You can fill them with rich, organic soil, working in inches of compost prior to planting spinach seeds. As above, sow spinach seeds in a shallow drill about 1 inch deep, each row about 14 inches apart. When seedlings are large enough to handle, thin them out to about 3 inches apart. Water and fertilize the plants regularly. Subscribe to Period Living magazine for more inspiration. Period Living is the UK's best-selling period homes magazine. A subscription provides you with all you need to know about caring for and improving a traditional house and garden.
To grow spinach in pots, choose a wide pot or trough so that you can space out the spinach plants, and one that is about inches deep. If planting in fall, place the pots on a sunnier windowsill as there are fewer hours of sunlight. Do not allow the plants to get too cold or too hot — so do not place directly above a radiator, for instance.
Keep the spinach plants well watered, although do not allow the soil to get waterlogged. If you follow the advice on how to grow spinach, it should be ready to harvest between 6 to 10 weeks after sowing. If you sow successionally in spring and autumn, you can have spinach to harvest throughout the year. Summer spinach cultivars — you can generally pick summer varieties of spinach from May to October. Winter spinach cultivars — these can be harvested between October and April.
This will allow the plants to continue producing all season,' advises Simon Crawford. Others gardening experts advise to harvest every alternate plant for use in the kitchen, giving the rest more room to grow. See: How to grow basil , from seed, indoors and out. There are options for how to pick the leaves for a later harvest.
Or cut the whole head when the plant is 6 inches tall and wait several weeks for regrowth and a second harvest,' advises Melinda Myers. Baby leaves are great for use in salads, whereas mature leaves can be wilted into soups, stews, pasta or risotto dishes, to name but a few. Leaves are ideally used directly after harvesting for the best flavor, and any extras can be stored in the fridge for up to 14 days. I joined the team nine years ago, after freelancing for years on a range of titles, covering everything from homes and gardens, to history, arts and crafts.
Try the best single-serve coffee makers for taking out any guesswork for easy, great-tasting coffee and espresso. Spinach will bolt once days get long and hot. Some varieties grow enough to harvest before they bolt. For continuous supply, plant every 3 weeks. Sow again in the middle two weeks of August for a fall crop that, if cut at the soil level, will come back early the following spring where winters are mild.
Shade summer-sown seed beds, keep very well watered, and sow more seeds than you need, as warm soil will reduce germination rates marginally. Thin seedlings, and use cloche protection as cold weather approaches. Late sowings like this can be harvested into December — in mild winters if cloche protection is provided.
Growing Ideal pH: 6. This heavy feeder requires rich soil. Overwintering spinach requires well drained soil. Individual leaves can be picked at anytime, until the plant has started to bolt. Here, too, the harvest season, and the best conditions, also depend on the variety. You can find New Zealand spinach not a true spinach offered by various mail-order companies, such as Burpee, Victory Seeds, etc. Tips for freezing my spinach? I harvested quite a bunch that i'd like to freeze for future--thanks!
There are many methods for prepping spinach for the freezer, but we prefer to steam it. Thoroughly wash the spinach and then dry completely. Trim the stems, chop leaves if desired, then steam in batches for 2 minutes each bunch. Place the leaves in ice water for about 1 minute after steaming. Thoroughly dry a salad spinner is good for this part and then measure and put into freezer bags, labeling each bag with the amount of spinach. I live in NW Arkansas, and it's the middle of January.
I'm looking to plant some spinach and other salad greens soon for early spring harvest. Thank you Almanac Staff for such thorough responses on all these comments! I'm really impressed and have learned so much already from this comment thread! Glad to hear that the info here is helpful. Hope this is too: Your geography is not as important as your soil temperature. As for other options, most leaf greens seed packages suggest that planting is possible "when the soil can be worked" but even then you need minimum temps.
Browse the seed packet displays, choose a few that appeal, and follow the instructions. Not sure if we have guidance on every single one but you can check. It's important that the ground not refreeze one the seeds are sown.
All of this also presumes that you have ideal soil conditions and sun, of course. Nothing stirs interest in salad greens quite like the longer days of midwinter. Good luck! I live in Arkansas around the Clinton area.
You can also plant spinach in hanging baskets or window planters if you want to save space in your garden for other veggies :. This is our first year to plant a garden fingers crossed! Then sprinkle the sugar mix in the baskets and gently brush hands over dirt. Once seeds sprout good, thin to plants in your " basket.
Also for our area in NWA, when the hickory tree buds swell, plant your cabbage, squash plant 1 dill next to squash , broccoli, oh I'm forgetting a few others.
If it's worked for decades for this guys family I'm going to try it! Thought I'd share :. I'm excited to see what our harvest will be like! Spinach and lettuce in shade?
I'm looking to utilize my empty wall by my front door. I wanted to go vertical and plant rows of lettuce and spinach in this area. I live in south florida. It's hot and humid most of the year. Can I achieve success with these two plants? It is there another veggie fruit or spice to plant in this area.
It's west facing with minimal direct sun. I am just getting into gardening and really love it. Thank you for your help.
I was looking to use gutters to create the rows. Is this a good idea and healthy? Just seems to make sense. TY again. I live in Oklahoma and i'm running a similar system. I used four 4' lengths of gutter on a 6'x 50" wood frame. I also found it difficult to water after 2 weeks of growth so i ran a length of schedule 40 pvc along the back of the gutter for easier watering.
I've been growing black seeded simpson well in my indoor rack and simpson select on my outdoor rack. I started a garden this year for the first time ever. Normally if it doesn't 'meow' I have no idea how to keep it alive..
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