Spinach seed preparation. Spinach - healthy greens

Parsley, dill, lettuce - the usual and well-known greens in the garden, in the country. And you can diversify your diet with spinach. For a good harvest, you need to know how to properly grow spinach from seeds.

For a good and rich harvest, you need to know how to properly grow spinach from seeds.

Spinach belongs to the annual plants of the haze family, to a number of precocious ones. It is a basal rosette of large leaves up to 20 cm high. Male plants, as a rule, have few leaves and are of little use for food, so it is better to remove them when thinning. The plant is cold-resistant, withstands temperatures down to -8ºС. The optimum temperature for growing spinach is 15-20ºC. Spinach grows best with 12-15 hours of daylight. It is possible to get a crop from spinach seeds practically all year round, updating crops in 2-3 weeks.

Spinach is eaten fresh, added to salads. It is used to make puree, which can be served as a side dish for meat or fish. To do this, it must be crushed, boiled and rubbed through a large sieve. Fresh spinach leaves can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a day. It is not recommended to pre-wash them so that the leaves remain fresh.

Spinach is very rich in vitamins B, C, D2. The leaves contain many useful substances such as iron, calcium, secretin, salts, proteins, and do not contain acids. The content of carotene in it correlates with the amount of carotene in carrots. AT traditional medicine spinach is advised to eat for those who have problems with digestion, the cardiovascular system, with anemia, diabetes, hypertension, anemia. However, spinach is contraindicated in gout, people with diseased kidneys, liver. Spinach is great for baby food.

Varieties

Spinach is very rich in various vitamins that are beneficial to health.

1. Gigantic - early ripe, has a slightly raised medium-compact rosette, leaves are large, light green in color, elongated-oval, slightly bubbling.
2. Victoria - late-ripening, compact rosette adjacent to the ground, leaves are rounded, bubbly, dark green in color, slowly shoot.
3. Fat-leaved - late-ripening, the leaves are raised, medium, slightly bubbly, green.
4. Virofle - the rosette is raised, the leaves are large ovoid, slightly corrugated.
5. Matador - a hybrid of spinach, mid-season, gives a high yield. After germination, the first crop can be harvested after 40-45 days. The leaves are gray-green in color, smooth, juicy. The yield reaches 8-9 kg per 1 m2. By planting this variety in mid-May, you can harvest from July to autumn. Tolerates frost well.

Less popular varieties such as "Space", "Melody", "" Dolphin", "New Zealand heat-loving", "Sporter".

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The soil

Spinach does not like acidic soils, loamy ones suit it best. If, nevertheless, your soil in the country belongs to the first category, sprinkle it with ash or lime. Make the beds low so that the earth does not dry out. It is advisable to grow spinach in a place that is well warmed by the sun. To prevent water from dripping during irrigation and retain moisture longer, make bumpers around the perimeter.

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Landing

planted in spring early varieties spinach, late April to early May. The best interval between crops is 15-20 days. It takes 4-5 weeks from sowing to harvest. Late varieties are planted until mid-August, they give a harvest within 6-7 weeks.

Spinach, like all greens, loves water, so it must be carefully and regularly watered.

Spinach seeds must first be soaked for 1-2 days, changing the water after 6-8 hours. Then they are dried a little so that they do not stick together. Seeds are sown in the ground in rows, keeping a distance of 20-30 cm between them, to a depth of 2 cm. There should be 5-8 cm between the seeds. They germinate at a temperature of + 2ºС ... -5ºС. Press the earth with the palm of your hand or tamp the rake with the back side. Water the bed and cover with burlap for 3-4 days. Top cover plastic wrap on a frame installed above the bed at a height of 20 cm. Seeds germinate in 10-14 days. When two or three leaves appear in the outlet, thin out the spinach.

In addition, spinach can overwinter. It is planted in autumn around mid-October. Seedlings have time to form small rosettes of leaves. Spinach planted in the fall germinates early in the spring and is ready to eat after 2 weeks.

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Care

Spinach loves water. Therefore, in order to grow juicy, fleshy leaves, watering should be based on the calculation of one bucket of water per 1 m2. In dry weather, water the crops at least three times a week, since the root system is no more than 25 cm. In addition, it is necessary to weed the weeds and loosen the ground in a timely manner. If the spinach starts to shoot, break off the tops.

Spinach is extremely healthy and low-calorie vegetable crop. AT last years, when healthy eating began to attach great importance, questions: how to plant spinach in the garden, or how to grow spinach on the windowsill? have become extremely relevant. Plants are not too demanding on the conditions, so their cultivation and subsequent care for them do not present any difficulties. In the warm season, juicy vitamin greens can be planted in the garden, and in winter, spinach grows successfully on the balcony of the house.

Before planting spinach, you need to prepare the soil. The ripening of spinach greens occurs quite quickly, therefore, the fertilizers used to feed it must be fast-acting. In early spring it is recommended to scatter granulated urea over the snow. Later, before sowing the seeds in the ground, you need to add a little humus. It should be remembered that spinach leaves accumulate nitrates well, so nitrogen fertilizers should not be applied in spring.

It is more correct to prepare the soil for growing spinach in the fall, then there is no need for spring fertilizing with nitrogen. The area where the crop is planned to be planted must be dug up and a full range of organic and mineral fertilizers introduced into the soil: compost, humus, phosphorus-potassium mixture, as a rule, complex mixtures always contain a certain amount of nitrogen. Then in the spring it remains only to loosen the earth in the garden, and you can sow spinach.

Cultivation of culture is more successful in loose nutrient soil. Good air and moisture permeability is the main condition for the active growth of greenery. The best option is sandy soil with neutral acidity. In heavy, clayey, crusty soil, spinach should not be planted, as this will require more careful plant care, and the likelihood of a good harvest is very low.

Next, you need to take care of the preparation seed. Spinach seeds have a fairly dense shell, so it is recommended to soak them in warm water for a day, after which it is placed for several hours in a solution of potassium permanganate, and only after that it can be planted in open ground. There are some varieties of spinach, such as New Zealand, Victoria, Corenta, whose seeds do not have fast germination - soaking for these varieties requires a longer time (up to 2 days), and with the use of biostimulants.

Planting a plant in open ground can be carried out both from seeds and from seedlings. However, the seedling method is less popular, since young plants have weak roots and take root very poorly in the ground. It is reasonable to sow only heat-loving varieties (Matador, New Zealand) for seedlings, which are undesirable to plant directly into the soil in early spring.

In order to plant seeds in the country in open ground, you need to make shallow furrows of any length in the prepared soil at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other. Next, pour water over the rows and sow seeds in them, planting no more than 1.5-2 cm into the soil. Spinach is quite cold-resistant, but if planting is done in early spring, it is better to play it safe and cover the bed in the garden with a film - this will not only protect the seeds from cold, but also accelerate their germination. From properly prepared seeds, seedlings appear in 5-7 days.

City residents, as well as gourmets who want to get vitamin greens all year round, are more interested in the question: how to grow spinach on the windowsill of your own home, and what should be the care of the plants? Growing greenery at home on a balcony or windowsill is no more difficult than planting it in the country. First you need to prepare a container and soil mixture.

At home, you can plant spinach with seeds in the usual flower pot a volume of 1 liter, or a plastic container with holes at the bottom, from which in the future it will be possible to dive plants into a separate container. At the bottom of the pot (container) it is imperative to lay a layer of drainage, since spinach loves moisture very much, but stagnant water is harmful to it.

The soil mixture for growing a crop at home can be prepared from 1 part of sand, 2 parts of turf and the same amount of humus, or use a substrate consisting of 1 part of biohumus and 2 parts of coconut fiber. Planting seeds is carried out at a depth of 1.5-2 cm, the container is covered with a film or glass until germination. At home, as a rule, the air is too dry and very warm, and the plants for normal growth a temperature of 15-17 ° C is required, so you should take care of creating such conditions in advance.

Video "All about growing spinach"

Growing features

Spinach does not require any special care and conditions, since it is an early ripening and rather unpretentious crop, however, there are some points and features, given which you can make the cultivation of useful greens more successful and high-yielding:

• potatoes, radishes, legumes, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes are considered the best predecessors of spinach, in addition, you should not plant a crop for more than 3 years in one place;

• the plot for growing crops should be open sunny (experienced gardeners recommend planting spinach on a slight hill), however, in hot summers, the plant feels good even in partial shade;

• spinach vegetation lasts no more than 2 months - in order to have healthy greens throughout the season, it is recommended to plant seeds in the country in several stages with an interval of 2 weeks;

• you can plant a crop in open ground not only in spring, but also in autumn - if the seeds are sown in late August - September, then fresh greens will appear in early spring, and the overwintered seeds will become stronger and the harvest from them will be of better quality;

• plants do not grow well in acidic soil - acidity can be reduced by adding lime, chalk, dolomite flour;

• to prolong the growing season of spinach, experienced gardeners recommend cutting off the tops of the shoots of adult plants - this contributes to the formation of new leaves, and prevents the appearance of arrows with peduncles.

It should also be borne in mind that the cultivation of each variety of spinach has its own characteristics. Usually there are no problems with early ripening varieties, such as Gigantic, Godri, and the now popular hybrid Matador also grows well. But, for example, New Zealand spinach is more demanding on conditions. Firstly, the planting of the New Zealand variety in open ground should be carried out only from seedlings, since the culture is very thermophilic. Secondly, the seeds of this variety germinate very poorly, and one cannot do without a growth stimulator.

However, beloved by many New Zealand spinach has certain advantages: due to its lush greenery, adult plants suppress the growth of weeds, so they practically do not need weeding, and besides this, the New Zealand variety does not bloom and does not shoot arrows during a drought, as is typical of other species. Growing culture at home also has its own characteristics. If the seeds are planted in winter, then it is likely that the plants will not have enough sunlight and additional illumination will be required. Considering the fact that in apartment conditions it is almost always warm and dry, and spinach is a moisture-loving plant, you need to constantly monitor soil moisture and regularly spray the foliage.

Care

Care for spinach in the open field consists in timely weeding and watering. The first weeding is carried out as soon as the first two leaves appear on the plants - during this period, the bed needs to be thinned out, leaving the strongest shoots at a distance of 10-15 cm. At the same time, weeds must be removed and the aisles should be loosened. Further care of the culture includes another 3-4 weeding.

You need to water the bed often, since drought leads to the stalking of the bushes and the cessation of the growth of green mass, but the plants should not be flooded. Spinach is fed only if it grows in depleted soil - for fertile soil enough fertilizers applied when cultivating the soil. Spinach greens, which are grown at home in a pot, require the most minimal care: regular watering, loosening, and spraying foliage. Houseplants need plenty of daylight, but the humidity needs to be high enough.

Spinach rarely gets sick, but the appearance of powdery mildew and rot on the leaves is not excluded. In this case, care consists in removing diseased plants from the garden, since chemicals it is undesirable to use for culture.

Harvesting

They begin to collect spinach when 5-8 leaves grow in the outlet. For each variety, this period occurs in different time: early-ripening varieties (Godry, Giant) ripen in 18-25 days from the date of sowing, late and mid-ripening varieties (Victoria, New Zealand) are ready for harvest in 6-8 weeks. Even if New Zealand spinach is planted from seedlings, the first harvest can be taken no earlier than a month later, since at the very beginning after planting the plants develop very slowly.

When collecting greens, you need to carefully tear off the outer leaves, leaving the middle of the outlet intact. It is better to harvest in the morning after the dew has dried, or in the late evening before it appears - the greens must certainly be dry, since wet leaves rot faster. The harvest period depends on how often the leaves are cut and how well the garden is taken care of. In any case, spinach is harvested only before the flowering of the crop.

Spinach storage

There are several ways to store spinach. For short-term storage, the greens are folded into polyethylene or a damp cloth and placed in the refrigerator, while the leaves must be dry, as wet ones will quickly rot. At temperatures from 0 to +1 ° C, spinach leaves are stored for up to 10 days.

For long-term storage, spinach is frozen, dried, and canned. For freezing, both fresh herbs and blanched, or chopped to a puree state are suitable. To freeze fresh herbs, the leaves must be washed, dried, then cut, put in a bag or container, and placed in the freezer. The same can be done with blanched spinach.

For drying, greens are prepared in the same way as for freezing, only spread on paper or a baking sheet, placed in a dry, darkened place, where the drying process takes place. Many housewives practice such a harvesting method as salting or canning. In both cases, the spinach retains its intense green color and beneficial features.

Video "Tricks of planting spinach"

We love spinach, but outdoor cultivation and care was not immediately successful. All crops produced in May were shot. And even on the windowsill, at first only liquid goons were obtained. However, it is easy to pick up your key to this greenery. We share our experience of planting and caring for spinach in the open field in southern conditions.

Spinach: cultivation and care in the open field in the south

Garden spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) is a dioecious annual herbaceous plant of the Amaranth family. In the year of sowing, it forms both a rosette of leaves and seeds. The leaves are fleshy, tender, triangular-arrow-shaped, 25-40 cm high. The peduncle is located in the center of the rosette of leaves. Leaf blades are smooth and blistered. Each plant produces about 10 leaves.

Male plants are less interesting for gardeners, as they form small rosettes and shoot quickly. Female plants are squat and have larger flowers. Although, if seeds are not needed, then it is just not necessary to bring them to flowering. The usual ratio of male and female plants when sowing is 1:1, but in many modern varieties, the number of female plants significantly prevails over male ones, which increases their value.

Spinach first appeared in Asian countries. It is believed that the Persians began to grow it. In Russia, they learned about such a plant back in the 18th century, but it began to gain true popularity only now.

What are the health benefits of spinach?

Until recently, spinach was not very popular. It was rarely seen in country beds. But thanks to the popularization of a healthy lifestyle, its use in food, and, accordingly, its cultivation becomes not only more noticeable, but also profitable. The composition of this greenery includes: proteins, phosphorus, iron, calcium and a huge amount of vitamins.

Spinach is tastiest when young and does not have arrows on its stems. It is widely used in the preparation of salads, vitamin cocktails, and also bake pies and make pasta. The substances included in its composition have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart, gastrointestinal tract. It should be eaten by people suffering from hypertension, diseases of the lungs and upper respiratory tract, atherosclerosis. Spinach has a diuretic effect, so it helps with swelling.

This bright green plant tolerates low temperatures well, so it is planted in greenhouses in early spring. Seeds can sprout only at +4 degrees. Sprouted spinach will not die even with slight frosts, it will withstand temperatures down to -6 °. It grows well in medium temperatures. After a month, the sprouts will reach their maturity, and they can be eaten.

This plant is moisture-loving, requires timely watering. If watered rarely and insufficiently, then growth will slow down, the leaves will lose their tenderness and crunch, and arrows will form prematurely.

How to prepare the soil and when to plant spinach outdoors

Spinach needs to be provided with conditions for good growth. It is very important to fill the soil with organic matter in the fall before planting (if organic beds have not yet been created). It will be ideal to grow it on sandy or loamy soils. If the acidity of the soil is increased, it must be lowered before planting - add dolomite flour or ground eggshells.

To get early greens, spinach can be sown before winter, as well as in mid-April. As already noted, this is a cold-resistant plant, and spinach seeds germinate already at 4-5°C. The greens sown in open ground since autumn are ready for use in the south by the 20th of April.

We carry out repeated crops in September and before winter - at the end of October. Planted plants in summer and even in May quickly turn to flowering, as this is a long day plant. For the development of succulent leaves, he needs a short period of light - less than 12 hours.

Spinach grows best in garden beds after vegetables grown organically. It is advisable to prepare a landing site in the fall. To do this, the earth is loosened with a flat cutter and mature compost is introduced. Nettle infusion is used in spring. It is best not to apply fresh manure in the spring, as this can affect the taste of the spinach. And in general, it is not advisable to plant any greens in order to avoid the accumulation of nitrates.

To accelerate seedlings, the seeds are soaked for 1 day, then dried to flowability and sown immediately. Sowing is best done in an ordinary way. The seeding depth is 1.0-1.5 cm, the seeding rate is 4-5 g per 1 m².

Care

Spinach is a moisture-loving crop, it must be watered regularly and, if the soil is dense, loosen the bed. After germination, when the sprouts get a little stronger, the most dense places should be thinned out. If this is not done, the spinach will not grow well. Between plants should be left 10 centimeters.

The precocity of spinach is unique - it takes only 25-30 days from germination to removal. After 6 leaves have grown, the spinach is considered ripe and can be plucked. You should not delay this, as the overgrown plant becomes tasteless.

Here is such a unique and ultra-early spinach plant, the cultivation and care of which in the open field is absolutely labor-intensive, although compliance with the sowing dates is required. There are, of course, desperate lovers who sow it even in summer, but shade the plantings to ensure the duration of daylight hours. But this is unlikely to suit summer residents. So plant it in the ground when the yard has the right natural light.

In addition to the spices and spices we are used to, such as dill, sorrel, parsley, celery, spinach can be found in the plots of many summer residents. This plant is used not only for making salads, but also helps to cleanse the stomach of various harmful substances. Not all gardeners know how to grow spinach from seeds, so we will deal with a similar issue in our material.

Spinach is considered a cold-resistant crop, and although it came to us from Iran, its shoots can withstand temperatures as low as -8 degrees. It should be noted that rosettes of this spice successfully hibernate under a small layer of snow, and in middle lane our country, it is left for the winter under a film. Subject to crop rotation, spinach can be grown after any vegetable or greens, in addition, it is used to compact crops of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, etc.

chapter 1.

The culture in question is sown in unprotected soil or greenhouses of any kind (film, polycarbonate or glass). In the latter case, the growing season is reduced by about a week. Sowing seeds is carried out during the spring, and the grains can be buried in the soil immediately after the snow melts. A re-harvest of greenery is usually obtained by sowing seeds at the end of summer, for long-term fruiting spices are sown at intervals of three weeks, and for the winter it is necessary to sow grains that are resistant to the formation of flower shoots, for example, the Teton hybrid. Sowing such spinach should be carried out in mid-August, so that the plant can form leaves before the first frost.

In moderate climate zone, in the case of sowing grains for the winter, crops are covered. Sowing spinach for the winter allows you to get a crop about a week earlier than usual. The plant loves fertile, well enriched organic matter soils with sufficient water-holding capacity and normal acidity. An example of such a soil would be loam. Potatoes can be considered an ideal predecessor of spinach, because the land for this crop is well cultivated and fertilized.

In our country, greens are grown on small ridges. The introduction of organics is carried out in the fall, and with the onset of spring, the site is dug up, and then complex mineral fertilizers are crushed, for example, nitrophoska at the rate of 60 grams of the substance per m 2 of crops.

Before sowing, the seeds on the surface of the plot are made shallow, up to 2 centimeters deep, at a distance of 30-35 centimeters from each other. The bottom of the furrows is watered warm water and then lay the seeds every 8 centimeters. In the case when the greens are removed repeatedly at an early age, the distance between the rows is reduced to 20 centimeters. The grains are sprinkled with loose earth, which is slightly pressed down. Under favorable weather conditions, spinach shoots appear two weeks after sowing.

chapter 2. Spinach care after planting

Spinach does not require special care measures, as it is characterized by unpretentiousness and cold resistance. It has been noticed that its seedlings can be obtained when the soil is warmed up to 5 degrees Celsius, although the optimal temperature regime cultivation is considered 14-19 degrees. The culture in question began to be popular with gardeners relatively recently, but due to the significant amount of nutrients in its composition, it is used to prepare various vitamin salads and other dishes.

Spinach seeds can be sown after the snow melts. This spice can develop on any soil, but the highest yields of greens can only be obtained on land well seasoned with useful substances. The soil must retain moisture well, so ideal option for the development of this culture there will be light loam. The green mass is well formed with a short daylight hours, from 12 to 15 hours, in connection with this, spinach should be sown in early spring or late summer.

Long daylight hours combined with high temperatures and lack of moisture causes the formation of a peduncle. In this case, the nutrients that enter the plant will not be directed to the formation of greenery, but to the formation of inflorescences and seeds.

About a week after the emergence of seedlings, it is necessary to thin them out and loosen them. upper layer soil. After such a procedure, the distance between neighboring plants should be within 20 centimeters, it is in such conditions that spinach will feel comfortable.

Section 1. How to water spinach

The spice in question needs regular watering. As we said, lack of moisture can lead to the formation of peduncles. Moisturizing the soil should be carried out based on weather conditions. In dry weather, watering is carried out at intervals of three days, spending up to 15 liters of warm water per square meter of crops.

If the plants begin to wither, the color of their leaves changes, then watering can be combined with top dressing. For this purpose, a kilogram of mullein is dissolved in a bucket of water.

Section 2. Cleaning

According to observations, spinach greens can be eaten a month after the emergence of shoots. The leaves are cut off selectively, but when the flower stems appear, the harvesting of the greens must be stopped. Harvesting rules are as follows: petioles should preferably be broken off, and not torn off along with part of the stem; collection of greenery begins with the outer leaves, but they need to be collected no more than half.

Spinach is eaten raw and is made from vegetable salads, prepare soups, squeeze juice.

chapter 3. Choosing a spinach variety for planting

It is important to decide on the variety of spinach for planting. We will describe some well-established varieties that grow well in our latitudes.

Section 1. Variety Victoria

The variety came to us from Germany, it is considered late-ripening, because the growing season of the plant is 40 days. Seeds are planted from March to mid-May, for the winter - from mid-autumn. The plant itself has a small rosette of 15 cm diameter pressed to the ground. The leaves are rounded, arranged in a horizontal direction with darkly aligned edges. green shade. The variety is characterized by minimal shooting.

Victoria grows well in soils with normal acidity, which can retain moisture. During the growing period, crops need thinning, removal of weeds and watering. At good care from each square meter usable area you can collect about 3.3 kilograms of greenery.

Section 2. New Zealand

This plant is not considered a variety, but a separate variety of spinach. The annual culture reaches a meter height, consists of branched stems that spread near the surface of the earth. The leaves are quite thick with jagged edges, dark Green colour. New Zealand in taste resembles most varieties of this crop.

Seeds germinate quickly, and the plant gives good yields when grown in the warm regions of our country. The variety is demanding on moisture, heat and sunlight. In the middle lane, New Zealand spinach is grown through seedlings. The upper part of the shoot is considered the crop of this crop - they are removed several times per season.

Section 3. Stoick

Summer residents of our country have been growing the spinach variety in question since 1995, it is early ripe with a growing season of about 3 weeks. Greens are used for preserving various vegetables and preparing salads.

The bush has raised leaves, up to 19 centimeters long, rather wide - 12-14 centimeters. Stoick is able to give a significant mass when grown in the spring in a temperate climate zone. From m2 of crops, you can harvest no more than 2.8 kilograms of crop.

Section 4. Gaudry

Variety for growing in unprotected soil and film shelters, early ripening with a growing season of 18-30 days. Seeds are planted in the soil in early spring or late summer, when the duration of light and temperature contribute to the formation of greenery. Bush Gaudri can reach a diameter of 23 centimeters.

Section 5. Matador

A variety of Czech selection with an average ripening period (no more than 50 days pass from germination to the last harvest). The culture is distinguished by a medium-sized rosette of compact shape. The leaves are smooth, rather thick, gray-green in color, oval in shape.

The matador almost does not shoot, is resistant to low temperatures, and is demanding on moisture. Sowing seeds is carried out in the middle of autumn or early spring. Up to 3 kilograms of crops are harvested from a square meter.

Section 6. Virofle

A variety developed by French breeders of early crop formation with a growing season of up to 25 days. The bush can reach 35 centimeters in diameter, consists of tender and fleshy leaves made in the shape of an oval. Stems with seeds are formed quickly.

Chapter 4. Video

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is an annual herbaceous plant of the Amaranth family. Spinach is a wonderful source of iron. This element is required to maintain a normal level of hemoglobin, which supplies oxygen to all cells of the body, is part of the system responsible for energy production and metabolism. Spinach is especially recommended for children, teenagers and women.

homeland of spinach

Spinach is native to the Middle East. It is believed that cultivation began in Persia. In Central Asia, it grows like a weed. Translated from Persian, the name of the plant means "green hand".

As a vegetable plant, spinach is cultivated everywhere. It was extremely popular in Western countries at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, spinach was considered the most iron-rich food: 35 mg of iron per 100 g of weight. The confusion arose because the researcher did not put a decimal point in the number - in fact, fresh spinach contains 10 times less iron. The refutation appeared only in 1981.

Botanical description

Spinach is an annual plant. Its triangular-spear-shaped leaves are collected in a dense basal rosette, their length is 30-45 cm. It blooms in the summer months. Small green staminate flowers are collected in a paniculate inflorescence, pistillate flowers are located in the axils of the leaves, forming balls. The fruit is an oval-shaped nut.

Preparing the site for planting spinach

Location selection

Spinach in a cultivated area enriched with organic matter. The culture is demanding on soil fertility. Gives rich yields on sandy and loamy soils.

As a rule, no special plots are allocated for sowing spinach. In spring, it is grown as a precursor of late heat-loving crops. It can be sown as a compactor (in the aisles of the garden and among other vegetables) in small areas.

earth fertilizer

Fertilizers should be applied for digging in the fall: 30 g of superphosphate and 15 g of potassium chloride per 1 m². If the soil is highly acidic, liming is necessary. In early spring, as soon as it becomes possible to till the soil, apply 20 g of urea per 1 m² under the rake. Under sowing, humus or rotted manure should be introduced. The introduction of humus is especially important for thickened and early plantings. It is not recommended to apply fresh organic matter (slurry, manure, etc.) directly under the crop.

Growing in greenhouses, greenhouses, good harvest can be obtained on soils with a significant amount of humus. Prepare a mixture of garden, soddy soil and humus in equal proportions.

Sowing time for spinach

• For growing spinach in a greenhouse or warm greenhouse start sowing from the end of February.
• Spinach is a fairly cold-resistant crop - its seedlings can withstand temperatures as low as -8 °C.
• Boldly sow before winter(the end of October). Seeds successfully overwinter under snow cover.
• spring start sowing when the snow has completely melted. You can do conveyor crops at intervals of 20-30 days in order to regularly receive fresh greens.
• For autumn harvest sow in June-July, in the southern regions - in August.

Moisten the area well beforehand. In order for the seeds to germinate quickly and well, cover the crops with rags (an old bedspread, sheet, etc.). In regions where the winter air temperature does not fall below +12 ° C, you can freely harvest throughout the winter.

Growing spinach from seeds in a greenhouse

To obtain early and friendly shoots, the seeds must be processed before. Soak them for a day in warm water, then dry to a state of flowability, proceed to sowing.

• When sowing in a greenhouse, you will need 20-30 g of seeds per 1 m².
• Keep a distance of 20-30 cm between rows.
• Plant to a depth of 1-2 cm. For germination, maintain the air temperature within 10-12 ° C in cloudy weather, 18 ° C on sunny days.
• When shoots appear, weeding and thinning are carried out several times, leaving a total of 15-20 cm between plants.

The greenhouse should be ventilated on warm days, not allowing the air temperature to rise above 24 ° C, so that delicate greenery does not get thermal burns. When the air temperature during the day exceeds 12 ° C, the film can be removed at all for the day.

Planting spinach seeds in open ground

• In the open field, sow spinach on ridges, keeping a distance between rows of 30-40 cm.
• Sow 4-5 g of seeds per 1 m².
• The seed placement depth is 1-2 cm. After sowing, close the ridges with a rake.
• When the spinach emerges, be sure to thin the seedlings to 5-6 cm between plants.
• Thin out the spinach further as it grows, using excess plants for food.

How to care for spinach outdoors

thinning

With the advent of the second true leaf should be thinned out. After several thinnings in a row, leave the bushes at a distance of at least 10-15 cm. When the plantings are thick, there is poor aeration, which provokes powdery mildew damage. Water the spinach generously after thinning.

Watering

Provide regular. Enough 2-3 times a week to make 3 liters of water for each running meter. In dry, hot weather, water abundantly to prevent premature stemming.

top dressing

If spinach grows poorly, fertilize with nitrogen fertilizers (10-15 g of urea per 1 m²) along with watering. It is not recommended to apply potash and phosphorus fertilizers: the process of shooting is accelerated.

Growing spinach from seeds at home for seedlings

Spinach is grown at home in order to obtain early seedling or vitamin greens all year round. Let's consider both methods.

Growing spinach from seeds

When to sow spinach for seedlings?

Spinach is a very early crop, its greens are ready for harvesting already 3-4 weeks after germination. Therefore, you need to accurately calculate the time until the moment, so as not to be mistaken. The timing of planting spinach also depends on the variety chosen, since the ripening time for each variety is different.

On average, we leave 1-1.5 weeks for the emergence of seedlings and 2 weeks for growing seedlings. In general, we start sowing seedlings about 3-4 weeks before planting in a permanent place of cultivation.

How to sow

Spinach growing from seeds for seedlings at home photo shoots

The spinach seeds are large enough that it will not be difficult for you to plant them one at a time in the cells of the cassettes. Soil can be taken universal for seedlings.

• Embedding depth 1 cm.
• After planting, the ground is moistened with a spray gun, covered with a film.
• Germinate seeds at room temperature.
• How much does spinach grow? The first sprouts will appear on the 8-10th day. After that, the film must be removed, and the temperature of the content is slightly lowered so that the seedlings do not stretch. Well, if you maintain about 18 ° C.
• Seedlings need a long daylight hours with good diffused lighting.
• When the plants become crowded in the cells of the cassette, you need to transship the seedlings into peat pots.

Before planting, harden for 7-10 days. Spinach is planted at a distance of 10-15 cm in a row, between rows 30-40 cm.

Growing spinach from seed on a windowsill

To plant spinach on the windowsill with seeds for growing on greens, you can use any containers convenient for you, the main thing is that their height is at least 15 cm: these can be pots or seedling boxes, always with drainage holes in the day. Soil use loose, nutritious, universal soil mixture for seedlings is quite suitable.

• Plant the seeds less often, at a distance of 5-6 cm from each other. Later, you thin them out to a distance of 8-10 cm.
• Embedding depth 1 cm.
• After planting, we moisten from the spray gun, cover with a film until shoots appear, after which we remove the shelter.
• Further care is extremely simple: watering as the soil dries up and diffused bright lighting for at least 10 hours. If daylight is short, you need to illuminate with phytolamps.

Spinach harvest

After that, you can start harvesting spinach after 30-40 days of growth, after summer - after 40-50 days. It is important not to miss the moment: if the spinach overgrows, the leaves will become rough and tasteless. Harvesting can begin with the appearance of 5-6 leaves. Cut the rosettes under the first leaf or uproot. The best time to harvest is morning hours, but not immediately after rain or watering - the leaves are very fragile, easily broken.

As they grow, new leaves appear, which can be collected until the onset of mass shooting.

From 1 m² you can harvest 1.5-2 kg of crop.

Spinach can be transported and stored only in a dry form. In a plastic bag on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, spinach stays fresh for about 2 days. It can be frozen - useful properties are not lost during freezing.

Diseases and pests of spinach

It is undesirable to spray leafy vegetables with pesticides, so it is better to take preventive measures. Observe agricultural technology, harvest in a timely manner.

When thickened, it is possible to be affected by powdery mildew and various blotches.

Seedlings and young plants can be affected root rot: the neck rots, the plant withers and dies. Be sure to thin out the seedlings, loosen the soil.

Juicy spinach leaves attract aphids, slugs, snails, and larvae of the miner beet moth willingly settle on them. Don't grow spinach next to beets. Collect gastropods by hand.

Useful properties of spinach

Spinach is rich not only in iron, but also in a whole range of nutrients and vitamins. The leaves contain fats, proteins, sugars, fiber, organic acids, flavonoids, magnesium, potassium, vitamins C, B, E, K, A, PP.

High content folic acid makes spinach very useful for pregnant women, it is given to young children in the form of mashed potatoes to prevent rickets. Eating spinach helps prevent gastrointestinal diseases, stimulates the intestines, has a mild laxative effect, prevents retinal dystrophy, and is useful for diabetes, anemia, and anemia.

Swiss professor Gustav von Bunge researched dry spinach in 1890. His calculations were correct (35 mg of iron per 100 g of dry product), but this information may have been misunderstood, which also contributed to the confusion and ambiguity in assessing the usefulness of spinach.