There is growing interest in healthy eating: environmentally friendly, rich in minerals and vitamins, easily digestible, not allergy-causing, useful for children and adults - this is how it should be. Grown on own plot spinach meets all these requirements.
Why you should grow spinach
A very popular green vegetable in both Europe and America, it is still not very popular in our country. But in vain:
- it grows quickly;
- surprisingly unpretentious;
- little susceptible to disease;
- unsurpassed in its richness of composition.
For comparison, spinach is several times higher in the amount of potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and phosphorus. popular cabbage. It also contains more protein and essential vitamins.
When and how to sow
Cold-resistant spinach can be sown in the most early dates, as soon as the surface layer of the earth thaws slightly. Seeds sown in early spring will be well saturated with moisture and will sprout quickly. If the soil is dry, germination may be delayed because it is difficult for the sprouts to break through the dense seed coat. To speed up the emergence of seedlings, it is advisable to soak the seeds for several hours in slightly warm water and water the furrows thoroughly before sowing.
The sowing depth should be at least 2-3 cm. In sandy soil it is necessary to sow deeper, in clay soil - shallower. The distance between the rows is 15-25 cm, depending on the plant variety. It is advisable to make an interval of at least 5 cm between the seeds in a row so that the sprouts do not stretch out and the bushes grow dense. The sown seeds should be pressed to the ground, thereby increasing their contact with the soil. Shoots will appear in 10-14 days.
About a month after germination, you can begin harvesting the first crop. Sowing can be repeated every two weeks until mid-May, resulting in a continuous conveyor of fresh, nutritious greens. In summer, spinach grows poorly: it quickly “goes into arrows”, the foliage becomes smaller. This feature of the plant allows the use of spinach as a compacting crop or as a predecessor plant for heat-loving vegetables that are planted only in May-June: tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers. Joint plantings are also recommended because spinach roots release substances that have a beneficial effect on root system other plants.
At the end of summer, crops are resumed. It is permissible to sow spinach until the end of September, then it will have time to grow before winter. But, even if you are late in harvesting, spinach may well overwinter and be the very first vegetable from your plot next spring.
Spinach is also sown before winter. Optimal timing The time for this is when the soil temperature drops below 5 degrees, usually at the end of October. The second option for winter sowing involves preliminary preparation beds, cutting furrows in which seeds are sown after the soil has frozen and sprinkled with soil kept warm. Winter crops They use the entire rich supply of spring moisture, harden off and produce stocky, lush bushes.
Features of care
In order for a vegetable to grow to its glory, it needs two main conditions: good soil and timely watering. The best soils for spinach are loams with a sufficient amount of organic matter in them. Sandy soil is the least suitable for spinach, but can be improved by systematic addition of organic matter. However, in the year of planting organic fertilizers it is impossible to add, this rule applies not only to green crops, but also to most vegetables. The fact is that organic matter contains too many microorganisms, many of which can be dangerous to humans and plants.
Regular watering has a beneficial effect on the quality and quantity of the crop. If it is possible to organize them daily or every other day, that would be ideal. It is acceptable to water spinach once a week, but in this case, watering should be plentiful, and the rows must be mulched or covered with any covering material to limit moisture evaporation.
Spinach does not need fertilizing. It develops too quickly and usually lacks the mineral elements present in the soil, and the plant simply does not have time to process the additional substances added. Therefore, adding fertilizers can make the product practically unfit for consumption. It is permissible to add to the soil when sowing a large number of urea.
It is undesirable to be late with weeding. Spinach is a very light-loving plant, and even slight shading negatively affects the quality of its foliage and the amount of nutrients in it. Fortunately, once the spinach gains a little vigor, it spreads its leaves wide, limiting the opportunity for new weeds to grow.
Harvesting
They begin to harvest spinach bushes when they have 5-6 leaves. The collection of grown spinach rosettes is combined with its thinning, while simultaneously increasing the intervals between the remaining bushes. A plant on which 9-12 leaves have formed is considered fully mature.
Some plants can be left to obtain seeds. It should be taken into account that spinach is a dioecious plant: there are specimens with staminate and pistillate flowers, you need to leave both. After pollination, the male plants will soon dry up, while the female plants will grow until the seeds ripen, which are located in small groups along the top of the stem.
Growing spinach is a great opportunity to enrich your table with healthy food and provide adequate nutrition for children. Spinach is the health of the family and the garden!
But in order to receive useful macro- and microelements even in the middle of winter, many sow spinach seeds at home and grow them on the windowsill. If you can follow simple sowing and maintenance rules (create the necessary light and temperature conditions), you will have fresh and juicy greens all year round, even if you don’t have a dacha.
What varieties of spinach are suitable for growing on a windowsill?
Before you start growing spinach on the windowsill, you should purchase high-quality planting material. And to do this, first of all, carefully study the instructions on the packaging - familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the varieties in order to choose the most suitable for indoor growing.
As a rule, the following varieties of spinach are used for sowing, which tolerate greenhouse conditions well and produce bountiful harvest:
To determine the most suitable variety, it is worth planting several packages of seeds in different containers. Only after this can you understand which variety of spinach will suit you best according to all the criteria.
How to plant spinach on a windowsill: features, conditions and step-by-step instructions
Once the required variety has been selected, you should begin sowing work, namely: preparing the container, soil for growing, and soaking the seeds. To do this, planting spinach at home requires a competent approach and performing all stages of growing according to certain rules.
Growing container
The root system of spinach, for example, unlike sorrel, is quite shallow, so the container requires a small depth.
By the way! Many people don't like spinach because it tastes like grass (not sour like sorrel). Indeed, this is a tasteless plant. But a neutral taste is great, you can make such delicious dressings! For example, Caesar salad with spinach turns out to be very unusual.
Naturally, the pot must have drainage holes to allow excess moisture to drain out.
In addition, a small layer of expanded clay or polystyrene should be placed on the bottom of the planting container as drainage.
What soil to plant in
Spinach will grow well only in neutral soil.
In other words, spinach loves soil. with an acidity level of about 6.5-7 pH!
You can purchase ready-made soil for growing vegetables such as cabbage, pumpkin, beans, and peas.
Or cook it yourself. To do this, you should take a neutral garden soil and mix it with compost or humus, as well as river sand.
Advice! It is recommended to pre-disinfect any soil, even purchased soil, for example by frying it in the oven, so that under the influence high temperatures all pathogenic organisms and fungi died. And/or spilling with a solution of potassium permanganate or.
Pre-sowing seed preparation
It is not recommended to plant spinach with dry, unprepared seeds (unless they are coated, i.e., already processed seeds). The seeds have a dense external structure, so they should first be soaked for a day or two in water room temperature(above 18 degrees).
And then (if desired) hold for another 20-30 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect the seedlings from diseases.
Direct landing
Step-by-step instruction sowing spinach seeds for further cultivation at home:
- Drainage and soil are poured into the planting container.
- Beards 1.5-3 cm deep are made.
- The seeds are sown at a distance of 2-3 centimeters from each other.
- Next you need to fill the rows with soil.
- Moisten it (the soil). For example, you can spray it with a spray bottle.
- To create greenhouse conditions, the container is covered with film or glass.
- The pot is placed in a warm (+18..+20 degrees) and dark place.
- When the shoots appear, the shelter (greenhouse) is removed, and the container itself is moved to a bright place - on the windowsill.
Note! In the next video the author uses unsuitable land for growing spinach (not the same acidity). But in general, everything is shown very well and clearly.
Video: sowing spinach seeds for growing on a windowsill
Transplanting spinach from open ground into a pot for growing in an apartment
By the way! It is not necessary to grow spinach from seeds, it is much easier to take and transplant it from the garden.
All you need to do is dig up the bushes in the fall and transplant them into a pot.
Video: spinach on a windowsill in winter (results after transplanting a bush from open ground)
How to care for spinach on the windowsill at home
Caring for spinach is quite simple - maintain optimal light and temperature conditions, and water it on time.
What should the growing location be like: light and temperature?
Spinach is a relatively light-loving plant. It is recommended to choose a well-lit southern window sill (either western or eastern, but preferably at least southwestern or southeastern).
The optimal length of daylight is 12-14 hours.
But in order to prevent the sun from getting too hot on particularly hot days, burning the tender leaves, it is recommended to shade it.
By the way! Spinach doesn't like straight lines at all. Sun rays and a lot of sunlight, besides this makes him bitter…
On late autumn, winter and early spring days, the bush does not have enough daylight, especially when it is raining or just cloudy outside. Therefore, to grow spinach in room conditions it is recommended to install additionally phytolamps or full-spectrum LED lamps.
Spinach does not require very warm conditions. At temperature conditions+15..+18 degrees, the leaves of the plant quickly gain strength and grow to optimal size.
A grown plant with 4-5 leaf blades can be grown at a lower temperature of +10..+14 degrees, but in such a situation the growth of leaf blades will be somewhat slowed down.
Therefore, an insulated balcony or loggia, where the temperature is slightly lower than room temperature, is quite suitable for growing.
In too warm conditions Spinach bushes quickly begin to wither, so it is recommended to maintain optimal cool temperatures.
Watering
Watering should be done fairly frequently and abundantly; spinach does not tolerate drying out of the soil.
Low humidity levels provoke bolting; spinach throws out flower stalks, which should be promptly disposed of so that the plant does not waste extra energy.
Spinach does not require any special feeding.
Video: how to grow spinach on a windowsill
Timing for germination and harvesting of homemade spinach
After sowing spinach, its first shoots, even with pre-treatment(by soaking), you will be able to see it in about a week (sometimes earlier).
Video: the first true leaves of spinach grown in a window
And the direct cutting of foliage (harvesting) will begin only when the plants have fully formed succulent leaves. There will be 5-8 of them, 8-10 centimeters long. In early ripening varieties, this moment occurs approximately 30 days after the first shoots.
Advice! In order not to interrupt the process of constantly obtaining useful spinach foliage, you can regularly make new crops.
During harvest, the foliage can be cut off completely, leaving only the outermost young leaves.
Harvesting should be done by carefully breaking the stem or cutting with scissors.
You cannot pull or tear out the foliage, as this can damage the root system.
Thus, you can grow spinach at home, on a windowsill, at any time: in spring, autumn, and even winter. The main thing is to create for the plant optimal conditions and care for it properly (water it periodically). Growing spinach in an apartment will allow you to enjoy it at any time. useful leaves by adding them to soups or salads.
Video: growing spinach at home
How to grow spinach? Russian gardeners are increasingly asking this question, since this herbaceous vegetable crop, extremely beloved all over the world, last years is beginning to gain popularity in Russia. It is enjoyed by vegetarians and people who promote the idea of healthy eating.
Spinach, the cultivation of which is not particularly difficult, certainly deserves to take its rightful place in Russian garden beds.
To help gardeners do good choice, let's give brief description spinach varieties that have proven themselves well in the climatic conditions of our latitudes:
New Zealand spinach
It does not represent a variety, but a separate variety of this crop. The branched stems of this annual plant, creeping along the ground, can reach a meter in height, and the fleshy, thick leaves, colored dark green, have a triangular shape and jagged edges. Their taste qualities identical to most varieties of this plant.
This crop needs a lot of sunlight, moisture and heat, so the most high yields gives when grown in southern regions Russia (the appearance of the first shoots occurs 2-3 weeks after sowing the seeds). In climatic conditions middle zone It is advisable to grow New Zealand spinach through seedlings.
The first cutting of leaves is carried out after 25-35 days; during the season, green harvests are harvested many times.
Variety "Victoria" (German selection)
Having a long (up to 40 days) growing season, it is late-ripening. The timing of planting seeds is from March to mid-May. An adult plant produces small (up to 15 cm in diameter) rosettes pressed to the soil.
The leaves, growing horizontally, have a rounded shape, smooth edges and a dark green color. The great advantage of the variety is its good resistance to powdery mildew and bolting. Victoria spinach grows well in soils that can retain moisture and have normal acidity.
Caring for it consists of thinning, weeding and regular watering. If everything is done correctly, everyone square meter planting will yield up to 3.4 kg of useful greens.
Spinach "Matador" (Czech selection)
Belongs to the category of mid-season varieties, capable of producing the first greens within three weeks after sowing the seeds. Its compact rosettes consist of thick, smooth leaves that are oval in shape and gray-green in color. "Matador" is frost-resistant, not prone to bolting and has high requirements for soil moisture.
All these qualities make spinach of this variety suitable for sowing in autumn and in early spring. Productivity – up to 3 kg per square meter. meters.
"Stoic"
An early ripening variety, the growing season of which is no more than 3 weeks. It produces the highest yield (up to 3 kg per m2) in the temperate climatic conditions of central Russia. The rosette consists of leaflets raised above the ground, 19 cm long and 12-14 cm wide. Greens are added to salads and used in canning vegetables.
Variety "Virofle" (French selection)
It has a growing season of up to 25 days. Its large (up to 35 cm in diameter) rosettes contain a large number of fleshy and very tender oval-shaped leaves. A feature of the variety is the rapid appearance of stems and seeds. The plant tolerates cold and low temperatures at night, so it can be planted in early spring.
Variety "Godri"
The growing season, which ranges from 18 to 30 days, is classified as early ripening. The first leaves can be collected in 2-3 weeks. Spinach of this variety, characterized by high frost resistance, is intended for growing in open ground. Sowing of seeds is carried out either in early spring or at the very end of summer. The diameter of the leaf rosettes is 25 cm.
When to plant?
Spinach is a cold-resistant plant, so you can start sowing seeds in the garden soon after the surface layer of soil has thawed: once saturated with moisture, they will sprout vigorously.
Dates:
- In the middle zone, spinach can be sown as early as mid-April, but this will require temporary shelter.
- Most often, spinach is planted in late April-early May. During this period, the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm is at least 5 degrees.
- Repeated sowings (up to the first week of June) are carried out every 14 days, since it is moderately warm (from 10 to 24 degrees) temperatures and short (no more than 10 hours) daylight hours that contribute to the good development of this green crop.
- At the end of summer (from August to September), when the heat subsides, spinach sowing is resumed. If for some reason it was not possible to harvest the harvest from the September plantings, the frost-resistant spinach will overwinter well, and by the twentieth of April its juicy leaves can be eaten.
- Pre-winter sowing of spinach is carried out when the soil temperature drops below five degrees. In central Russia this period occurs at the end of October.
- There is another method of winter sowing, according to which furrows are cut in advance in the bed intended for growing spinach. The seeds are laid out in them after the soil freezes. To sprinkle them, use soil stored in a warm room. Pre-winter sowings have a number of advantages: the seeds do not lack moisture, the seedlings receive excellent hardening and produce especially strong and lush leaf rosettes.
Choosing a landing site
The best place to plant spinach is in well-lit areas that eliminate the possibility of stagnant water. To obtain early greenery, a bed of spinach should be placed on a southern slope, protected from the penetration of cold winds.
If the garden plot is in a low area, you can plant spinach in a bed fenced with boards. Since the spinach root system is not particularly long, the bed may not be very high.
Spinach sown in early spring can be used as a precursor to heat-loving crops. vegetable crops more late date maturation. In small garden plots it can be planted as a compactor (most often between rows of other vegetables).
Soil preparation
Spinach is one of the plants that places high demands on soil fertility, so its ideal predecessors are vegetable crops, to which organic fertilizers have been applied in sufficient quantities.
Spinach will grow well in cultivated areas with fertile soils enriched with a large amount of organic matter, normal acidity and good water-holding capacity. Light loamy soils meet all these conditions.
Before you grow spinach, you need to prepare the area in the fall:
- The soil is carefully dug up to the depth of a spade bayonet and potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are added to it. For example, for each square meter of area you can add a mixture consisting of potassium chloride (15 g) and superphosphate (30 g).
- At the same moment, liming of soils characterized by high acidity is carried out.
- If desired, you can enrich the soil with half the dose nitrogen fertilizers; the remaining dose is applied to the ground in early spring.
- An excellent substitute for purchased fertilizers can be organic matter: rotted manure or compost. They are added at the rate of 6-7 kg per 1 m2.
In early spring, immediately after the soil thaws, urea is scattered over its surface (20 g per square meter), and then harrowed with a rake. Too poor soil can be enriched right before sowing spinach by adding complex fertilizer. For each square meter you will need: 10 g of potassium, 6 g of phosphorus and 7 g of nitrogen.
Landing
There are two ways to grow spinach: from seeds and seedlings. The nuances of planting them in open ground will be discussed in this section.
Seed preparation
Since spinach seeds are covered with a very thick and hard shell, which does not allow moisture to pass through easily and makes it difficult for them to germinate, they need pre-sowing preparation, providing for the implementation:
- Calibrations During this procedure, the seeds are sorted, discarding damaged and defective ones. High-quality seeds are sorted by size.
- Soaking. Wrap the seeds in a piece of cotton cloth, place them on the bottom of the plate and pour in a small amount of warm (no more than 25 degrees) water so that it only slightly covers the cloth. The plate with planting material is placed in a dark, warm place for a day, not forgetting to periodically change the water and strictly ensuring that the seeds always remain moist. After 24 hours, the seeds are removed from the water and slightly dried.
- Disinfection. The planting material is kept for ten minutes in a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate, prepared from 1 g of powder and 0.2 liters of water. Drain the disinfectant solution, wash the seeds clean water and dried, returning them to their former flowability, after which they are sown in open ground.
Step-by-step instruction
It is most convenient to grow spinach in beds fenced with boards or improvised material.
How to grow:
- Having thoroughly loosened and leveled the surface of the ridges with a rake, they begin to make parallel rows (it’s most convenient to do them using a wooden plank or a garden scoop).
- For planting spinach, the optimal scheme is considered to be one in which the distance between rows is 15-20 cm, and between neighboring plants - 7-10 cm. With such a sowing density per square meter. meter of planting will require 4-5 g of seed material.
- The depth of seed placement depends on the quality of the soil: in clay soils it should be less, in sandy soils it should be more. On average it should be at least 2 cm.
- The prepared rows are carefully shed a little warm water and begin to lay out the seeds, trying to maintain a 5-7 cm interval between them. Only in this case the plants will not stretch, and the leaf rosettes will be quite dense.
- In order to increase the contact of the planting material with the soil, the seeds are lightly pressed to the ground.
- Armed with a rake, the spinach crops are carefully covered and the soil is slightly compacted.
- You can prevent the appearance of weeds and significantly reduce the evaporation of moisture from the surface of the beds by mulching them. Chopped straw, hay or dry leaves can be used as mulching material.
- If there are favorable weather conditions The appearance of the first shoots should be expected in 10-14 days. Some gardeners speed up their appearance by covering the bed with plastic wrap.
Planting seedlings
In the middle zone, spinach is most often grown seedling method. Depending on what container was used to grow seedlings, there are two options for replanting them in open ground.
This option is intended for seedlings grown in peat tablets or cups:
- Planting holes are made in the prepared beds, the size of which corresponds to the dimensions of the peat containers with seedlings, not forgetting to observe the recommended interval between plants.
- The pot with the plant is carefully placed in the planting hole and sprinkled with a little earth.
- The planted seedlings are watered at the root.
The following technique involves the need to transplant seedlings, which can be grown in boxes or plastic containers. Experienced gardeners use the transshipment method for this.
Instructions:
- A few days before planting seedlings in open ground, stop watering the plants to allow the soil in the pots to dry out.
- In the formed beds, holes are dug corresponding to the size of the individual container in which the spinach was grown.
- After turning the container over, the plant is carefully removed from it along with a lump of soil, placed in a prepared hole and sprinkled with earth. Watering the sprout is done at the root.
When there is a threat of cold weather (down to 0 degrees and below), the plantings are hidden under temporary shelter.
Care
Caring for spinach requires:
- timely weeding;
- regular generous watering;
- thinning thickened plantings;
- applying fertilizers.
Watering and fertilizing
Spinach, which has a powerful root system, needs frequent and abundant (at least 10 liters per square meter) watering, which promotes the active growth of fleshy and juicy leaves.
They should be especially frequent in hot and dry weather. Lack of moisture provokes the formation of flower stalks and a deterioration in the taste and nutritional value of the resulting greens.
During extreme heat, spinach should be watered every three days, using at least 15 liters of water per square meter. landing meter. At the same time, it is necessary to prevent overwatering of plants, which can cause root rot.
Spinach needs nutrients no less high:
- If they are deficient, plants stop developing, wither, and leaves may change their original color. The situation can be corrected by combining watering and fertilizing. To achieve this goal, you can prepare a nutrient solution (1 kg of mullein per 10 liters of water) and water the plants.
- The best fertilizer for this early ripening crop is humus or well-rotted manure applied to the soil before sowing the seeds. Their use is especially important in beds with thickened crops.
- Application mineral fertilizers under already formed leaf rosettes is extremely undesirable, since spinach is endowed with the ability to accumulate nitrates. That is why the entire complex of useful substances is added to the site at the stage of soil preparation. Feeding seedlings with nitrogen is allowed only in the most extreme cases.
- It is equally undesirable to feed grown spinach bushes with fresh organic matter (manure or slurry), since it significantly worsens the taste of the leaves.
Further agricultural technology involves regular loosening of row spacing and thinning of crops, preventing their thickening.
Harvest and storage
- The first collection of leaves is usually carried out 4 weeks after sowing the seeds. At this point, the spinach rosettes have at least six well-developed leaves.
- During the final harvest, the rosettes should be cut off under the very first leaf: the greenery is practically not contaminated, and the root system remaining in the soil does not cease its beneficial effect on it.
- The average yield of this crop is 1.5-2 kg per 1 sq. m.
- The best time to harvest is in the morning, but on rainy days or immediately after watering, it is better not to touch the spinach leaves, as at this time they become extremely fragile and brittle.
- If you delay harvesting, peduncles will form on the spinach rosettes, and the leaves will become coarse and unsuitable for eating.
- Harvested greens should be transported and stored only in a well-dried condition.
- If you put collected leaves in a bag and place them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, you can keep them fresh for a week.
- The best way to prepare spinach, allowing you to preserve all of it beneficial features, is freezing.
Diseases and pests of spinach
The main pests of spinach are: aphids, snails, slugs and beet leaf miner larvae, which readily eat its juicy leaves. Crops intended for seed production are sprayed with solutions of insecticidal preparations “Phosfamide” (0.2%) and “Anabasine sulfate”.
Spraying food crops with pesticides is strictly prohibited.
Spinach is quite resistant to most viral and fungal infections, however, if the plantings are very thick, its leaves may suffer from powdery mildew and all kinds of spots.
Since the use of toxic preparations for the treatment of leafy vegetable crops is extremely undesirable, the prevention of the occurrence of the above-mentioned diseases, consisting of strict adherence to agricultural practices and timely removal of plant residues, becomes of key importance.
Spinach seedlings and young bushes are often affected by root rot.
Its occurrence can be prevented by timely thinning and loosening of plantings.
How to grow spinach on a windowsill?
Spinach lovers grow it not only in the country, but also in apartments: this allows them to enjoy fresh greens throughout the winter.
People who do not have garden plots can grow spinach on glazed loggias and window sills located on the south side for a whole year, using flower pots. In an apartment whose windows face north, you will have to use lighting.
Since spinach is suitable for consumption for no more than 8 weeks (then it bolts), new seeds are sown every month. Thanks to this technique, it is possible to establish uninterrupted production of fresh herbs. Mature plants that have undergone several prunings and have sprung shoots are pulled out along with the roots.
When growing spinach on a windowsill, you need to give preference to its early ripening varieties.
To plant spinach, you need to take a two-liter pot and place a thick layer of drainage on its bottom (you can use river pebbles or expanded clay).
Soil can be brought from garden plot or buy at a specialty store (soil mixture for indoor plants is suitable).
The sown seeds (their depth should not exceed 1 cm) are well watered and create Greenhouse effect, covering the pot with a piece of plastic wrap. When shoots appear, it is removed (as a rule, this happens after 7 days).
For normal development of spinach grown on a windowsill and tolerating drafts well, a temperature of 15 to 18 degrees is sufficient.
Caring for spinach growing in an apartment consists of regular watering and fertilizing (you can use complex fertilizer for indoor flowers), applied every ten days.
To prevent spinach from wilting for as long as possible, experienced gardeners regularly spray it with a spray bottle or wash it twice a week with a soft stream from the shower.
– garden culture, containing many easily digestible vitamins, organic and fatty acids, micro- and macroelements necessary for a healthy diet. This greenery is healthy and desirable on every table. Regular consumption of spinach is an excellent prevention of diseases of the digestive, nervous, cardiac systems, metabolic disorders, and improves immunity.
Did you know?Spinach leaves contain vitamins K, E, PP, C, P, A, B2, B6, manganese, silicon, iron, cobalt, thallium, boron, chromium, iodine, calcium, rubidium, zinc, vanadium. As well as serotonin, phytosterols, polysaccharides, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, ascorbic and oxalic acids.
When to sow spinach
Growing spinach in open ground can begin in early or mid-April, depending on the established weather. Spinach is cold tolerant, air temperature +4-5 °C is quite suitable for sowing, and its seedlings can withstand frosts down to –5-6 °C.
How to get an early spinach harvest
Spring planting of spinach gives a later harvest - around mid-June, not earlier. Is it possible and when exactly to plant spinach in open ground for earlier harvest? Can. This is done in regions with mild winters or winter varieties are sown in late August - early September.
When planting spinach before winter, you get the first greens in April. With this method, in 14-16 days from sowing to the first shoots, spinach takes root and overwinters well. And with the warming in March, it quickly grows.
Important!After harvesting the early harvest, after 45-50 days, you can collect the greens from the bushes again a second time, and the plants are completely removed.
Soil requirements for spinach
Neutral, loamy and sandy loam soils rich in organic matter are most suitable for growing spinach. In addition, the soil for spinach should not be overly acidic - pH no higher than 7.
Good predecessors for this plant would be potatoes, cucumbers, legumes, White cabbage, tomatoes.
Did you know?Food processing of spinach - boiling, frying, stewing, canning, freezing - slightly changes its composition, it retains its useful biologically active elements.
Preparing the soil for planting
The soil for spinach is prepared in the fall - fertilizing is applied and it is dug up. The digging depth is 25 cm. It is recommended to fertilize spinach with potassium-phosphorus preparations, humus, and compost. Approximate number of components per 1 sq. m - 5 g phosphorus, 8 g nitrogen, 10 g potassium, 5.5-6 kg humus.
Important!Nitrogen is used as fertilizer only in autumn, not in spring. Spinach quickly accumulates its excess, which is harmful to human health.
Sowing spinach seeds in open ground
Growing spinach from seeds directly into the ground without germinating seedlings is used quite often. To do this, soak the seeds for 20-24 hours before sowing. When soaking, the pericarp (shell) of the seed serves as a guide: if it has softened from water, then the seeds are ready for planting.
Before sowing, the seeds are slightly dried - placed on a dry towel to absorb excess moisture and prevent the seeds from clumping. Sow the seeds in moist soil; manganese (potassium permanganate) can be added to the water for irrigation to form a weak disinfectant solution. The planting depth is 2-2.5 cm, the distance between the beds, if there are several parallel ones, is 20-25 cm.
Important!Spinach is contraindicated for diseases of the duodenum, kidneys, liver, and gall bladder. It is administered with caution baby food. This is due to the increased content of oxalic acid in the vegetable.
Caring for spinach crops
Spinach is light-loving, but also grows well in partial shade, that is, it can be planted either in a separate area from other crops, or using it as a separator between different garden plants. At the same time, spinach is unpretentious, and caring for it consists of timely watering, loosening the soil, thinning, and weeding.
Water it moderately until the sprouts sprout - from a watering can with a sprayer, when it takes root - watering is sufficient, but moderate. The seedlings are thinned out when the second leaf appears, leaving a distance of 15-20 cm between them. Loosening is done each time as the soil dries. How to water spinach in dry summers?
Water more often and more abundantly, but make sure that the water does not stagnate and there is good aeration. Excess moisture will lead to the formation of powdery mildew and other diseases of spinach. During a protracted rainy weather It is better to stretch the film on the pegs over the beds to avoid excessive dampness. As a rule, the soil for spinach is fertilized before planting - in the fall and, if necessary, in the spring before sowing, therefore spinach is not fertilized during the growing season.
Harvest
You can start harvesting spinach when the plant develops six leaves; this is usually done when 8-10 leaves develop. Cut the stem under the first leaf. Spinach roots spring planting dig up. You can immediately pull out the whole plant instead of cutting it. You cannot delay the collection of greens - the leaves overgrow, become rough, and lose their taste. Do not harvest after watering or rain. Best time for cleaning - early morning, then the leaves will be fresh and not crushed.
Spinach is an early ripening plant, which makes it possible to harvest from April to August. This is a cold-resistant annual crop. The optimal temperature for growth is considered to be 15°C. But this plant can also withstand frost. Spinach began to gain popularity recently, but due to the presence of a huge amount of useful substances and vitamins in its composition, the demand for this crop is rapidly increasing.
Features of culture
Spinach has significant nutritional value. Its distinctive feature is the ability to preserve useful elements in any condition. After heat treatment or freezing it will be almost as useful as raw. Spinach contains ascorbic, oxalic, linolenic and oleic acid, as well as carotene, phosphorus, manganese, iodine, calcium, sodium, iron, copper, vitamins K, E, P, PP, B. Spinach helps strengthen the nervous system and normalize the gastrointestinal tract. It helps stabilize the condition of anemia. But its use must be limited if liver and kidney function are impaired.
Spinach varieties
There are many varieties of this crop. Let's look at the most common ones:
Among the early ripening varieties, we can distinguish the varieties “Giant” and “Stoik”. They take 15 to 20 days to ripen.
TO mid-season varieties include “Matador” and “Strong”. These crops ripen within 25-30 days.
To get a harvest from late-ripening varieties such as “Victoria” or “Zhirnolistny” it will take from 30 to 35 days.
Soil preparation
Spinach is planted in fertile sandy and loamy soils. But this crop is unpretentious to the growing environment and is capable of producing crops on other soils if certain rules are observed. Spinach grown on sandy soils, you need to water it abundantly. When choosing a place for planting, you should keep in mind that this plant needs sunlight. Lack of lighting will reduce the vitamin C content in the leaves of the crop. Before planting, it is recommended to prepare the soil first.
This process is carried out in two stages:
In the fall, humus must be distributed over the area where the crop is supposed to be grown, and then the soil must be dug up. Then the soil is enriched with superphosphate and potassium chloride. If there is a need for liming, fluff lime, dolomite flour or crushed chalk are added.
In the spring, urea is used to saturate the soil with the necessary elements. It is not recommended to use manure in the spring, as it will negatively affect the taste of the crop.
Planting spinach
Growing spinach makes it possible to continuously include fresh greens in your diet throughout the entire season. This crop can be planted in autumn or spring. If you plant the seeds in September, spinach can already be harvested when spring arrives. The first shoots will appear even before frost, and 13-15 days after the snow melts the crop will ripen. In spring, spinach is sown before April 15.
Seeds must undergo preliminary preparation before planting:
They are placed in warm water, at a temperature of +25°C for 48 hours, and the liquid must be changed every 4 hours.
Then the planting material must dry.
Shallow trenches are made on the site at a distance of 20 cm. Approximately 5 g of planting material is consumed per 1 m.
Seeds are planted 5 cm apart. They should be buried approximately 2 cm into the soil, then a layer of soil should be poured on top and the crop should be watered.
The first shoots appear after 2 weeks.
How to grow spinach in the garden
Spinach is a moisture-loving crop. Water it up to 4 times a week. About 10 liters of water are used per 1 m so that the liquid can penetrate to a depth of 10 cm. During periods of precipitation, the rate should be reduced. If all the necessary preparatory measures have been taken before planting, the soil does not need additional enrichment with nutrients during the process of growing the crop. But if the spinach does not develop well enough or is pale in color, it should be watered with urea diluted in water.
This crop must be thinned out so that neighboring plants do not touch each other's leaves. During this procedure, small and weak shoots are removed. If the spinach begins to sprout early and quickly, this process can be delayed by installing an arc and covering the area with an opaque film. The soil must be weeded regularly to prevent the spread of weeds.
Harvesting
It will take 20 to 30 days for the crop to mature. The main sign that spinach is ready to eat is the presence of 5 to 7 leaves. Features of the collection and preparation of crops are given below:
The leaves must be collected before the stem forms.
Most the right time It is considered earlier in the morning for harvesting, since such spinach retains its properties longer. appearance. It can be pulled out by the roots or cut off.
The leaves should be stored in the refrigerator for a week.
During this period, the culture retains all its beneficial properties.
For longer storage, spinach needs to be frozen.
Strawberry spinach: how to grow
This crop got its name due to the presence of fruits that are externally similar to strawberry fruits. Both leaves and berries can be eaten. This is an annual cold-resistant plant belonging to the goosefoot family. Strawberry spinach is unpretentious to growing conditions. It can be planted in any soil. The culture can withstand temperatures down to -10°C and tolerates hot weather well.
There are two ways to grow this spinach:
seedlings;
seedless.
The first option allows you to get greens in early spring. To do this, in early March they begin to grow seedlings. You need to pour soil into the prepared containers, place the seeds in it, sprinkle them with soil and water them. To speed up the emergence of seedlings, the pots are covered with film. This creates a greenhouse effect. The first shoots will appear after two weeks. The film should then be removed, otherwise mold will appear on the plant and fungal diseases. When 4-5 leaves appear on the spinach, it can be planted in open ground.
You can start growing without seedlings immediately after the snow melts. For planting, you need to prepare holes, which should be placed at a distance of 40 cm from each other. Several units of seeds are placed in one hole. When the seedlings grow, the crop must be thinned out. Strawberry spinach is drought tolerant, but should be watered whenever possible. Abundant watering will allow you to get juicy and large fruits. The crop also needs to be weeded, especially at an early stage of growth. When the spinach grows, you can stop weeding. Its overgrown branches will become a kind of obstacle to the spread of weeds. 
Fertilizers for spinach
One of the conditions for obtaining a high-quality spinach harvest is soil enrichment. nutrients. This can be done with the help of organic and mineral substances. Let's look at the fertilizers that are used to saturate the soil before planting spinach.
Urea is added to the soil. This substance has a high concentration of nitrogen. This fertilizer has White color, is available in granular form. Before use, it must be dissolved in water. When applied to the soil per 1 m2, 15-20 g of this product is required.
Urea can be used as a foliar fertilizer. To do this, it is diluted at the rate of 50 g per 10 liters of water to spray an area of 100 m2. Superphosphate or lime should not be added at the same time as urea.
Superphosphate refers to phosphorus fertilizers. Available in powder and granular form. It contains phosphorite and phosphoric acid. 50-60 g of substance is used per 1 m2. This fertilizer is suitable for acidic soils, since due to the presence of calcium sulfate it does not increase the acidity of the soil.
Potassium chloride is a representative of the potassium group of fertilizers. It appears as a white, gray or pink crystalline powder. It contains potassium oxide. It is applied to the soil at the rate of 30 g per 1 m2. The soil structure is enriched with potassium chloride mainly in the autumn.
Dolomite flour is a magnesium fertilizer. Contains calcium and magnesium and is used for soil liming.
Humus is a dark, loose mass formed as a result of the decomposition of manure. This fertilizer contains the maximum concentration of nutrients. But in order for them to be preserved, humus must be stored correctly. For this purpose, it is necessary to set aside a small area on dense soil. If this is not possible, sandy soil will also work, but it must first be covered with plastic film.
Peat or straw is initially laid on it in a layer of 25-30 cm. This is necessary to absorb slurry. Then fertilizer is placed on the laid layer and compacted. The height of the manure should not exceed 1.5 m, and the width - 2 m. The length can be arbitrary. If manure is placed on long-term storage It should be covered with a 20 cm layer of earth on top. For short-term storage, ordinary film is suitable. 5-6 kg of this fertilizer is used per square meter of soil.
Compost improves the structure of the soil and saturates its upper layers with nutrients. For compost mass, you can use food waste, grass, chopped branches, coffee grounds, tea leaves, sawdust, straw, hay. To prepare this fertilizer, you need to prepare a pit or container 1.5 m high and 2x2 m wide. It is not recommended to use a container exceeding these parameters, since the mass will overheat and not be ventilated enough. In such conditions, the necessary microflora does not develop. In a smaller container, the fertilizer will not warm up to the required temperature.
Branches are placed at the bottom of the container to act as drainage. Next, you can place organic waste. The thickness of each layer should be from 30 to 50 cm. To speed up the decomposition process, the mass should be stirred periodically. The compost will be ready for use when it acquires a crumbly structure and dark color.
Diseases and pests
Spinach can be affected by fungal diseases such as root rot and downy mildew. The presence of the first disease can be determined by the blackened root. Rot affects the entire root system, resulting in the death of the plant. The spread of the disease is facilitated by soil compaction. To prevent rot, the soil should be loosened periodically.
If spots appear on the leaves yellow color and a gray-violet coating, the plant is affected by downy mildew, and appropriate measures must be taken. The leaves are smeared with colloidal or ground sulfur, after which the culture is treated with mullein infusion or sulfur suspension.
One of the pests of spinach is the leafminer fly. In early June back side leaves, she lays eggs, from which larvae subsequently emerge. They bite into the leaf, as a result of which swollen spots appear on it and the plant dries out. The following measures will help protect the crop from this pest:
Spinach should not be planted near a bed of beets.
It is necessary to regularly remove affected leaves and weeds.
Aphids can also attack spinach. You can get rid of it using a solution of laundry or potassium soap. 10 liters of water will require 300 g. This product is sprayed on the affected areas for 7-10 days. If necessary, repeat the procedure.
Conclusion
Spinach is a fairly unpretentious plant, which makes it much easier to grow. Caring for this crop involves standard actions: thinning, watering, weeding. Enriching the soil with nutrients will help you get a high-quality harvest.
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