How to grow spinach outdoors: practical recommendations. spinach growing from seed onion spinach growing from seed

The desire to diversify the garden with a variety of cultures is not always successful. But as for greenery, here the aspirations are rarely limited to the complexity of growing or the need to create special conditions. Therefore, for sure, what is worth starting in the beds is spinach, sowing and caring for which is not at all laborious.

In addition to being extremely tasty, healthy, nutritious, but low in calories leaf vegetable he is also quite unpretentious. It is easy to find a place for rows of spinach in any, even the smallest area, and its aesthetic and compact appearance allows you to grow bushes even in a flower bed, where, in addition to being useful, it will also play a decorative role of green culture.

Spinach is sufficiently resistant to cold, so it does not require a shelter

Therefore, if you decide to start growing spinach in the country, you should take advantage of its advantages:

• precocity allows you to plant it in areas prepared for the subsequent planting of seedlings of heat-loving vegetables - tomatoes, peppers or eggplants;
• spinach is quite resistant to cold, so it does not require a shelter device;
• seedling cultivation allows one of the first to get juicy spring greens;
• excellent compatibility with all the most common crops on the site (except beets), allows you to use it when arranging mixed beds or as a thickener for a while until the main crops grow.

Now that we have decided that there will always be a place for spinach, it is worth getting acquainted in more detail with the main preferences in the type of soil, the degree of moisture, the duration of illumination and the optimal temperature for development.

Video about the benefits of spinach

Planting spinach is more effective in the most lit places, this should be especially remembered when sowing in spring and autumn, when daylight hours are short. Humidity is also very important as insufficient watering provoke the shooting of plants, thereby worsening the taste of spinach and reducing the yield of its succulent leaves. And at the expense of fertilizers - even if the land under the garden is initially acceptable structure, it is still worth improving its fertility. To do this, it is enough to add half a bucket of organic matter per 1 sq.m and in the recommended dosage of complex mineral fertilizers.

Planting spinach is more effective in the most lit places

Now about the soil: in most cases, ordinary garden soil is fertile, loose, moist enough, perfect for growing. The only exceptions are acidic or too heavy, clayey soils with constant standing water. Under such conditions, most crops cannot develop successfully, including spinach, so if it is not possible to select another site, the existing “problem” soil should be improved.

First, about the indicators of acidity. You can determine its level without special devices, just look at what weeds grow around: bindweed and burdock - 6-7 pH and above; nettle, euphorbia and shepherd's purse - 5.5-6 pH; plantain, dandelion or wheatgrass - 5-5.5 pH, but horsetail, moss or buttercup speak of high acidity - 4.5 pH and below. For spinach, the optimal indicator will be about 6.0-7.0 pH, so if the soil is not too suitable, you should add fluffy lime when digging at a dosage of 1 sq.m - 200g, with an initial indicator of about 5 pH, and 600-750g if the level is below 4 pH.

But with regard to high humidity and stagnant water, this problem can be solved by drainage. Depending on the degree of “clayness” of the soil, 2-3 buckets of coarse sand should be added per 1 sq.m. After digging and thoroughly mixing the resulting soil mixture, you can evaluate the degree of its improvement - whether it has become loose or you can add more sand. Heavy soil in particular needs liming and obligatory enrichment with organic fertilizers, whether it be mullein, rotted manure, bird droppings, or just a generous application of humus.

Heavy soils in particular need liming and obligatory enrichment with organic fertilizers.

Now, knowing where spinach will grow best, you can go directly to crops and plantings.

Regardless of where and how you grow spinach, it is recommended that you follow accepted sowing and seeding rates. Therefore, when sowing between rows, in a garden bed, in a greenhouse or open ground, it is important not to bury the seeds by more than 2-2.5 cm and leave 20-35 cm between rows.

It is imperative to sow in moist soil, if it seems to you that the earth is dry, you should first shed the grooves generously. After waiting for the water to be absorbed, you can start sowing.

Must be sown in moist soil

With the advent of seedlings, traditional planting care begins - regular weeding and timely watering. In addition, the quality of spinach often depends on the density of crops, so you need to control the thickening. The first time you can break through the spinach already in the phase of 2-3 leaves, while the torn rosettes should not be thrown away, and if they are immediately transplanted to another bed, they will continue to grow quite successfully. After thinning and transplanting, the plants must be thoroughly watered so that the disturbed roots can again adhere tightly to the soil.

Given the precocity of spinach, it does not require additional dressings. But if you doubt that the soil is fertile enough, you can add organic fertilizers in liquid form. You can prepare such nutrient solutions on your own and almost free of charge, given that you can find everything you need in your country house, on the street or with your neighbors.

During fermentation, the solution in the container is recommended to be stirred periodically for speedy maturation. And during top dressing, it is important to remember that their excess is sometimes much more dangerous than a lack, so proceed with caution, especially when using bird droppings.

Here, perhaps, are all the tricks and all the care, pests and diseases almost never damage spinach, due to its precocity.

Keeping in mind the cold resistance of spinach, its first crops in the country can begin as soon as the snow melts, because already at a temperature of +4 ° C, the seeds can germinate quite successfully.

Advice! Growing spinach is similar in terms of requirements and care to growing, so often these crops are sown at the same time and in the same place.

Under favorable conditions, the first salad of young leaves can be made after 30-40 days from emergence

Depending on the climatic features of a particular region, spinach is planted from mid-April to mid-May. But given the high need for spinach in moisture, later plantings in dry land may not bring the expected results, and this crop does not like heat. Therefore, in this situation, the principle applies: the earlier the sowing, the better harvest. Under favorable conditions, the first salad of young leaves can be made after 30-40 days from emergence. And if you want to get greens even earlier, then you can use the seedling method and first grow sockets on the windowsill, like a radish, and then transfer them to the beds together with a clod of earth.

To avoid worries with seedlings, but to please with an early harvest, another way will help. Since autumn, completing the last in the country garden work, sow spinach seeds in a greenhouse or just in the garden - their spring shoots will be among the earliest. If there is no stationary greenhouse, then when planting in open ground, it is recommended to cover the rows with a film or agrofiber so that in the spring the earth warms up faster, but does not lose moisture, and the growing greenery is clean.

Video about growing spinach

Crops in September will sprout already this year, they will endure wintering without any losses and in the spring, having thawed, they will continue to grow. If sown in October, then green rosettes can be seen in the first half of April after the snow melts.

And in order for tender spinach leaves to be on your table from early spring to late autumn, you should choose the right varieties and periodically sow the seeds.

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

Before planting spinach, you need to prepare the soil. The ripening of spinach greens occurs quite quickly, therefore, the fertilizers used to feed it must be fast-acting. In early spring, it is recommended to scatter 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, a 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- sandy soil with neutral acidity. In heavy, clayey, crusty soil, spinach should not be planted, as this will require more careful care of the plants, and the likelihood of a good harvest is very low.

Next, you need to take care of the preparation of the 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 a country house in open ground, it is necessary 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, 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 a regular 1 liter flower pot, or a plastic container with holes at the bottom, from which you can later 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 plants need a temperature of 15-17 ° C for normal growth, 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, considering which you can make the cultivation of useful greens more successful and high-yielding:

• the best predecessors spinach are considered potatoes, radishes, legumes, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, 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 it is recommended to plant spinach on a small hill), however, 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 should be thinned out, leaving the strongest shoots at a distance of 10-15 cm. At the same time, weeds should be removed and the aisles should be loosened. Further care behind 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 fertilized only if it grows in depleted soil - fertilizers applied during soil cultivation are sufficient for fertile 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 on the leaves powdery mildew and rot is out of the question. 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 begins at different times: 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 harvesting in 6-8 weeks. Even if New Zealand spinach is planted from seedlings, the first harvest can be taken no earlier than a month later, since at the very beginning after planting the plants develop very slowly.

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

Spinach storage

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

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

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

Video "Tricks of planting spinach"

Spinach is an annual herbaceous plant, which is becoming increasingly popular among gardeners.

Its greens are very useful for the body, as it contains a large amount of iron.

At proper care you can achieve good results in the cultivation of spinach in the open field.

The plant develops well in the garden or on suburban area and allows you to provide the whole family with healthy fleshy greens.

If you translate the name of spinach from Persian into Russian, it means "green hand".

In Central Asia, perennial spinach is very common, where it even grows as weed grass.

As a healthy green, spinach is grown in many countries, and ours is no exception.

Depending on the variety, spinach grows from 30 to 45 cm in height. Grass blooms in summer.

After flowering, oval-shaped fruits are formed - nuts.

The plant belongs to early maturing species and allows you to grow a crop of useful greens in 30-45 days.

It grows throughout the country, so you can pick up spinach for the Moscow region, middle lane and other regions.

Variety Victoria

Victoria spinach has dark green leaves.

They have a slightly bluish tint.

Plant up to 10 cm high.

Variety Victoria is rich in vitamins, suitable for use in cooking.

For example, it has been widely used in the preparation of soups, seasonings, sauces.

It is grown by sowing before winter or early spring.

New Zealand

The variety is grown relatively recently.

It tolerates drought well, is practically not damaged by diseases and insect pests.

It develops slowly, but grows closer to autumn.

At this stage, the New Zealand variety becomes very juicy and tasty.

Stoic

The Stoic variety is excellent for eating.

It is used in canning or fresh.

A plant with large leaves reaching 16-20 cm in length. Stoick is a very productive and unpretentious variety.

Gaudry

Gaudri can be attributed to early ripening varieties. It is suitable for growing in greenhouse conditions in early spring or protected ground.

Approximately 17-30 days pass after germination, when a rosette with a diameter of up to 20 cm is formed.

Matador

Growing spinach Matador is a simple task.

The variety is unpretentious, has good resistance to diseases and pests.

Matador gives a rich harvest of fleshy greens. Also resistant to fading.

Virofle

Virofle is suitable for early sowing. The variety is early maturing.

Greens can be obtained 25-30 days after germination.

The leaves of the plant are green, slightly corrugated.

Giant spinach can be grown both in open and protected ground.

The variety is early ripe with oval green leaves.

They form a rosette with a diameter of 18-50 cm.

Sow in early spring.

Gigantic is considered the best for canning.

burly

Mid-season variety of spinach Krepysh. It is resistant to cold.

Plant with dark green elongated leaves. As for the outlet, it is formed up to 25 cm wide.

Strawberry

Strawberry spinach is an unusual variety with red berries.

It doesn't look like regular spinach.

There are usually several stems.

Their height can reach 60 cm.

The fruits are like berries. The leaves are different from regular spinach varieties.

Grown by sowing seeds in open ground or seedlings. Such a plant will also become a real decoration of the site.

Growing features

Spinach, the cultivation of which should not cause difficulties, is unpretentious and resistant to cold, diseases and pests of plants.

Providing him with all necessary conditions, get a rich harvest of greens containing a large amount of iron.

Spinach is advised to be eaten by children, women, adolescents.

When to plant greens in open ground, planting dates

To know when to plant spinach, you need to choose how to grow it. It can be open or protected ground (greenhouse or greenhouse).

According to reviews, they are sown in this way:

1. If the greens will grow in a greenhouse or greenhouse, the optimal sowing time is the end of February.
2. When grown in open ground, it is recommended to sow before winter. The best time for this is September-October. Planting material perfectly tolerates cold, with the snow melting in the spring, the first shoots will appear.
3. If the autumn sowing failed, do not despair. It can also be done immediately after the snow melts.

If you need to get fleshy juicy greens in the fall, you need to sow in the middle of summer or August.

To obtain a crop throughout the summer, you need to plant seeds every 20-30 days.

Landing site preparation

When sowing spinach in open ground, it is important to choose the right site in the country or garden, as well as prepare it.

Location selection

Spinach is a plant that prefers well-lit areas.

The scorching sun can harm the plant, so it must be covered for a while.

What soil is needed and how to prepare it

A useful herbaceous plant grows well in well-drained slightly acidic soil.

It should contain as many useful substances as possible. Most often, beds for planting are prepared in the fall:

1. First of all, they are carefully dug up.
2. If the soil is too acidic, dolomite flour is added or liming is carried out.
3. Next, fertilizers are applied. On square meter you need 30 g of superphosphate and 15 g of potassium salt. This will help to get a healthy plant, increase the yield.
4. Also make rotted manure or humus. Do this when digging the soil.

How to plant spinach in open ground, preparation and planting

Growing spinach from seeds is a simple process. First you need to properly prepare the seeds.

Also plays an important role proper fit.

How to prepare seeds

Spinach seeds are covered with a hard shell. Because of this, it is difficult for sprouts to break through it.

To speed up the germination process, planting material must be soaked. They do it this way:

1. Pour into a plate, jar or other convenient container warm water.
2. The seeds are placed in water.
3. Withstand at least a day. It is best to soak for 2 days.

During this time, the water is periodically changed to clean. At this stage, the air temperature in the room is important.

It should be at least + 20-25ºС.

Such conditions will be ideal for accelerating the germination of planting material.

After the specified time, the seeds are taken out, dried.

Only after that they are sown.

Direct fit

If the spinach will be sown in rows on the beds, then the soil is first loosened. After that, grooves are made 2 cm deep. Watered with warm water.

Seeds are distributed in furrows.

note that the distance between rows is left at least 15 cm, and between plants - 7 cm.

Approximately 4-5 g of seeds will be required for each square meter of area.

Warm weather and humidity promote seed germination. If all the rules are followed, the first shoots of spinach will appear in about 10-14 days.

How to care for a plant after planting

With proper care, you can get fresh tender leaves in 2-3 weeks after planting.

Growing and caring for spinach in the open field should include watering, loosening, and weed removal.

It is also important to cover the plants from the scorching rays and, if necessary, fertilize.

A herbaceous plant grown on the site needs constant watering.

As for the frequency, the bushes are watered 2-3 times in 7 days.

This is, of course, an approximation, as weather conditions may vary.

In order not to flood the plant, it is important to reduce watering during rainy summers.

Excessive water content in the soil can lead to various diseases.

For 1 sq. m. approximately consume up to 10 liters of water. It is recommended not to use cold water.

top dressing

Understanding how to grow spinach in the country is not difficult. An unpretentious herbaceous plant gives a crop without the use of dressings.

In some cases, for example, when the weather conditions are too unfavorable, you need to help the spinach. Sometimes its rosettes develop slowly and poorly.

This means that the plant lacks nitrogen. You can correct the situation by feeding with nitrogen-containing additives.

Granules of nitrogen fertilizer close up in the soil. The embedment depth is 2-5 cm. After fertilizing, the rows must be watered.

Weeding and loosening

Like all plants, spinach requires care. Loosening the soil helps oxygen get to the roots. From this, it begins to develop rapidly.

Weeds inhibit the growth of spinach, especially on early dates its development. That is why you need to get rid of them in a timely manner.

Shelter in the heat

All varieties of greens need shelter. It is required in hot weather, when the hot, scorching sun appears.

To prevent the plant from getting burned, it must be covered with a special material. You can buy non-woven fabric in the store.

If shading is not applied, the leaves become rough and lose their taste.

Diseases and pests of spinach

Growing spinach in the country is also not complete without preventive measures that will help prevent the appearance of pests or the occurrence of diseases.

It must be constantly inspected for the appearance of diseases or pests.

Treatment with pesticides cannot be carried out, since the greens will continue to be used in the preparation of various dishes, canning.

That is why it is best to take care of the health of plants in advance.

Most often, gardeners are faced with the following diseases:

1. Fusarium - spinach shoots can die from this disease.

They become dull, turn yellow. The root system begins to hurt and dies. As a result of this disease, you can lose the plant.

More often than not, elevated soil temperatures contribute to the rapid spread of the disease.

1. Cucumber mosaic virus- can also harm spinach, like cucumbers. The plant becomes more susceptible to damage by other diseases.
2. Cercosporosis - on spinach in the garden, you can find yellowish spots of different diameters.

If you look at the center of the spots, you can see darkened spores. Over time, the spots begin to increase, occupy large areas.

1. Anthracnose - This disease can be identified by the gray spots that form on the leaves and petioles.

Pests that can threaten the harvest of juicy greens:

• slugs
• beet fly;
• cabbage owl.

If you constantly inspect plants, you can detect pests or diseases at an early stage. This will allow you to apply the measures necessary to cure the greens.

To do this, you can use tobacco, pepper, tomato spray solution.

If this still does not help get rid of the disease, the affected plants must be dug up and burned.

When to harvest and how to store

As a rule, you can collect greens if 8-10 leaves have formed on the plant.

But sometimes gardeners cut it even with 6 available sheets.

You need to cut them under the first sheet.

You can also dig or pull out the whole plant. The main thing is not to delay the harvest.

Late harvested leaves tougher, they are no longer so juicy and tasty.

note also that it is better to collect greens in the morning. It is not recommended to cut leaves after rain.

Harvested herbs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

If spinach is needed for consumption after a few days or weeks, it can be dried or frozen. Frozen greens retain all the nutrients.

Combination with other plants on the site

Spinach can be planted between rows. For this the best neighbors for him will be:

• potato;
• beans;
• eggplant;
• corn;
• cabbage.

Garden strawberries, onions or celery also grow well with spinach.

Useful greens can also be grown in separate beds.

Spinach is a wonderful plant that does not require much effort to grow.

It tolerates cold weather well, rarely gets sick.

Useful, iron-rich, herbaceous plant can increasingly be seen on garden plots. By planting it in the country, you can get fleshy juicy greens.

In addition, some gardeners dig up plants and transplant them into pots. Then they take it into the house and get the harvest right from the windowsill!

CherryLink plugin not found

Spinach is a herbaceous vegetable plant, popular and loved all over the world. The French, for example, consider this culture of ancient origin to be the king of vegetables. How to grow spinach in a country house of good quality - this question interests many summer residents.

The peculiarity of green culture

Spinach is a basal rosette of glossy leaves. This is a diverse plant. There are male and female representatives of the vegetable. In male specimens, small and few leaflets appear from the sinuses. They are removed during thinning. Large, juicy leaves for cutting give females, they are left in the beds. Female specimens form nut-seeds.
Spinach roots are weak, grow 20 cm deep, which complicates the process of growing and care.
Another culture is called a plant of a long day. When the day increases, flower stalks appear, the leaves lose their juiciness, which is associated with an increase in the level of oxalic acid.

Qualitative characteristics of vegetable crops

Spinach has excellent qualities for growing in the garden, including:

• The plant is not afraid of cold weather. Seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 4 degrees, the shoots that have appeared are able to withstand short-term spring frosts.
• Early maturity and high yield. The vegetation period of the plant lasts 1 month. You can plant it in your summer cottage during the season several times every 2 weeks. But the best time to harvest is spring. The leaves are more juicy and fleshy in spring.

Varietal diversity of culture

Before you start growing spinach from seeds, you need to choose the right plant variety.
When choosing a variety, pay attention to the ripening time of the crop, which is indicated on the label of the bag with seeds. Picking up the seeds different types, you will be able to organize a conveyor collection at your site.

All varieties and hybrids are divided into early, medium ripening and late.

• early varieties. 15 days after germination, you can already cut the leaves. If you sow late, the culture will shoot early. The early ripe ones include Matador, Gigantic, Khorovod.
  Please note that each of them has additional qualities:
  • The matador is resistant to low temperature and color. By the way, this is one of the most high-yielding and popular varieties. You can learn more about it on the Internet pages, as well as order seeds. You will need to enter in the search "spinach matador growing from seeds"
  • Gigantic can be grown both in open ground and in protected. It does not throw arrows for a long time, it is resistant to the accumulation of nitrates.
  • Khorovod has a high content of vitamins.
• Medium varieties - such as Rembrandt, Emerald F1 - ripen 20 days after germination.
• Late ripe. Ready for harvest in 25 days. Victoria, Varyag, Ladya. They are resistant to shooting, they can be sown in the summer.
• For growing at home on the windowsill, take late-ripening varieties such as Victoria, Virtuoso or Melody, Prima hybrids.

It should be added that the constant breeding work over the breeding of new varieties of spinach, low-shooting early, resistant to powdery mildew, giving a large mass of greenery, does not stop. New items appear every year.
Undoubtedly, the early-ripening variety of strawberry spinach and its cultivation from seeds will arouse the interest of summer residents. It gives, in addition to juicy leaves, fruits that have a strawberry flavor. The fruits are suitable for both food and processing.
Spinach Strawberry - annual plant up to 50 cm high. Fruit ovaries appear in the axils of the plant. On the fourth day after the formation of the ovaries, the fruits ripen and are ready to eat. Moreover, growing strawberry spinach is not particularly difficult.

Selecting a landing site

The quality cultivation of spinach in the open field largely depends on right choice places for planting crops. Consider the recommendations of experts:

• Loamy and sandy soils are best suited. If you have clayey, heavy soils, you should think carefully before planting a crop: you will have to spend a lot of time and effort on planting and care, and the result will be unsatisfactory. The acidity of the soil should be neutral.
• Greenery grows well in well-lit, open and elevated areas. In regions with too hot summers, you can choose partial shade for planting.
• It is advisable to plant the plant in places protected from the cold north or east wind, as the culture does not like drafts.
• Consider crop rotation rules when choosing a site: potatoes, radishes, legumes, cucumbers, zucchini, and tomatoes are considered the best predecessors of spinach.
• You should not plant a crop for more than 3 years in one place.
• Flowers will be bad neighbors for the plant, green crops will be good.

Features of soil preparation for sowing greens

Spinach loves loose and nutritious soils, saturated with organic and mineral fertilizers, moisture and breathable, well-drained. Start preparing a garden bed for greens should be in the fall. Follow this sequence:

1. Dig over the intended area.
2. Apply organic matter (up to 8 kilograms per square meter), complex mineral fertilizer or superphosphate according to the instructions.
3. Before the snow melts, add urea.
4. Cultivate the soil in early spring.
5. Add a bucket of humus per square meter of soil (if it didn’t work out in the fall) and a glass of ash.

Keep in mind that nitrates accumulate quickly in the leaves of the plant, so nitrogen fertilizers are not recommended in spring and, in general, nitrogen fertilizers should be applied carefully.

Culture methods

Spinach seeds can be sown both in open ground and for seedlings in protected ground.
The method of growing through seedlings is not particularly popular. The roots of seedlings of green culture are weak, when transplanted to a garden bed, they are injured, they do not take root well. It is optimally applied to heat-loving varieties of spinach (Matador, New Zealand).

Seed preparation

Spinach seeds have a dense shell. If you plant them dry, then seedlings will have to wait a long time.
To accelerate the emergence of seedlings, as well as to disinfect the seed, it is necessary to perform a set of measures:

• Sort through the material, discard small, dry nuts.
• During the day, they should be soaked in water at room temperature, changing it from time to time.
• Then, if necessary (if the material is your own, and was not purchased at a specialized store), the seeds are disinfected in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate.
• Dry slightly seed material, prepare for planting.

Some plant varieties (Victoria, Corenta) have very poor germination, the soaking time for them is extended to two days, and biostimulants are added to the water.

How to sow a crop?

You can sow spinach in open ground in August, early in spring, in April, before winter. At a temperature of 5 degrees, landing can begin. When sowing, follow the instructions:

1. Make tape-type grooves in 2-5 lines. The distance between the lines is 20 cm, the row spacing is 40-50 cm. The depth of seeding on loamy soils is 2-2.5 cm, sandy loam soils - up to 4 cm. Between seeds in a row 5-8 cm. Count on 1 square meter of the site to sow 3 g seeds.
2. Slightly press the crops, pour water.
3. It is advisable to cover the bed with a film to protect against possible night frosts and accelerate the emergence of seedlings.
4. In a week and a half after sowing, shoots will appear.

The specifics of growing greenery in a greenhouse and at home

Spinach can also be grown in protected conditions - on a balcony, in a loggia, on a windowsill, in a greenhouse.
Growing spinach in a greenhouse can be started in autumn and continued until summer, sowing the seeds several times. Pay attention to the details:

• In practice, greens are grown as a compactor between rows. vegetable crops(cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers).
• In protected ground (in a greenhouse), lines on the beds are made every 10 cm, while the seeds are respectively consumed twice as much per square meter - 6g.

For home planting, you can take an ordinary flower pot (at least 1 liter of volume) or Plastic container. Be sure to make holes in the bottom to drain excess moisture and breathe the roots, put drainage.
The containers are filled with prepared soil by 10-15 cm.
The composition of the soil mixture:

• Humus-2 parts;
• Sod land - 2 parts;
• River clean and sifted sand - 1 part.

Another soil option is possible:

• Biohumus - 1 part;
• Coconut fiber - 2 parts.

Sowing is done starting from the third decade of January (due to lighting).
After sowing, in a month you will be able to harvest the first crop.
Growing and caring for spinach in the greenhouse and at home is the same as in the open field.
It is important to create an appropriate temperature of 15-18 degrees and sufficient lighting. The quality of planted spinach at temperatures above 20 degrees deteriorates: bolting begins, flowering, leaves become rough.

Green crop care technology

Seedling care consists of watering, mulching, weeding, loosening, thinning, protection from pests.

1. Plants love watering. Only when good watering you will get fleshy, large leaves. In the absence of rain, it is necessary to water, spending a bucket of water per square meter.
   In dry, hot weather, it is recommended to water up to 3 times a week.
2. Growing and caring for spinach in the open field or in a greenhouse does not allow waterlogging: the culture can be affected by root rot.
3. Mulching is done with grass, straw to retain moisture in the soil.
4. Weeding is carried out for the first time after the growth of the first true leaf. The beds should be freed from weeds regularly, not only in order to improve the life of the plant, but also to protect against caterpillars and aphids.
5. Loosening is performed shallow, to eliminate the crust and access oxygen to the roots.
6. Thinning is carried out simultaneously with the first weeding - in the phase of the appearance of the first leaf. A distance of 10 cm is left between individual sprouts. With a denser planting, there is a risk of developing root rot or powdery mildew.
7. Disease control. The most common green disease is root rot. Upon detection, the diseased plant should be uprooted, and the planting should be treated with 1% Bordeaux mixture. From pests, crops are treated with infusion of tobacco dust or ready-made biological products.

Harvesting vegetable plant

It is recommended to harvest spinach in the morning, before cooking. large leaves collected from young plants that do not have flower stalks. Pay attention to the specifics of the collection:

• The leaves are broken off one by one.
• Rosettes are cut under the first leaf so that less dirt gets on the greens, and so that the planted plant can continue to grow further.
• The cut is made when the leaves reach a length of 18 cm.
• The number of leaves on a mature and ready-to-cut plant should be at least 6.
• Harvesting in the garden should be done regularly, as spinach quickly overripes.
• When arrows of flower stalks begin to appear, the plant is removed from the garden.
• The seeds of the plant ripen after 3 months. In the ripening phase, it is necessary to cut off the browned inflorescences, put in a shaded place for ripening.
• The germination of seeds that have been properly stored in a dry and cool place lasts 4 years.

For your information, seeds are collected only if one variety grows on the site, since spinach is a wind-pollinated crop. It is enough to leave 2 female plants on the beds with a distance of 20 cm between them to get a good seed crop.
A low-calorie, vitamin-packed food like spinach is ideal for diet food. The use of spinach improves immunity, relieves overwork, is recommended for diabetes, childhood rickets (high content of vitamin D).

–garden crop containing many easily digestible vitamins, organic and fatty acids, micro and macro elements necessary for a healthy diet. These greens are useful and desirable on every table. Regular consumption of spinach is an excellent prevention of diseases of the digestive, nervous, cardiac systems, metabolic disorders, improves immunity well.

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 the open field can be started from the beginning or middle of April, focusing on the settled weather. Spinach is cold hardy, the air temperature of +4-5 °С is quite suitable for sowing, and its seedlings can withstand frosts down to -5-6 °С.

How to Get an Early Spinach Harvest

Spring planting of spinach gives more late harvest- around the middle of 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.

Planting spinach before winter, they get the first greens already in April. With this method, during the time from sowing to the first shoots - in 14-16 days, spinach takes root and overwinters well. And with warming in March, it quickly goes up.

Important!After collecting early harvest after 45-50 days, you can collect the greens from the bushes again for the second time, and the plants are completely removed.

Soil requirements for spinach

Neutral, loamy and sandy loamy soils rich in organic matter are best suited for growing spinach. In addition, the soil for spinach should not be overly acidic - pH no higher than 7.

Potatoes, cucumbers, legumes, white cabbage, tomatoes will be good predecessors for this plant.

Did you know?Food processing of spinach - cooking, frying, stewing, canning, freezing - slightly change its composition, it retains its useful biologically active elements.

Soil preparation for planting

The soil for spinach is prepared in the fall - they fertilize and dig up. Digging depth - 25 cm. It is recommended to fertilize spinach with potassium-phosphorus preparations, humus, compost. Approximate number of components per 1 sq. m - 5 g of phosphorus, 8 g of nitrogen, 10 g of potassium, 5.5-6 kg of 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 seeds directly into the ground without sprouting seedlings is used quite often. To do this, before sowing, the seeds are soaked for 20-24 hours. When soaking, the pericarp (shell) of the seed serves as a guideline: if it softens from water, then the seeds are ready for planting.

Before sowing, the seeds are slightly dried - spread on a dry towel so that excess moisture is absorbed and the seeds do not crumple. Sow the seeds in moist soil, manganese (potassium permanganate) can be added to the water for irrigation to make a weak disinfectant solution. The embedment depth is 2-2.5 cm, the distance between the beds, if there are several of them parallel, is 20-25 cm.

Important!Spinach is contraindicated in diseases of the duodenum, kidneys, liver, gallbladder. It is introduced with caution into baby food. This is due to the high content of oxalic acid in the vegetable.

Spinach care

Spinach is photophilous, but also grows well in partial shade, that is, it can be planted as 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 in timely watering, loosening the soil, thinning, weeding.

Water it moderately until sprouts germinate - from a watering can with a sprayer, when it takes root - watering is sufficient, but moderate. Seedlings are thinned out when the second leaf appears, leaving a distance between them of 15-20 cm. Loosening is done each time as the soil dries up. How to water spinach in a dry summer?

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 powdery mildew and other spinach diseases. During prolonged rainy weather, it is better to stretch the film on 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, so spinach is not fertilized during the growing season.

Harvest

Spinach can be harvested when the plant has six leaves, usually when it has 8-10 leaves. Cut off the stem under the first leaf. The roots of spring planting spinach are dug up. You can immediately pull out the whole plant instead of cutting. It is impossible to delay the collection of greens - the leaves outgrow, become rough, 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.