How to grow spinach in a summer cottage? Growing spinach in the country: a useful product for your own consumption How quickly spinach sprouts.

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(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 overnight 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

• V open ground sow spinach in rows, 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 per linear 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. It is better to harvest in the morning, 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, flavanoids, magnesium, potassium, vitamins C, B, E, K, A, PP.

The high content of 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.

Unlike vegetables and berry crops, growing greens is not at all troublesome and enjoyable. And if you know how to plant spinach correctly, then you can harvest it almost all year round.

- the culture is resistant to cold and even recovers after small frosts, so it can be grown not only in summer. Spinach is also a rather early ripening green and appears one of the first on our table in May, and if it is planted with seedlings, then even earlier. In addition, spinach grows well next to most garden plantings, which means that there is a place for it in any area.

Spinach is cold tolerant and even recovers after a light frost.

A small overview of popular varieties:

1. Virofle - early ripening, from shoots to harvest takes up to 20 days. Bushes grow up to 30 cm in diameter, tender, greenish-yellow in color. The disadvantage is that it quickly expels the arrow.
2. Gaudri - the harvest can be harvested after 18 days and within a month. Suitable for growing in greenhouses and open ground. Rosettes about 25 cm.
3. Krepysh is mid-season, the aging period is from 25 to 30 days. big harvest can be expected with regular watering, flower stelae are released late.
4. Giant - an early and very productive variety. Two weeks after germination, you can collect the first greens, and this despite the fact that the sockets of such spinach can grow from 15 to 50 cm. An ideal variety for thermal processing and canning.
5. Matador - perhaps the most common spinach variety, due to early ripening and abundant fatty leafy greens with excellent taste. It is planted both through seedlings and in open ground from spring to late autumn. Blooms late.

Spinach is best sown in sunny areas. Any soil is suitable, with the exception of only clay and increased level acidity. As for humidity, regular watering is necessary, it is on this that the yield of spinach beds often depends.

Now, having decided on the basic growing conditions, it is worth considering several ways: planting seedlings, sowing in open ground in early spring or before winter.

Video about properties and cultivation

Early greens will provide you with a seedling method of growing. To do this, in late March-early April, spinach seeds are sown in boxes, plastic or paper cups filled with prepared soil. The seeds are not deeply buried, it is enough to cover them with 1 cm of moist soil and compact it a little so that it is easier for the emerging roots to take root in the ground. After that, it is recommended to cover the containers with a transparent film or a piece of glass and put them in a warm place (for example, on a radiator) so that the “greenhouse” climate accelerates the germination of seedlings.

Early greens will provide you with a seedling method of growing

After the appearance of the first sprouts, the shelter is removed, and the seedlings are rearranged on the southern or southeastern window sill, providing maximum illumination. Given the tolerance of spinach to the cold, it can be grown on a loggia, balcony or veranda, which is especially convenient if all the windows are already occupied by growing peppers, tomatoes and eggplants. Just remember to water the crops regularly.

Seedlings are planted in open ground when the soil warms up a little and the sun begins to warm. After transplanting and watering, you can put arcs on top and cover the bed with non-woven agrofiber in order to protect the transplanted plants from intense sunlight at first and somehow “smooth out” night and day air temperature fluctuations.

The best option for obtaining early greens is sowing spinach seeds in greenhouses. The timing of sowing in this case depends on several indicators, including:

• From the climatic features of your region, including the spring weather of the current year.
• From the quality and arrangement of the greenhouse. Obviously, in heated greenhouses, with artificial lighting You can grow vegetables all year round. On sunny spring days in glass greenhouses, the air warms up faster and keeps the temperature longer at night. Practically they are not inferior to them in these indicators and modern designs from polycarbonate. But the budget version of the film shelter will not retain heat well, especially if there are frequent frosts at night. In an effort to somewhat improve such designs, some gardeners use the densest film, and the roof of the greenhouse is covered with two layers, thus creating an air gap for better conservation heat.
• From the varietal characteristics of seeds.

On sunny spring days in glass greenhouses, the air warms up faster and keeps the temperature longer at night

Usually, work in greenhouses begins if the air in it warms up enough during the daytime. These conditions are quite suitable for the germination of spinach. In addition, before sowing the hole, it is recommended to pour generously with hot water, wait until it is completely absorbed, sow the seeds and cover with a 1.5-2 cm layer of soil. From above, the rows are covered with a piece of agrofibre, which will help to maintain both heat and the required level of humidity. After the appearance of the first shoots, the shelter is removed. Similarly, work is carried out in open ground.

In early spring, in the garden, at the same time as planting radishes, lettuce and onions on greens, spinach seeds are also sown. In this growing method, the main condition successful harvest is to provide moisture. Therefore, even during sowing, the grooves or holes are pre-watered, especially if the soil is dry. This will help to soften the fairly dense shell of the seed faster, and subsequently provide the emerging plants with moisture. Once spinach is established, it needs frequent watering, especially on warm and sunny days.

Spinach usually sprouts together and at the same time, so if you want to extend its harvest period, sow it gradually, at intervals of 7-10 days. So you will have young greens for a long time. If you need to save space on the plot, spinach can be sown as a thickener, for example, between beans, tomatoes, dill, radishes or carrots. Thus, by the time the main crops have grown, you will have already harvested spinach.

Video about growing spinach, lettuce and basil

autumn sowing

Experienced gardeners know how many worries spring brings, so they try to do some work from the fall. So, many cold-resistant crops can be sown under winter, for example, carrots, garlic, radishes, sorrel and, of course, spinach. The advantages of such plantings are obvious: there is enough time in autumn, there is a lot of free space on the site, and most importantly, the soil is saturated with moisture both during sowing and during spring growth.

Many people worry that green shoots that have sprouted may die in winter, but fears are in vain - as soon as the snow melts and the April sun warms in the spring, spinach plantings will quickly recover and delight you with the first greenery from your own garden.

Spinach is a relatively rare guest in vegetable beds in the countries of the former Soviet Union. No one disputes the benefits of spinach, but so far gardeners sow little of it. And this despite the fact that planting and subsequent care for spinach in the open field is not only not complicated, but obscenely simple. Intrigued?

Photo of planted spinach:

Spinach needs only 2-5° heat to germinate, so optimal timing he has no seed. Spinach can be sown from mid-spring to early fall. The first sowing is carried out when the soil warms up to 8-10 °, and the threat of night frosts disappears. The last sowing is carried out at the end of August, and in warmer southern regions it is possible even in mid-September.

The optimum temperature for the growth and development of spinach in open ground is only 15°C. When deciding on the timing of sowing, it must be borne in mind that at a higher temperature and a 14-hour light day, spinach quickly shoots and becomes unsuitable for human consumption. Therefore, in the spring it is preferable to sow early-ripening varieties of spinach, which give a harvest 4-5 weeks after sowing.

In autumn, the daylight hours decrease, there is no threat of shooting. Therefore, during this period, it is preferable to sow late-ripening varieties, with a ripening period of 6-7 weeks, in order to increase the duration of spinach consumption.

Podzimny sowing of spinach is also possible - in mid-October (for the southern regions - the end of October). In this case, spinach has time to form a small rosette before winter, ground part which dies off during wintering, but from the root in early spring, a week or two after the snow melts, a new one grows, making it possible to enjoy fresh spinach by mid-April.

Site selection and site preparation

In terms of soil, spinach is one of the most undemanding crops and can grow on almost any type of crop. But, like most vegetable crops, preference is given to well-drained loamy and sandy soils.

Spinach is very hygrophilous. And, although he does not like long-term stagnation of water, but, given his precocity, in the summer it can also be sown in the lowlands. Autumn and, in particular, winter spinach plantings are best done on small hills so that autumn rains or melt water the area was not flooded for a long time.

Spinach loves the sun, although it grows well in partial shade. But, if you want to get a crop sooner, then set aside a sunny place for planting, protected from cold winds. In addition, in the sun, with proper care, spinach forms a powerful rosette, giving a high yield.

Preparing a site for planting spinach comes down to loosening the soil and “refueling” it with nutrients. It is better to prepare the site in the fall, after carrying out a deep - on a full bayonet of a shovel - digging with the simultaneous introduction of organic and mineral fertilizers into the soil.

From organic fertilizers, humus or compost is used - 5-7 kg / m². At autumn plantings often instead of them, green manure is used as a source of organic fertilizers. From mineral deposits, superphosphate (30 g / m²) and potassium chloride (15 g / m²) are added for digging. Nitrogen fertilizers (urea or ammonium nitrate) are best applied directly when sowing seeds (20 g/m²)

Spinach needs slightly acidic or neutral soil to grow well. In case of strong soil oxidation in autumn, when preparing the site for deoxidation, lime or dolomite flour is added.

Spinach is perhaps the only vegetable crop that has no antipodes among other vegetables and can grow after almost any predecessor, as long as there are enough nutrients in the soil.

An exception to this rule are beets, zucchini and asparagus. And this is not because spinach grows poorly after them - these plants have pests that can then move to spinach. Therefore, it is better not to grow spinach not so much after them, as in the neighborhood with them.

Sowing seeds, growing in open ground

Spinach seeds germinate in nature for a long time - 1.5-2 weeks. To speed up the process of germination in open ground, the seeds are soaked for 1.5-2 days in ordinary water at room temperature, changing it regularly every 6-8 hours. The swollen seeds are slightly dried so that they do not stick together with each other, and immediately sown in the soil. It is impossible to overdry, otherwise the whole point of pre-sowing preparation is lost, and the germination of seeds worsens.

Spinach does not have a particular propensity to damage plants with diseases and pests. But still, it is better to disinfect its seeds before soaking by placing them for 10-15 minutes in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate

Spinach seeds are sown in shallow (3-4 cm) grooves, sprinkling them on top with a layer of earth of 2-2.5 cm. For the convenience of processing the plot, the row spacing is made 30-35 cm. After sowing, the land in the area is slightly compacted and watered.

You need to try to sow the spinach seeds not too densely: ideally at a distance of 8-10 cm from each other. Although, given the size of the seeds, this is almost impossible. And in any case, after the formation of rosettes, the spinach will have to be thinned out, so you should not worry too much about this.

At an early spring planting spinach, you can organize an impromptu greenhouse on the site by installing arcs and pulling on them polyethylene film. This allows you to accelerate the emergence of seedlings and, accordingly, get an early harvest of vitamin spinach greens.

Inter-row cultivation

Because spinach grows quickly and matures quickly, it also pairs well with most horticultural crops, experienced gardeners often use the principle of compact planting, in which spinach acts as a compactor.

It can be grown in the aisles of potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, sweet peppers, all kinds of cabbage, corn. He also feels good in the aisles of peas, garlic and onions. But due to the row spacing, which is smaller in these crops than those listed earlier, it can be difficult to care for both spinach and the main crop.

Landing Care

Caring for a bed on which spinach grows is not difficult, but has a number of features. The main components of successful cultivation: regular watering, keeping the soil loose, proper feeding and timely removal of weeds.

On the initial stage the formation of rosettes, when they have 2-3 leaves, the crops are thinned out, leaving a distance of 15-20 cm between neighboring plants. With such a density, adjacent plants will hardly touch the tips of the leaves, without interfering with each other's growth.

Here it is appropriate to mention one biological feature of spinach - it is a dioecious plant. Those. it has both female and male plants. At the same time, female plants develop better and form a large rosette. Therefore, when thinning, you should try, if possible, to remove exactly the male specimens of plants.

In order to enjoy juicy greens longer, it is important to detect and remove flower stalks in time. But if you want to stock up on your own spinach seeds for future growing, then you have to sacrifice a few plants and keep them.

Watering

Spinach is one of the most moisture-loving garden plants. When preparing the site, especially if there is a slight slope of the relief, many gardeners specially make low earthen sides along its edges in order to retain rainwater on it.

Depending on the air temperature, watering is carried out at intervals of 2-3 days, and if the weather is hot, dry, then every other day. Irrigation rate - 8-10 l / m². After each watering, when the water is completely absorbed and the surface of the soil on the bed turns from black to gray, it is necessary to loosen the soil, but you need to do this around the plants very carefully so as not to damage the young rosettes.

top dressing

If, when preparing the site, you fertilized it well, then top dressing in the open field of spinach is not needed, it will quickly grow and develop, and will give an excellent harvest. But if you notice that plant growth has slowed down, then you can "spur" them on by adding a small amount of ammonium nitrate or urea.

However, one should not be zealous with nitrogen supplements: green spinach leaves tend to accumulate nitrates. Also, you should not use phosphorus and potash fertilizers for top dressing: they will have a minimal effect on leaf growth, but they may well provoke premature bolting, and then flowering, making the plants unsuitable for food.

Disease and pest control

Spinach very rarely gets sick and is almost not damaged by pests. “Almost” - because the ubiquitous aphid does not deprive spinach of its attention. Also, if beets grow nearby, a mining fly may appear on spinach.

Of the diseases, plants are most often affected by downy mildew. With improper care, root rot may appear on plants. Spinach is rarely affected by other diseases, even if, due to the inexperience of the owner, its cultivation is left to chance.

Since spinach is a rapidly maturing plant, it is strongly not recommended to use chemical protection agents to combat diseases and pests. The main way to combat diseases is their constant prevention: controlling the level of humidity, regular loosening of the topsoil, timely removal of weeds.

To prevent the occurrence of fungal diseases, you can use folk ways protection: treat the plants with an ash solution or tincture of onion peel. To prepare the ash solution, two cups of ash are poured into three liters of water, brought to a boil and allowed to cool. Then the cooled mixture is filtered through gauze folded in 3-4 layers, the amount of liquid is adjusted to 10 liters and the plants are treated with this solution.

According to the same scheme, you can prepare an infusion of onion peel. 200-300 gr. husks are poured into 10 liters of water, put on fire, brought to a boil, then allowed to cool and brew for 2-3 days. The resulting tincture is sprayed with spinach plants.

If you still notice signs of a disease on spinach, then the only way to stop the spread of the disease is to remove and dispose of the diseased plant.

To combat aphids, the plant is sprayed with tobacco tincture or ash-soap solution. To achieve a result, the plant has to be processed 4-5 times with an interval of 1-2 days. Against a pest, the spread of which even chemical preparations are often unable to stop, the methods are not the most effective, but there are no others in the arsenal of spinach cultivation yet.

In the case of spinach, to protect against a pest, it is advisable to lay out such a bait in furrows directly when sowing seeds. The effectiveness of such baits is usually from 3 to 4 weeks, i.e. in fact, as much as spinach grows, so the damage from the bear will be minimal.

Harvest and storage

It is better to start harvesting spinach from open ground when it forms a rosette of 6-8 leaves. Some gardeners, in order to get a bigger harvest, wait until the plants form a rosette of 10-12 leaves, but you need to remember that the older the leaves, the less their nutritional value and the worse the taste.

In addition, it should be borne in mind that the leaves of spinach sown in the summer will initially be less juicy than those sown in the spring, moreover, bitterness will be noticeable in their aftertaste, albeit very weakly.

For fresh consumption, you can cut off the lower, relatively old, leaves from the sockets - then growth, and with it the use of fresh spinach leaves, can be stretched for 1.5-2 weeks.

The shelf life of fresh leaves does not exceed 24 hours. After drying the leaves well and packing them in small plastic bags, you can save them for up to 10 days. But if they are not dried at least a little, then the wet leaves will begin to rot, and the whole bag will have to be thrown away. Therefore, for long-term storage, the leaves are frozen.

For freezing, they dig out the entire outlet along with the root, remove the root, wash it, grind it and dry it a little, pack it in small bags and send it to the freezer. Another method of long-term storage, which has recently gained popularity - after washing, the leaves are crushed in a blender and frozen in the form of mashed potatoes.

Some housewives immediately add seasonings to this puree, and so they freeze them together, not just preserving spinach, but actually preparing semi-finished products. Also, in order to preserve spinach for a long time, its leaves can be completely dried, salted or canned.

Spinach is a crop that does not require special care and does not take up much space in the garden. But the benefits of it are huge - it is a real pantry of vitamins, minerals and organic acids necessary for the human body.

It is noteworthy that with any, even with thermal processing, spinach leaves retain their green color and almost all useful substances, although their amount may slightly decrease. In addition, it is a low-calorie product, which is important for adherents of a healthy diet. Therefore, this vegetable is worth it to take its rightful place both in our beds and in our menu.

Some interesting botany

Spinach is a herbaceous annual or biennial, which botanists recently “crossed”, referring it to the amaranth family, although before that it felt good among the representatives of the haze family. The birthplace of spinach is Asia, where else in ancient persia it was cultivated as a vegetable crop.

Outwardly, it looks like sorrel, but it has more rounded leaves, moreover, unlike the light green color of sorrel, they are rich dark green in color. And these plants differ in taste: in spinach leaves, the taste is more like the taste of lettuce, but it has a slight spicy bitterness.

Spinach, like any vegetable crop, can be grown through seedlings. But, given its "precocity" - only 4-5 weeks pass from sowing seeds to harvesting, the vast majority of gardeners practice growing seeds by sowing seeds in open ground. Moreover, since young spinach leaves are of the greatest nutritional value, they often use a conveyor sowing method, sowing its seeds with an interval of 2-3 weeks.

Spinach is extremely healthy and low-calorie vegetable crop. In recent 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.

Landing

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 granular 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, then place them in a solution of potassium permanganate for several hours, and only after that they 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), but in hot summer the plant feels good 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 also 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. Harvest time depends on how often the leaves are cut and how well the garden is maintained. 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, spinach retains its intense green color and beneficial properties.

Video "Tricks of planting spinach"

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How wonderful on a spring evening after labor day on the beds, collect fresh lettuce leaves, onions, slightly grown parsley and dill and tender spinach shoots. Salad from early greens is perceived as a small miracle, after winter greenhouse vegetables.

The undeservedly forgotten plant again begins to take pride of place in the country beds. What spinach looks like can be seen in the photo.

The first mention of spinach can be found in two thousand years of chronicles. Growing in Russia was widely practiced in the 19th century.

What is this plant

Rosettes of spinach are slightly similar to sorrel. But the difference exists, and quite significant, if you look closely.

Sorrel leaves are elongated, thinner unlike spinach. Its shoots are dense, the leaves are rounded, slightly tuberous.

The taste of these two plants cannot be confused. In spinach, it is spicy, with notes of bitterness and a slight sour aftertaste, in contrast to the main, pronounced, sour taste of sorrel.

Doctors have long noted the beneficial properties of spinach. It is rich in fiber and helps improve digestion. Flavonoids slow down the process of inflammation, vitamin K contributes to the normalization of pressure and improves the functioning of the heart muscle and the vascular system as a whole.

Iron from spinach leaves is easily absorbed by the body and helps patients with blood diseases. A large number of vitamins in fresh spinach leaves are not comparable to other green crops.

Here is a complete vitamin complex of groups B, C, A. There are anti-aging elements of vitamin E. A large set of trace elements, including rare ones: selenium, omega-3 fatty acids, iodine, folic acid other.

With caution, people suffering from kidney and liver diseases, gout should eat spinach leaves. A small amount of oxalic acid can still provoke an exacerbation of the disease.

Soil preparation and planting time

Spinach is an annual herbaceous plant. You can choose any landing time. It germinates well in the spring, with winter sowing of seeds.

The bed is prepared in advance by deep digging and fertilizing in the form of compost, rotted manure, humus and a full range of mineral fertilizers. Spinach does not like acidic soils, so chalk, lime, and dolomite flour are added during digging.

The site for planting is chosen well-lit, with fertile soil. The best predecessors for planting spinach are potatoes, legumes (peas, beans, beans) or different kind cabbage.

Note: during spring planting, the bed is prepared in the fall, with winter planting - in summer or even spring.

To obtain earlier spring spinach leaves, seeds should be sown in late autumn, when the ground is already frozen, in pre-prepared grooves. The culture is early ripening, so cultivation is practiced at several sowing dates.

Starting from March and ending in August, you can sow seeds in the garden and get fresh greens all summer. In early spring, spinach can be sown locally as a precursor to later varieties of vegetables, or compact other plantings by placing the seeds between rows.

It is sown as beacon, fast-growing greens, in plantings of root parsley or carrots. In the early stages or during a long cold spring, spinach is grown in a greenhouse.

Popular varieties

For central Russia, high-yielding varieties of spinach have been bred, the best can be considered:

1. Victoria is a variety of German selection, high-yielding. It is considered late-ripening - from the appearance of the first shoots to the harvest period, it takes from 20 to 40 days. Rosette diameter is about 15 cm. Harvest up to 3.5 kg per 1 sq.m. When carrying out thinning, the quantity and quality of cut leaves increases.
2. the gigantic variety can be attributed to early early ripening. It takes 14 to 35 days from germination to harvest. The rosette can grow up to 50 cm in diameter. The variety is suitable for greenhouses and open ground.
3. late-ripening variety Fatty-leaved with beautiful leaves in a rosette, the diameter of which is up to 30 cm. The cut time is 28-30 days.
4. Matador is a variety brought from the Czech Republic, but is perfectly adapted to growing in the conditions of central Russia. Smooth, thick leaves are ready for cutting from 30 days after the appearance of the first seedlings. Sowing is carried out in early spring or late autumn, before winter. Yields up to 3 kg per sq. meters.
5. Boa spinach was bred specifically for the harsh Siberian region. Seeds are able to germinate at a temperature of + 4-5 degrees. Leaves can be used both fresh and processed.

Landing and care

As already mentioned, sowing seeds in open ground can be done at any time, from early spring to August, and before winter in late autumn.

It is possible to grow a good crop only on highly fertile beds, well seasoned with fertilizers.

Seeds before sowing must be soaked for 1-2 days in water and put in a warm place. Such warming will ensure friendly and early shoots of spinach. Before planting in the ground, the seeds are slightly dried to flow.

Sow in rows, with a distance between them of about 20-25 cm, in grooves 1 cm deep, the distance between seeds is 4-5 cm. Sprinkle top of the planting with nutrient soil and water with warm water.

Seedlings should appear 7-12 days after planting. At early term planting, for faster germination, the bed can be covered with covering material. After the appearance of the first shoots, the spunbond is removed, and the aisles are loosened.

It is advisable to thin out the plants at the same time, leaving them at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other.

Worth noting: the procedure must be carried out as the spinach grows, eating harvested plants. Thus, by increasing the distance between the sockets, they quickly increase the green mass.

Spinach care consists in loosening, timely thinning, weeding, watering and top dressing. In hot weather and to prevent rapid and early shooting, it is necessary to provide abundant watering.

They can be combined with supplements. After that, the greenery of the plant looks especially appetizing and bright. Properly selected fertilizers will give an abundance of fresh greens and prevent early shooting.

It is better to feed with nitrogen fertilizers. Phosphate and potassium types of top dressing make the leaves stiff and accelerate the shooting.

Harvest the spinach leaves until the flower stem has formed. After the arrow appears, the shoots become hard and tasteless. Mature spinach rosettes (more than 10-12 leaves) can be removed from the garden completely.

Growing methods

Spinach grows well at home. It is easy to grow at home on a windowsill in a container or regular flower pot.

You can buy a nutrient mixture for growing in a specialized store.. Early maturing varieties are selected for planting. Seed preparation is the same as when planting spinach in the country.

Seeds are sown to a depth of 1-1.5 cm, sprinkled with nutrient soil and watered with warm settled water. You can plant the seeds in a box, and then, after the emergence of seedlings, the seedlings are planted in separate containers. You can plant a sprout in cups with two real leaves.

It's important to know: after sowing the seeds, the box is covered with glass or film and placed in a warm place. After the appearance of the first seedlings, the shelter is removed.

A good crop of spinach at home can be obtained by growing it on an insulated balcony or loggia, if the sun does not shine there during the day. If the windows are located on the south side, then the plant needs to be shaded or removed deep into the room, otherwise the rosette will quickly form a flower arrow and the leaves will lose their tenderness and taste.

You can understand the step-by-step cultivation of spinach by watching the video: