. On cloudy days, it is also necessary to turn on artificial light for the growth of young shoots.
Plastic or wooden flowerpots 15-20 cm high can be used as containers for sowing seeds. Seeds must be planted at some distance from each other. Make shallow furrows in the prepared soil and water them with water.
Ready-made soil mixtures used for flower crops can act as a nutrient substrate. They do not contain peat, which oxidizes the soil. However, the best option would be to prepare the soil yourself. To do this, you need to mix one part of vermicompost and two parts of coconut fiber, which protects the soil from drying out and prevents stagnation of water. It is necessary to pour a small layer of expanded clay into the planting container, which will act as a kind of drainage. If you have difficulties purchasing coconut fiber, you can only use vermicompost. Periodically you need to add 1-2 teaspoons of perlite or vermiculite, which have the same properties as coconut fiber. These additives ensure the preservation of the soil mixture and protect it from rotting.
Before planting, seeds must first be soaked in water at room temperature for a day. Unlike lettuce, spinach seeds look a little larger. The sowing depth is 10-15 mm. The prepared flowerpots are covered with plastic film on top to prevent the soil from drying out. Within a week the first green shoots appear.
Glazed balconies or loggias are considered an ideal place for growing spinach. In such rooms constant air humidity is maintained. If it is not possible to place a container with seedlings on the balcony, then you can use a window sill for this purpose. However, you should remember the fact that spinach is a moisture-loving plant, and in winter, apartment air is extremely dry. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly spray young leaves with a spray bottle. Above the flowerpots, you can install a structure like a greenhouse, which will be a frame with stretched plastic film and will make it possible to maintain a constant microclimate in the room.
The spinach crop is harvested over a period of 2-3 months, and then the plant undergoes morphological changes and enters the bolting phase. With proper planting and harvesting, this green crop can be eaten all year round.
The soil used for growing spinach can be reused provided it is regularly fertilized with complex additives. The plant is considered fully formed and ready for harvesting when it reaches a height of 7-10 cm and has 5-7 leaves in the rosette.
Growing spinach on a windowsill (video)
Few people know how to grow spinach in the garden, how to cook it deliciously, and how healthy it is. Spinach crop is popular in many countries. In Western Europe they even produce combines for harvesting it. In Japan, with an acute shortage of acreage for spinach, up to 24 thousand hectares are allocated, that is, 2-2.5 square meters. m per person. And here in the Krasnodar Territory, judging by the number of seeds sold, its open ground crops amount to no more than 2-3 hectares per 5 million residents of Kuban, that is, 0.02-0.03 square meters. m per person. Most likely, this is due to ignorance of what kind of crop it is, how and when to plant spinach.
Dietitians and nutrition specialists believe that it should be consumed at least 3-4 kg per year, which is used not only as a salad, but also as a medicinal plant.
Spinach as a healthy plant
Garden spinach is an annual plant. The fleshy leaves are eaten, sometimes they are corrugated, ovoid, round or arrow-shaped. This is a dioecious plant, with females being more leafy and vegetating longer than males. In terms of the amount of protein it contains, spinach is second only to legumes (peas, beans). Its leaves contain sugars, vitamins C (65-75 mg%), groups B, P, PP, K, E, A, various organic acids, salts of potassium, calcium, sodium, iron, copper, phosphorus, and other useful substances.
Spinach leaves remove harmful substances from the body, such as toxins, heavy metal salts, and cholesterol. The French call it “the broom of the stomach”, as it has a positive effect on the activity of the digestive glands, causing them to work more intensively. In addition, spinach, due to its saponin content, enhances gastric motility.
When to sow spinach in open ground in Kuban
This is a cold-resistant plant. And in dry, hot weather, having formed 4-6 small leaves, they begin to bolt and become unsuitable for consumption. Therefore, we should not practice late-spring sowing of spinach in the Krasnodar Territory.
In short-day conditions, when sowing is carried out in early spring (“February windows”) or autumn (September), the light stage of development passes slowly, and the duration of the vegetative phase increases. As a result, a powerful rosette of 10-12 large leaves is formed, which leads to an increase in yield to 3.5-4 kg per 1 sq. m.
Spinach seeds, although slowly, can germinate in open ground at a temperature of +3-4°C. But the optimal temperature both for germination and for its growth and development is 15-18°C. In the rosette phase of 4-6 leaves, it easily tolerates frosts down to -17°C, and even lower under snow. For example, in the winter of 2002/2003, the temperature at night in December-January on some days dropped to 18-20°C below zero, without snow. At this temperature, 53-56% of the plants that gave an early harvest remained to grow and survived.
Agronomist specialists studied several dates for sowing spinach: late summer (second to third ten days of August) and autumn (three terms in September and first to second ten days of October). Observations of growth and development have shown that sowing in August and in the first or second ten days of September allows you to obtain a harvest of spinach leaves in October-November of 3.5-3.7 kg per 1 sq. m.
In some years, during warm autumns, spinach yielded a harvest even in December, if arches of 6-8 mm wire were placed for sowing and covered with plastic film. Crops from the second or third ten days of September, sometimes the first ten days of October, withstood the winter well in the conditions of the central zone of the Krasnodar Territory. The winter temperature over the previous 3 years has not dropped below 10-12°C below zero. The spinach leaf harvest, sown in mid-September, was ready for harvest in the first ten days of March. Each subsequent sowing period produced a harvest 5-7 days later than the previous one. The early spring sowing period in February-March yielded a harvest in the first or second ten days of May. The yield from early spring sowing was 1.3-1.7 kg per square meter. m.
Thus, to obtain a conveyor belt harvest of spinach in the Kuban in late autumn or early spring, it is necessary to plant it, or rather, carry out stepwise sowing from approximately August 15 to mid-October with an interval of 10-15 days.
More and more often I see green spinach leaves on market stalls. This makes me happy. But growing spinach on an industrial scale is still a long way off. It's a pity!
The desire to diversify the garden with a variety of crops is not always successful. But when it comes to greenery, aspirations are rarely limited by the complexity of growing or the need to create special conditions. Therefore, what is definitely worth starting in the garden beds is spinach, sowing and caring for which is not at all labor-intensive.
In addition to the fact that it is extremely tasty, healthy, nutritious, but a low-calorie leaf vegetable, it is also completely unpretentious. It is easy to find a place for rows of spinach in any, even the smallest area, and its aesthetic and compact appearance allows you to grow bushes even in a flower bed, where, in addition to its benefits, it will also play a decorative role as a green crop.
Spinach is quite resistant to cold, so it does not require shelter.
Therefore, if you decide to start growing spinach in the country, you should take advantage of its advantages:
- its early ripening allows it to be planted in areas prepared for subsequent planting of seedlings of heat-loving vegetables - tomatoes, peppers or eggplants;
- spinach is quite resistant to cold, so it does not require shelter;
- growing by seedlings allows you to be one of the first to obtain juicy spring greens;
- excellent compatibility with all the most common crops on the site (except beets), allows it to be used when creating mixed beds or as a thickener for a while until the main crops grow up.
Now that we have decided that there will always be a place for spinach, it is worth taking a closer look at the main preferences in soil type, degree of moisture, duration of light and optimal temperature for development.
Video about the benefits of spinach
Planting spinach is more effective in maximally illuminated areas, this must be especially remembered when sowing in spring and autumn, when daylight hours are short. Humidity is also very important, since insufficient watering provokes bolting of plants, thereby worsening the taste of spinach and reducing the yield of its juicy leaves. And regarding fertilizers - even if the soil for the garden bed initially has an acceptable structure, it is still worth improving its fertility. To do this, it is enough to add half a bucket of organic matter per 1 sq.m and in the recommended dosage of complex mineral fertilizers.
Planting spinach is more effective in areas with maximum light
Now about the soil: in most cases, ordinary garden soil is fertile, loose, fairly moist, and is perfect for growing. The only exception is acidic soils or too heavy, clayey soils with constant stagnation of water. In such conditions, most crops cannot develop safely, including spinach, so if it is not possible to select another area, the existing “problem” soil should be improved.
First, about acidity indicators. You can determine its level without special instruments, just look at what weeds grow around: bindweed and burdock - 6-7 pH and higher; nettle, spurge and shepherd's purse - 5.5-6 pH; plantain, dandelion or wheatgrass - 5-5.5 pH, but horsetail, moss or buttercup indicate high acidity - 4.5 pH and below. For spinach, the optimal value will be about 6.0-7.0 pH, so if the soil is not very suitable, when digging, you should add fluff lime at a dosage of 200 g per 1 sq.m., with an initial value of about 5 pH, and 600-750 g , if the level is below 4 pH.
But as for high humidity and stagnant water, this problem can be solved by drainage. Depending on the degree of “clayiness” of the soil, 2-3 buckets of coarse sand should be added per 1 sq.m. By digging and thoroughly mixing the resulting soil mixture, you can assess the degree of its improvement - whether it has become loose or you can add more sand. Heavy soil especially needs liming and mandatory enrichment with organic fertilizers, be it mullein, rotted manure, bird droppings, or simply a generous application of humus.
Heavy soil especially needs liming and mandatory enrichment with organic fertilizers
Now, knowing where spinach will grow best, you can proceed directly to sowing and planting.
Regardless of where and how you grow spinach, it is recommended to follow accepted sowing and seeding standards. Therefore, when sowing between rows, in a garden bed, in a greenhouse or open ground, it is important not to bury the seeds more than 2-2.5 cm and leave 20-35 cm between rows.
It is necessary to sow in moist soil; if it seems to you that the soil is dry, you should first generously shed the grooves. After waiting for the water to be absorbed, you can begin sowing.
Be sure to sow in moist soil.
With the emergence of seedlings, traditional planting care begins - regular weeding and timely watering. In addition, the quality of spinach often depends on the density of the crops, so you need to control the density. The first time you can break through spinach already in the phase of 2-3 leaves, while the torn out rosettes should not be thrown away, and if they are immediately transplanted to another bed, they will continue to grow quite successfully. After thinning and replanting, the plants must be watered thoroughly so that the disturbed roots can adhere tightly to the soil again.
Taking into account the early maturity of spinach, it does not require additional feeding. But if you doubt that the soil is fertile enough, you can add organic fertilizers in liquid form to the water when watering. You can prepare such nutrient solutions yourself and practically for free, given that everything you need can be found at your dacha, on the street or with your neighbors.
During fermentation, it is recommended to stir the solution in the container periodically to ensure rapid maturation. And when feeding, it is important to remember that an excess of it is sometimes much more dangerous than a lack, so proceed with caution, especially when using bird droppings.
Here, perhaps, are all the tricks and all the care; spinach is almost never damaged by pests and diseases, due to its precocity.
Keeping in mind the cold resistance of spinach, the first sowings of it in the country can begin as soon as the snow melts, because already at a temperature of +4 °C the seeds can germinate quite successfully.
Advice! Growing spinach in terms of requirements and care is similar to growing spinach, so often these crops are sown at the same time and in one place.
Under favorable conditions, the first salad from young leaves can be made after 30-40 days from germination
Depending on the climatic conditions of a particular region, spinach is planted from mid-April to mid-May. But given spinach’s high need for moisture, later plantings in dry soil may not bring the expected results, and this crop does not like heat. Therefore, in this situation the principle applies: the earlier the sowing, the better the harvest. Under favorable conditions, the first salad from young leaves can be made after 30-40 days from germination. And if you want to get greens even earlier, you can use the seedling method and first grow rosettes on a windowsill, like radishes, and then transfer them along with a lump of earth to the beds.
Another method will help you avoid troubles with seedlings, but enjoy an early harvest. In the fall, when completing the last gardening work at your dacha, sow spinach seeds in a greenhouse or just in a garden bed - their spring shoots will be one of the earliest. If there is no permanent greenhouse, then when planting in open ground, it is recommended to cover the rows with film or agrofibre so that in the spring the earth warms up faster, but does not lose moisture, and the growing greens are clean.
Video about growing spinach
The crops will sprout in September this year, survive the winter without any loss, and in the spring, after thawing, they will continue to grow. If you sow in October, green rosettes can be seen in the first half of April after the snow melts.
To ensure that tender spinach leaves are on your table from early spring to late autumn, you should select the right varieties and periodically sow the seeds.
All spinach lovers and those who want to try growing it with their own hands will find this article useful. In it you will find a lot of useful information about growing spinach at home.
By following the advice from the article, you can forever forget about buying greens in the store: you will always have fresh spinach grown yourself on your table. Read step-by-step instructions on how to grow it in open ground and on a windowsill only here.
Features of spinach: cultivation and care in open ground
Spinach is predominantly an annual, early-ripening, cold-resistant plant, ranking first among vegetables in iron content, and second only to legumes in protein content.
Note: This plant contains almost all B vitamins, and the vitamin K content in 100 g of leaves is 4 times the daily requirement.
It is also rich in elements such as manganese, potassium, magnesium, and about a hundred other components no less useful for the human body are contained in this plant.
And yet, having such wonderful properties, it is still an infrequent guest on our table. This article will tell you in more detail about growing and caring for spinach in open ground.
What you need to grow spinach at home
How to grow spinach at home? Firstly, this plant is quite demanding on soil fertility. Therefore, the first necessary condition for its cultivation should be a cultivated, well-fertilized area.
Note: When choosing a site, you should take into account that the best predecessors for it are vegetable crops, since organic fertilizers have already been applied to them.
Secondly, you need to know that for continuous harvesting throughout spring and summer, it is recommended to plant at several times.
Thirdly, it is important to comply with the care conditions, which include weeding and regular watering, loosening the soil and fertilizing. Let us consider in more detail all the listed conditions.
Peculiarities
Anyone can grow spinach along with other greens. This can be done both in a greenhouse and in open ground, depending on your desires and capabilities. Cultivation options are shown in Figure 1.
This culture is cold-resistant and unpretentious, almost unaffected by pests and diseases, and has early ripening. Tolerates light (-6-8 degrees) short frosts. Therefore, crops planted before winter can safely overwinter under the snow. Goes well with all garden crops.
The plant is light-loving, therefore, for example, in the Moscow region, spring sowings in protected soil begin only at the end of February. It is in greenhouses in early spring that conditions can be created for obtaining a good harvest of greens.
Figure 1. Methods of growing greens: in open ground, in a greenhouse, on a windowsill and hydroponically After the snow has completely melted (and this is usually mid-April), you can begin sowing in open ground. To continuously obtain greenery, such crops are carried out in a conveyor manner, that is, with an interval of 20-30 days. The sown areas are covered with matting or special materials to speed up the appearance of the first shoots.
In summer, sowing should be preceded by thoroughly moistening the soil. June and July sowings will provide you with greens throughout the fall, and sowings done in August become a winter crop.
Rules of care
Regardless of how and where you grow spinach, there are certain rules for caring for the plant (Figure 2):
- After the first shoots appear, weeding and watering should become regular.
- Controlling crop density has a direct impact on product quality. Therefore, for the first time this procedure can be carried out at the stage when the plant has 2-3 true leaves. At the same time, torn out sockets can quite safely take root in another bed.
- Watering should be mandatory after transplanting and thinning, in order to maximize the fixation of the roots in the soil.
Since the daylight hours are quite long in the summer, there is a need to reduce it specifically for this particular crop. For this purpose, plants are covered in the morning and evening, protecting them from light, because its excess leads to bolting of the plant, which affects the growth of leaves and their taste.
Conditions
Planting and caring for spinach in open ground requires compliance with certain conditions (Figure 3):
- The soil should be well saturated with organic and mineral substances;
- When sowing, the soil should be moist. The optimal level of soil moisture is maintained throughout the growing season;
- Daylight hours should be of optimal duration for the formation of lush green mass;
- The density of crops is constantly monitored by removing excess plants;
- Weeding and loosening are carried out regularly.
Figure 2. Garden bed care: weed removal, thinning, fertilizing and watering Additional feeding is also an important condition. But it will only be needed if the soil itself does not have sufficient fertility or has not been fertilized with organic matter.
Growing technology
You should know that in crop rotation, spinach acts as a predecessor of heat-loving crops and a repeat crop after green ones. At the same time, it is important to wait a certain period of time when growing crops by crop in order to avoid plant diseases.
Note: It is known that the harvest of greenery is much larger and of better quality in well-lit areas, especially in spring and autumn, when there is not enough daylight.
Even if the land in the allotted area is quite fertile, it still wouldn’t hurt to lightly feed it. To do this, it will be enough to add a little organic (half a bucket per 1 sq.m.) and complex mineral fertilizer. Acidic soil additionally needs liming.
It is better to carry out all preparatory work in advance, that is, prepare the soil for sowing in the fall. This is due to the fact that adding organic matter directly to the crop negatively affects its taste. In addition, in early spring, urea is applied to the prepared area under a rake in the amount of 20 g per 1 sq.m.
Note: For continuous production of greenery, it can be sown from the end of April to the beginning of August with some time intervals.
Before sowing, it is advisable to soak the seeds for 1-2 days in warm water. The swollen planting material is dried and sown in rows to a depth of 3 cm. The distance between rows should be 30 cm. The sown area should be compacted.
Further care consists of thinning after the first true leaves appear, regular watering, loosening and weeding.
Particular attention should be paid to watering, because spinach is especially sensitive to lack of moisture. This is especially pronounced during seed germination and after a large number of leaves appear. However, if the weather is too wet, plants may be affected by powdery mildew, and if there is drought, leaf aphids may attack them.
The harvest begins in the phase of formation of a rosette of 5-8 full leaves. It is best to cut them early in the morning, removing yellow and damaged leaves.
Soil for spinach
Spinach prefers fertile or well-fertilized soil. The plant is sensitive to both waterlogging and lack of moisture, as well as to the acidity of the soil. Under unfavorable conditions, plant growth slows down, it turns yellow and dies.
What should it be
So, what soil should you choose? The best option would be loamy soil. Sandy requires frequent watering. Acidic soil must first be limed, but even then it will not be good enough due to the low content of the required amount of iron. And yet, no matter what the soil was originally, it needs some care.
Soil care
Soil care begins with choosing a site. It should be sunny and well drained. If water stagnates in the soil, you will have to make a raised bed.
Figure 3. Procedure for growing in open ground To make such a bed, it is best to choose a material that does not rot under the influence of water (for example, cedar planks). Do not forget to inquire about the acidity of the soil, because the crop prefers slightly acidic soils.
In case of high acidity, the soil should be limed in advance (2-3 months before planting) by adding limestone.
To ensure that the soil is sufficiently saturated with nutrients, do not forget to add organic fertilizer (rotted manure, alfalfa and soybean meal).
Note: Before fertilizing, make sure that the area is free of cobblestones and hard clods of earth, as well as weeds.
The sown soil is mulched with leaves, hay or grass to stop the development of weeds, because spinach sprouts are too fragile and pulling out weeds can damage the seedlings.
Be sure to water the planted area. At the same time, remember that a strong stream of water can disrupt the order of the sown seeds or wash them out of the soil. Therefore, use a watering can or a sprinkler attachment on the hose.
Spinach Fertilizer
Most often, fertilization is carried out in the autumn, when the area is prepared for sowing. In the spring, just before sowing, fertilize with minerals (for soils with low fertility).
During the growth period, fertilizing is carried out only when absolutely necessary.
Ways
Naturally, the dosage of applied fertilizers must be combined with the level of soil fertility.
Thus, potassium and phosphorus fertilizers are applied to fertile soil in the fall. At the same time, the soil is fertilized with humus or rotted manure. In this case, fertilizers are applied while digging the soil.
On less fertile soils, it is advisable to apply mineral fertilizers (potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen) immediately before sowing.
But you should be more careful with spring feeding, since the leaves accumulate chemical compounds introduced under the plant (for example, nitrates).
The better
Experienced gardeners prefer autumn soil fertilization. After all, during the winter period it has time to absorb the nutrients added as part of organic feeding. With the arrival of spring, such soil is already ready for cultivation.
Note: Since spinach is a fast-growing crop, adding fresh organic matter directly under it is not recommended, because this will affect its taste.
Sometimes there is a need to fertilize with nitrogenous fertilizers. In this case, it is carried out together with watering. And yet, there must be quite good reasons for such feeding, since all the substances absorbed from the soil are collected in the leaves of the crop, and it is they that are used as food.
Strawberry spinach: planting and care
Strawberry spinach (spinach-raspberry) is both an annual and perennial herbaceous plant. Its peculiarity is the bright red flowers twisted into spherical balls. They are often mistaken for berries (Figure 4). The plant blooms from mid to late summer and bears fruit from August to September.
The shape of the fruits really resemble strawberries (strawberries), but, unlike berries, they are completely tasteless. Then why is he so good? The leaves are particularly juicy, and the plant itself is unpretentious and cold-resistant. It also tolerates drought and hot seasons well.
Note: You can find this plant near fences and along roads, in garbage dumps and heaps of rubble. However, recently, it has begun to be grown as a vegetable salad crop.
It has an average ripening time and with the seedling method of growing the fruit ripens already in July. In addition, the crop is practically not susceptible to diseases and pests, with the exception of aphids.
Like the regular one, the strawberry variety is grown from seeds or using seedlings. To obtain an earlier harvest, they practice growing seedlings in pots. In this case, the seeds begin to be sown in a special substrate in mid-March. Grown seedlings at the age of 30 days are planted in the ground. The landing order is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 4. Appearance of strawberry spinach Sowing directly into prepared soil is possible only after the snow cover has completely melted. To do this, 4-5 pre-prepared seeds are lowered into the prepared holes. The sown area is mulched.
When two true leaves appear on the seedlings, the crops should be thinned out, removing weaker plants. Further care involves weeding, loosening, watering, fertilizing and tying up branches.
Fertilizing is carried out twice a season, using organic fertilizers, for example, wood ash, which is embedded in moist soil.
Figure 5. Seed preparation and planting in open ground With good care, the bush grows so much that it “clogs” the rest of the plants, and its branches are literally strewn with berries. Heavy whips must be tied to pre-prepared supports.
Ripe and fallen berries are perfectly preserved under the snow, and spring up in spring. Therefore, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of self-seeding of the plant and take care of growth control.
You can squeeze juice from the berries, make jam, and use them for decoration. Young green leaves are added to salads and soups and used as a side dish. In addition, strawberry spinach greens lend themselves perfectly to various types of winter preparation.
Growing from seeds
Properly organized cultivation from seeds will allow you to get a good harvest of this deciduous crop. The principles of cultivation are quite simple and accessible(Figure 6):
- When choosing a variety, you should know that there are two types of spinach - summer and winter. Summer varieties are grown for their delicate, juicy flavor and harvested from late May to late September. Winter varieties are distinguished by their prickly fruits, and they are harvested from October to April.
- Depending on the selected variety, planting is carried out in open ground. So, summer varieties are sown every few weeks from mid-March to the end of May. Winter ones are sown in August, and a second time in September.
- Prefer fertile soil with good drainage. The ideal place for summer will be between the rows of vegetable crops, and for winter - an area well lit by the sun.
- If necessary, apply organic fertilizer when digging the area before winter. Complex fertilizers should be applied just before sowing with the arrival of spring.
- Sow seeds 2-3 pcs. into well-moistened soil, planting them to a depth of about 3 cm at a distance of 60 cm from each other. The shoots that appear soon must be thinned out, leaving stronger shoots.
When caring for spinach, keep the soil well moist and loose, and take care to thin out the seedlings. Starting from October, winter varieties will have to be covered.
Figure 6. Pre-sowing seed treatment Start harvesting when the leaves reach sufficient size and their flesh is tender. Remove leaves gradually, thereby stimulating the appearance of new ones. Remember that in summer varieties you can remove up to half of the leaves at a time, in winter varieties - less than half.
Planting and care in open ground
Most often, a separate area is not allocated for spinach, but is sown in the spring as a precursor to heat-loving vegetable crops, or in the summer after harvesting early vegetables. Sometimes the crop is grown as a sealant or as a lighthouse plant. And yet, it is better to give preference to beds where cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs were previously grown, because they are the best predecessors.
Although spinach is not a particularly demanding plant, take care of the fertility of the soil: when digging, add humus (5 kg per 1 sq.m.) or ash (200 g per 1 sq.m.) to it. It would be best to carry out such fertilizing in the fall. If the soil has not been fertilized, you can add mineral fertilizers to it 2 weeks before sowing.
Note: To continuously obtain green products, the crop is sown at intervals of two weeks from mid-April to the end of August.
For autumn consumption, the crop is sown in June - July. The harvest from August sowings is harvested in early spring as a winter crop. In regions where the winter temperature does not drop below -12 degrees, spinach sown in the fall is harvested during the winter.
For the fastest emergence of seedlings, the seeds are pre-soaked for 1-2 days until they swell. The swollen seeds are sown in prepared and moistened soil in rows.
So, on light soils, spinach is sown with multi-line ribbons, and on heavy soils - in a two-line method or across the bed. In this case, the seeds are planted to a depth of up to 4 cm (for loose soil), 2-3 cm (for heavy soil).
Caring for seedlings consists of thinning, regular loosening of row spacing, weeding and watering. After the appearance of two true leaves, the sprouts are thinned out at intervals of 10 cm, 3-4 days after thinning, the crops can be fed with a urea solution (5-10 g per bucket of water).
The harvest is selectively harvested, preferably in the morning. In case of continuous sowing, greens are mowed in the phase of 4-5 true leaves.
The author of the video will tell you how to plant spinach seedlings in open ground.
What to do if you don’t have your own plot, but you really want to pamper yourself with lush greenery all year round? In this case, there is no more successful crop than spinach. After all, it can also be grown in pots on the windowsill.
Since this is a cold-resistant plant, it can withstand temperatures as low as +8 degrees, and grows well behind glass until late autumn.
Peculiarities
You should know that a bush on the windowsill produces green foliage within 2 months from the moment the first edible leaves appear. Therefore, after several harvests, the bolting process begins, and the leaves are no longer suitable for consumption. In this regard, it is recommended to replant plantings every 2-3 months.
Seeds sown in spring and summer receive a sufficient amount of natural sunlight and are capable of producing a good harvest, provided that the substrate in which they grow is fertile and has sufficient moisture.
If seeds are sown in the fall, when daylight is insufficient, it is worth taking care of artificial lighting. It can be arranged using fluorescent lamps, both during the day, in gloomy weather, and after sunset.
Figure 7. Growing spinach on a windowsill As a substrate for the plant, it is recommended to choose vermicompost in combination with coconut fiber (1:2), which retains moisture well, preventing it from drying out or stagnating in the soil. You can also use universal soil for seedlings. When purchasing it, pay attention to the acidity level, because spinach does not tolerate acidic soils. Therefore, the substrate should not contain peat, which contributes to its oxidation. Don't forget about drainage. Thus, at the bottom of the pot it is necessary to put expanded clay (drainage) in a layer of 2-3 cm, then cover it with a damp substrate.
Early varieties are better suited for indoor growing conditions (Figure 7). It is advisable to pre-soak them for some time to swell. Then dry and plant in a special planting pot to a depth of 1.5 cm. Next, the pot is covered with cellophane until the first shoots appear and is no longer used.
Note: Wait until one or two pairs of true leaves form and plant the seedlings in permanent containers. Before removing the seedlings from the planting container, moisten the soil thoroughly. This will make it easier for the plant root system to withstand replanting.
In another month the greens will be ready for consumption, but remember that after 1-2 months the bolting process will begin and the plant will become unsuitable for cutting leaves.
To delay this process, do not forget to water the plants frequently and abundantly, especially in dry and hot weather. However, make sure that there is no stagnation of water in the pot. Daily spraying is also acceptable, especially in winter, when heating devices are on and the air is dry.
The video shows how to plant and grow spinach on a windowsill with your own hands.
Since spinach is one of the earliest vegetable crops and has sufficient cold resistance, it can be sown quite early (mid-April), as well as sowing for the winter.
Note: Seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of +3-4 degrees, but still, +15-18 degrees will be optimal for growth. Mature plants can tolerate light frosts, in contrast to heat, when at +20 it begins to shoot arrows.
The culture develops well on fertile loose soils, well fertilized earlier when growing predecessors, with a neutral reaction.
Applying fresh organic fertilizers directly under the bushes has a negative effect on the taste of the greens.
Growing and caring for outdoors includes some important rules:
- The plant is one of the most moisture-loving crops, therefore it requires almost daily watering. At the same time, an excessive amount of moisture provokes rotting of the sockets.
- Sowing can be carried out both in early spring and at a later date. For the speedy emergence of seedlings, it is practiced to soak the seeds for 1-2 days.
- Prepared planting material sow in shallow (2-3 cm) furrows, distributing the crops at a distance of 5-8 cm from each other. In this case, the row spacing is about 20 cm.
- The sown soil is slightly compacted and pour it carefully. In approximately one to two weeks the first shoots will appear. After waiting for the first 1-2 true leaves to appear, thinning is carried out, leaving the plants at a distance of 15 cm from each other.
- Aftercare consists of systematic weeding, loosening and watering. To make the work easier, you can mulch the soil around the bushes, then you will have to loosen and water much less often.
Watering can be combined with fertilizing with complex fertilizers. However, care must be taken with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Nitrogen compounds can contribute to the accumulation of nitrates in the leaves, while phosphorus and potassium compounds accelerate the bolting process.
Spinach: benefits and harm, cultivation
Spinach is a rich source of vitamins and minerals, so its beneficial properties are undeniable.
It saturates the body with nutrients and increases hemoglobin, has a positive effect on metabolism and helps cleanse the body of toxins.
It is clear that with such beneficial properties, this greenery is used not only as a food product, but also as a medicine. For example, it is prescribed as an additional diet for patients suffering from radiation sickness. In addition, consuming the plant helps strengthen teeth and gums, prevents anemia and weakening of blood vessels, stimulates the pancreas and normalizes intestinal function.
Note: Unlike rhubarb, spinach can be beneficially consumed by pregnant women and young children. This plant is perfectly digestible, has a tonic and anti-inflammatory effect, a mild diuretic and laxative effect.
If you are often stressed, spinach is your vegetable. It will restore efficiency and put the nervous system in order. Do you suffer from constipation? Spinach contains a fairly large amount of fiber and chlorophyll, which stimulate the intestines.
Do you spend a lot of time at the computer? And here spinach will help you, because the lutein it contains improves visual acuity and reduces eye fatigue. Not only the green leaves have beneficial properties, but also the juice from them. It is used for both external and internal use.
Drinking on an empty stomach, the juice cleanses the body and replenishes energy reserves. For inflammatory processes in the mouth and throat, it can be used as a gargle. Fresh mashed leaves will help with insect bites as they reduce swelling.
A paste of the leaves, boiled in olive oil, is used to treat eczema and burns, as well as for cosmetic purposes.
Note: However, people suffering from diseases of the genitourinary system and kidneys, gout and rheumatism, diseases of the duodenum, as well as the liver and biliary tract, are not recommended to eat spinach due to the high content of oxalic acid in it.
There is especially a lot of this acid in old leaves, so you shouldn’t include dishes from overgrown plants in your diet at all.
No matter what beneficial properties a plant has, it must be grown in places with favorable environmental conditions: away from roads and industrial zones, and also use chemical fertilizers and protection to a minimum.
You will learn interesting information about spinach and its beneficial properties from the video.
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