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Seasons
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Spinach, rich in Vitamin A and
minerals, is a delicious leafy addition to a fresh garden
salad. It is also good cooked--and that is a matter of opinion!!!
Spinach is 96% water, shallow-rooted and needs ample water to
grow. It does well in block planting.
| Spinach |
Lettuce |
Radishes |
Beets |
Spinach seed is considered to be a "hard seed" meaning it
needs to go through a freeze to germinate properly. This is one
reason it seems to do better when planted in the fall. Freezing
your seed several hours before planting will do the same thing and you
will find you have a much better germination rate.
Spinach needs to be planted early in the spring as it will bolt
as soon as warm weather arrives and the days are 14-16 hours
long.. It also does well planted in the fall. If you plant a
patch late in the fall, it will winter over and produce an extra early
crop in the spring if it is not too harsh of a winter.
Spinach likes a fertile, well-drained soil rich in nitrogen to
produce large, healthy, delicious leaves. I till the soil,
sprinkle the seeds over the block area and stir with my rake.
One interesting note: Did you know that spinach can
actually be fatal if eaten in too large a quantity? But it
would take a dump truck load to produce that effect!!! So don't
worry, you won't drop dead!!!
Check out this link on North Carolina State- Home
Garden Spinach |
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Harvest:
The leaves can be harvested as soon as they are big enough to eat.
Varieties:
*Bloomsdale
Few leafy greens top spinach for ease-of-growth,
productiveness, and nutrition. This variety produces crinkled,
thick-textured leaves, and is slow to bolt to seed. It grows quickly,
thrives in cool weather, and produces generous harvests of tasty, tender
leaves. Use fresh in salads, or cooked, in souffles and stuffings. 45-55
days to maturity
Tyee Hybrid
This fast growing variety produces thick, oversized
leaves with a superb flavor. Plants resist tipburn and downy mildew. It
grows quickly, thrives in cool weather, and produces generous harvests
of tasty, tender leaves. Use fresh in salads, or cooked, in souffles and
stuffings. 43 days to maturity.
Early Hybrid #7
Hybrid vigor. Grows faster than others, maturing in 40 days.
Good dark green color and thick leaf. Bolts quickly in warm
weather.
New Zealand
This variety produces crinkled, thick-textured leaves,
and is slow to bolt to seed. It grows quickly, thrives in cool weather,
and produces generous harvests of tasty, tender leaves. Use fresh in
salads, or cooked, in souffles and stuffings. 45-55 days to maturity.
*My favorite variety |
®
Hertzler
Farm
and Feed Inc.