Spinach is incredibly healthy, but not everyone knows how to grow it correctly in order to diversify the diet with this dietary product in the summer. What tips should be considered to avoid shooting? And what fertilizers are acceptable for this plant? Spinach is considered a cold-resistant crop, because of this, the cultivation technology is not difficult. Its seeds are capable of germinating at t 4 ° C, and the seedlings can withstand frosts up to t 6 ° C. For the growth and development of spinach, the temperature should be approximately 15 ° C. It is not for nothing that this plant belongs to early ripening, since it is suitable for use already 45 days soon after the appearance of the first shoots. "Loves" moisture and requires fertilization. With insufficient watering, leaf rosettes cease to fully develop, which leads to leaf hardness and premature shooting of plants.
In our gardens and summer cottages, spinach is preferred to grow in small quantities, despite the fact that the dietary value of this crop could cause a wider spread. After all, spinach is loaded with iron, protein, calcium, phosphorus and various vitamins! Therefore, it is useful to eat young leaves on which stems have not yet formed.
Read about the health benefits of spinach
Spinach varieties
- Variety "Victoria" refers to late-ripening, slowly shooting. The leaves of this plant are usually round-oval or simply round, strongly bubbling and dark green.
- Late-ripening also includes the "Fat-leaved" variety with medium-sized leaves.
- The mid-compact "Giant" is considered to be early ripe. Differs in large semi-raised leaves of light green color.
The soil
Spinach should be grown in fertile soils previously saturated with organic matter. The highest yield can be obtained on loamy soils. With increased acidity of the earth, it should be preliminarily subjected to liming. Vegetables grown on organic fertilizers are considered the best harbingers of spinach.
Soil preparation and fertilization
Even in the fall, the site should be dug up and mineral fertilizers applied: 15 g of potassium chloride and 30 g of superphosphate per square meter. During this period, liming is desirable. Immediately after warming up the soil, in early spring urea (20 g) is added to it. To avoid a negative effect on the taste of the leaves, organic fertilizers such as slurry, manure, etc. should not be applied under the spinach crop.
Sowing by seeds
For even production throughout the spring and summer period, spinach must be sown several times. The first sowing starts from April 20th to May 15th and ends at the end of June. To get a harvest earlier, it is permissible to sow spinach for the winter in the 2-3rd decade of October.
To accelerate the appearance of the first shoots, it is better to soak the seeds of the plant in warm water and keep it there for two days. As soon as they swell, they are slightly dried before sowing to avoid sticking. Spinach is usually sown on ridges with a row spacing of 30 cm. The seeding rate is considered to be 5 g per square meter.
Spinach care
It consists in regularly loosening the soil, weeding, watering and feeding. Thickened places are thinned out immediately after germination so that the plants remain at a distance of up to ten centimeters from each other. In hot and dry weather, to prevent the plant from stemming, it must be watered abundantly. If necessary, watering is combined with nitrogen fertilizers (urea in the amount of 15 g per square meter). Unlike most crops, spinach cannot be fed with phosphate or potassium fertilizers, as they accelerate its shooting.
Harvesting
In time, it begins approximately from the moment five to six young leaves appear on the plant. It is impossible to be late with harvesting, because this leads to coarsening of overgrown leaves that are not suitable for food. Plants are cut after they dry out after rain or dew. The spinach is harvested several times as it grows and new leaves appear. The approximate yield of the plant is one and a half to two kilograms per 1 square meter.
Video about growing lettuce, basil and spinach:
Spinach in the video starts at 21:05.
