How to grow spinach
Hi all,
Thinking of doing spinach again, but really not sure what I'm doing with it. Last year I planted some in autumn, and it duly survived the winter, but then didn't do much for a long time. Finally it grew, but it got very tall, and spindly, whereas I was expecting something more like a lettuce. I cut the leaves and they were fine - it didn't actually flower till a bit later on.
So, really, I want to get the answers to some beginner questions here:
-Should I be sowing in autumn for a spring crop, or is that a misunderstanding on my part?
-Could I even sow now for a late autumn crop?
-Is it supposed to grow tall, or stay like a lettuce?
-Should I harvest the whole plant and re-sow, or treat it in a cut-and-come-again fashion?
I can't seem to get a clear answer to these things from looking in my books or on the web. I think it's the sort of thing that's just obvious to anyone who's seen it done properly, but I'm not one of them!
Thanks a lot in advance!
Owen.
Posts
I'm not going to be much help here Owen, because I have no luck with spinach at all. It just bolts with me. Perhaps that's been down to the weather as it's been very hot and dry the last two summers, but I also expected it to grow like lettuce, so that I could harvest as a cut and come again crop which I do with several types of lettuce already.
I'm sure someone else who grows it successfully will be able to help you - and me!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you Fairygirl! Always good to know that there are fellow sufferers out there.
O
Anyone want to put us out of our misery?
ommthree, sorry but I have never grown spinach in the winter, just baby spinach through the summer. I grew it in partial shade in a piece of old guttering attached to a fence and it did great. Just used it as cut and come again.
I am sure winter spinach is not meant to go tall and spindly, so my gut instinct would be to start again. What type of spinach is it you are sowing?
Thanks for the reply MrsT.
Last year I grew a variety called "Erste Ernte". I have still got some seeds of that sort, and some Monnopa. I haven't sown any yet. I might just wait till spring.
By the way, when you say you grew "baby spinach", I thought that meant you'd harvest the whole plant?
Anyone else have any thoughts?
Hi ommthree, I just cut off what I want off several plants to 'cut and come again', rather than harvesting one plant at a time. Keeps the plants going longer and I get tastier, smaller leaves. I grew Spinach Fiorano F1.
Thanks for the info Mrs T. I'll give it a go in the spring and see whether I get a bit more luck this time. I suppose you just pull the leaves off? No need to cut the stem or pinch it back?
I use a small pair of scissors to nip out the leaves I want to eat so as not to damage the plant. No need to do anything at all to the plant other than pick/snip off what you want to eat. The new leaves grow through quite quickly.
Winter Giant for the Winter. Spinach does seem to need watering a lot to avoid bolting. I got some seedlings that I think were called Picasso last year; best spinach ever, for early summer planting. All the best spinach I have grown has been sown in March/April/May, perhaps because the temperature/moisture is best then.
Very helpful thank you!