Features of growing and caring for spinach. Growing spinach in the country: a useful product for your own consumption When to sow spinach

Spinach is a vegetable crop that contains a lot of useful vitamins in the leaves that are indispensable for the functioning of the human body. Therefore, gardeners who decided to switch to healthy eating, sooner or later wonder how to plant a plant. In order for the planting of spinach to be successful, and the garden bed will soon become covered with juicy rosettes, you need to know everything about the specifics of growing a vegetable in the garden.

Features of growing spinach

Planting a plant is better in early spring or towards autumn, since at this time the temperature is kept within + 20- + 25 C. Spinach is sown closer to summer, however, in order for the bushes to grow quickly, the plantings have to be carefully looked after: often watering and shading from the burning sun. If you do not provide greenery comfortable conditions, the plant will start to stem. In the case when the desire to constantly have fresh herbs on the table overpowers the difficulties, spinach is planted every 15-20 days.

Note! Unlike most garden crops, spinach cannot be fertilized with fresh organic matter during its growth. Such dressings impair the taste of the greens and, at a high dosage, can burn the roots of the bush.

When to plant spinach outdoors: planting timing

Since spinach is a cold hardy plant, spring planting in open ground produced immediately after the ground thaws. As for the temperature, the sowing of spinach begins when it has warmed up to + 4-5 C. Depending on the climatic conditions of the region, as a rule, the crop is sown in the calendar period from March to June.

To harvest useful leaves in the fall, seeds are sown in mid-August.

In the fall before winter, spinach is planted on the site in September and October. The plant will release small leaves, overwinter safely, and in the spring, 2 weeks after the snow melts, the leaves are ready for use.

By lunar calendar in 2018 auspicious days for planting spinach in open ground are:

in March - from 8 to 11, 20 and 24;
in April - from 7 to 11, 22, 23, 25, 26;
in May - from 8 to 11, from 20 to 25;
in June - from 5 to 9, from 19 to 25.

Unfavorable:

in March - from 1 to 3, 16 and 30;
in April - from 15th to 17th, 29th and 30th;
in May - from 14 to 16, from 28 to 30;
in June - from 12 to 14, from 28 to 30.

How to plant spinach outdoors: preparation and planting

The desire to acquire spinach in the garden can simply disappear after several unsuccessful plantings. To prevent this from happening, you need to know all the requirements for growing this vegetable crop.

How to choose a seat for landing

It is better to plant spinach in lighted areas where water does not stagnate. To harvest as early as possible, the plant is placed on southern slopes that are protected from cold winds.

If, apart from the lowland, there is nowhere to plant bushes, the culture is sown on ridges, which are fenced with boards of hard rock. Due to the fact that root system the plants are short, the mound may be small.

Since spinach is compatible with most garden crops, there is practically no need to consider when choosing predecessors and neighbors. The only thing worth paying attention to is how the previous crop was fertilized - the more top dressing was added last year, the better for spinach. These rules apply to all cultivated plants, except for beets, as plants are susceptible to the same diseases and pests.

What soil is needed and how to prepare it

Spinach loves to grow on nutritious loose soil. Thus, the best soils for planting a plant, the seeds are sandy loam and loamy soil, the acidity of which is 6.5-7 units. If the environment at the site is acidic, dolomite flour or organic matter is added to the soil. It is impossible to lime the soil, since the plant does not grow well after that. To improve the structure of heavy clay soils, rotted manure is preliminarily introduced.

In the case when the soil meets the requirements, they begin to prepare the site for planting. In autumn, they bring into the soil mineral fertilizers high in potassium and phosphorus. If desired, half the dose of nitrogen is added, and the rest is embedded in the soil in spring. Instead of purchased mixtures, the soil can be filled with compost or rotted manure. Organic consumption per 1 sq.m. beds - 6-7 kg.

If the soil on the plot is poor, then immediately before sowing 1 sq.m. 5 g of phosphorus, 7-9 g of nitrogen, 10-12 g of potassium are added to the area.

Important! Spinach leaves have the ability to accumulate nitrates, so an excessive amount of nitrogen must not be added to the crop.

How to prepare seeds

To speed up the emergence of seedlings, planting material soaked in warm water. If the seeds of many crops are soaked for several hours, then the spinach seeds are kept in water for 24-48 hours. This feature is due to the fact that the planting material is covered with a hard shell, through which moisture is difficult to absorb. The germination container is placed in a warm place and the water is periodically changed. At the end of the term, the spinach seeds taken out of the water are slightly dried and sown in open ground.

Direct landing

The first thing to do before planting spinach seeds in open ground is to loosen the soil with a rake and then level it. If the landing will be carried out on the ridges, an embankment is created at the chosen place and fenced off with scrap materials. On a prepared bed, rows of 2 cm long are made with a wooden plank. The optimal distance between rows is 15-20 cm, and between plants - 7-10 cm. Seed consumption for sowing is 1 sq.m. area - 4-5 g.

If you plant the bushes too densely, the plants will develop more slowly. To be sure that there are enough plants on the garden bed, and the place will not be empty, you can reduce the step between the bushes in the rows. However, if the seed germination is 100%, the plantings will have to be thinned out. The soil in the depression is watered with warm water, the seeds are laid out. Then the crops are carefully covered with a rake, at the same time slightly crushing the soil.

To reduce the evaporation of moisture and slow down the growth of weeds, the bed is mulched with hay, dry leaves, and chopped straw. If the planting is done correctly, and the weather is favorable, the first shoots will appear after 2 weeks.

Video: how to sow spinach correctly - timing

How to care for spinach after planting

For plants to produce a good harvest, they need to provide comfortable conditions for growth. So what does spinach care after planting consist of?

Watering

The soil on which the greenery grows should be constantly moist, but in no case swampy. Due to the constant overflow, the plants grow poorly and after a while are affected by root rot.

It is especially important to water the spinach during a hot season, as stemming begins due to insufficient moisture. Water the bushes 2-3 times a week. Water consumption per 1 sq. m beds - 3 liters.

Top dressing

Leaves of plants that are in short supply chemical elements, gradually turn into a different color or die off.

The fertilizers chosen for feeding spinach must be applied strictly in the dose recommended by the manufacturer, otherwise the excess of nutrients will provoke premature shooting.

Important! It is impossible to feed greens with fresh organic matter during growth, as it distorts the taste of the leaves.

Weeding and loosening

To grow even the most unpretentious crop, you need to pull out weeds as needed. As you know, these plants suck out a lot of nutrients from the soil and compact the soil, which has a bad effect on the state of the culture, and, accordingly, the yield. In the case when the distance between shoots is much less than 7-10 cm, the extra bushes are removed. To reduce stress on the surrounding bushes, water the garden bed sparingly after thinning.

The first time the soil is loosened when the seedlings are 2-3 days old. To do this, using a rake, they gently destroy the formed crust, thereby improving the aeration of the soil. In the future, loosening is carried out after each watering or rain.

Shelter in the heat

Since spinach is not well tolerated summer heat, in July, when the air temperature often exceeds +26 C, the plantings need to be shaded. To cool the soil and bushes from overheating, a small tent is installed over the spinach plantation or the garden bed is covered with a special shading net.

Important! It is impossible to grow juicy leaves without abundant watering and building a shelter. Under the influence of high temperature and lack of water, the leaves become hard and tasteless.

Spinach pests and diseases

Delicate leaves are liked by aphids, miner flies and naked slugs. Do not mind eating greens and snails. Spinach growing in a thickened state suffers from downy mildew. Bushes become infected with spotting and root rot.

Since processing greens chemical preparations it is impossible, it is better to try to prevent the appearance of pathogenic microorganisms. To protect the planting from damage, you need to properly care for them: water, loosen, weed. In order to prevent powdery mildew, the bushes are planted at a sufficient distance. Also for planting it is recommended to choose spinach varieties with high immunity to all kinds of diseases.

When to harvest and how to store

To make spinach leaves tender and tasty, they need to be picked in time. If the recommended dates are exceeded, the leaves will become tough and lose their original taste. Harvesting spinach from the bushes planted in spring begins 8-10 weeks after the seedlings emerge. Spinach planted in summer is cut 2 weeks later. Regarding the time of day, then cut off the sockets better in the morning after they dry out from watering.

It is possible to determine whether spinach is ready for harvesting by the type of bush - you can harvest greens immediately after the formation of 5-6 leaves on the plant, which appear 30-40 days after the seedlings appear.

Spinach is harvested by cutting off individual leaves or a whole rosette. Also, the plant is uprooted. Before putting the plucked plants into containers, wash the rhizome, being careful not to splash the leaves. Then the washed part is blotted paper towel and put in the box with the root down.

Important! You cannot harvest spinach immediately after watering or rain: wet leaves rot shortly after cutting.

For storage, spinach is placed in the upper compartment of the refrigerator. Since fresh leaves are stored on average for 1-2 weeks, they are dried, frozen or canned for the winter.

If you carefully understand the agrotechnical requirements, planting spinach will not cause difficulties even for an amateur gardener. All that an unpretentious culture needs for normal growth is a sufficient amount of moisture and fertile soil.

Video: all about growing spinach in open ground in the country

Thanks to the young leaves, rich in vitamins and minerals, the popularity of spinach has long and steadily been growing all over the world. It is difficult to find an equally useful and unpretentious plant like spinach, cultivation and care in the open field for which even novice summer residents can handle it.

Spinach is early maturing vegetable crops... From the moment of sowing to the collection of the first batch of leaves, it takes 30-40 days. At the same time, the plant tolerates cold well, does not require painstaking care. It is not surprising that during the warm period in most regions of the country you can get not one, but several crops. Both summer residents and large crop farms use this property of the plant.

However, mastering the cultivation of spinach in the open field, you need to know that this is a short day plant. When the duration of daylight hours exceeds 14 hours, spinach stops growing leaves, and forms a peduncle. Such plants are no longer used for food.

In order to pamper yourself and loved ones with healthy and tasty greens for as long as possible, you need to choose varieties that are most resistant to flowering and plant spinach in early spring, as well as from the second half of July to get an autumn harvest.

Planting and caring for spinach outdoors in spring

You can grow spinach through home-grown seedlings or by sowing seeds directly into the ground. The second method is used more often, and due to the cold resistance of the plant, the first spinach seeds fall into the soil as soon as it thaws well.

IN middle lane this happens in mid-April. If the spring weather does not spoil the warmth, crops can be covered with non-woven fabric, under which the sprouts can withstand frosts down to –8 ° C.

To facilitate pecking and protect against infections, spinach seeds are kept in a warm pink solution of potassium permanganate for 12 to 18 hours before sowing, and then dried until they become free-flowing as before.

Spinach is sown to a depth of 1.5 to 3 cm. So that the seeds after irrigation do not turn out to be much deeper, after planting the soil is rolled in the beds. Leave at least 30 cm between individual rows, and 5–8 cm between the seeds. This will allow the plant to form a lush rosette and simplify the care of spinach when grown in the open field.

If the first sowing is in April, then the last summer is carried out at the end of June. Conveyor planting with an interval of 3-4 weeks will help you not lack fresh greens. From the last decade of July, crops are resumed and carried out until mid-August, and in the southern regions even until mid-September. Smooth lines of greenery in the beds appear 10-14 days after sowing.

Taking advantage of the frost resistance of seeds and early ripening of spinach, it is planted before winter. The seeds are buried in the ground in October, and in the spring, immediately after the snow melts in the beds, the shoots of this useful and unpretentious plant will appear friendly.

The success of spinach cultivation depends a lot on the right site and soil preparation. The plant prefers open, well-lit beds with aerated, slightly acidic soil that contains many nutrients.

Autumn processing of ridges will help increase the return on planting in the open field and caring for spinach in spring:

they are dug deeply;
add, if necessary for deoxidation, dolomite flour;
the soil is mixed with fertilizers at the rate of 15 grams of potassium salts and 30 grams of superphosphate per square meter;
when digging, add humus or manure.

In spring, on poor soils, the beds are additionally fertilized with nitrogen, adding 20 grams of urea per meter. Dense soil is mixed with sand and peat. This will make it easier to care for your spinach outdoors when grown outdoors.

Outdoor Spinach Care

Caring for spinach is not too burdensome and consists of regular watering, weeding and loosening the soil in the aisles. While the plants are small, it is important to avoid the formation of a dense crust that interferes with the formation of rosettes and the penetration of moisture.

At the stage of 2-3 leaves, the plants are thinned out. If the seedlings are carefully removed, they can be transplanted by filling in the gaps elsewhere in the garden.

Watering the spinach should be abundant and frequent. In order not to harm the plantings, sprinklers are used. At the same time, up to 10 liters of water is consumed per square meter, which allows you to carefully and deeply saturate the soil with moisture.

Whatever the spinach variety, when grown outdoors, planting care necessarily includes protecting the plants from the scorching rays of the sun. When the air temperature rises above 26 ° C, the beds are hidden under non-woven fabric or use other shading methods. If this measure is neglected, the risk of peduncles appears, the leaves lose their juiciness and coarse.

With proper preparation of the beds and sufficient nutrition, spinach grows quickly and after 2-3 weeks gives the first greener leaves to the table. If growth is inhibited, the leaf plates are small, the rosette is poorly formed, it is obvious that the plants need to be fed with nitrogen fertilizer. The granules must be sealed 2–5 cm deep into the soil, and then the beds are watered.

Unlike vegetables and berry crops, growing greenery is not a troublesome and pleasant experience at all. And if you know how to plant spinach correctly, you can harvest it practically all year round.

Requirements for growing conditions

Spinach is a cold-resistant crop and even recovers after a slight frost, so it can be grown not only in summer. Still spinach is a rather early ripening greenery and appears one of the first on our table in May, and if it is planted with seedlings, then even earlier. Plus, spinach grows well alongside most garden plantings, which means there is a place for him on any site.

Spinach is a cold-resistant crop and even recovers from light frosts

A small overview of popular varieties:

Virofle is early maturing, it takes up to 20 days from germination to harvest. Bushes grow up to 30 cm in diameter, tender, greenish yellow color... Disadvantage - quickly kicks out the arrow.
Godry - the crop can be harvested in 18 days and within a month. Suitable for cultivation in greenhouses and for outdoor use. Rosettes about 25 cm.
Strong - mid-season, ripening period is from 25 to 30 days. A large harvest can be expected with regular watering, flower steles are released late.
Giant is an early and very productive variety. Two weeks after sprouting, the first greens can be harvested, and this despite the fact that the rosettes of such spinach can grow from 15 to 50 cm. Ideal for thermal processing and canning.
Matador is perhaps the most common spinach variety, thanks to its early ripening and abundant fat-leaved greens with excellent taste. It is planted both through seedlings and in open ground from spring to late autumn. Blooms late.

Spinach is best sowed in sunny areas. Any soil is suitable, the only exception is clayey and with an increased level of acidity. Regarding humidity, regular watering is necessary, it is on this that the yield of spinach beds often depends.

Now, having decided on the basic growing conditions, it is worth considering several methods: planting seedlings, sowing in open ground in early spring or before winter.

Video about properties and cultivation

Through seedlings

Early greens will be provided by a seedling method of growing. To do this, in late March-early April, spinach seeds are sown in boxes, plastic or paper cups filled with prepared soil. The seeds are not deeply buried; it is enough to cover them with 1 cm of moist earth and compact it a little so that the emerging roots can more easily become entrenched in the ground. After that, it is recommended to cover the containers with a transparent film or a piece of glass and put them in a warm place (for example, on a radiator) so that the “greenhouse” climate accelerates germination of seedlings.

Early greens will be provided by the seedling method of growing

After the appearance of the first shoots, the shelter is removed, and the seedlings are rearranged to the southern or southeastern window sill, providing maximum illumination. Given the cold tolerance of spinach, it can be grown on a loggia, balcony or veranda, which is especially convenient if all the windows are already occupied by growing peppers, tomatoes and eggplants. Just remember to water the crops regularly.

Seedlings are planted in open ground when the soil warms up a little and the sun begins to warm up. After transplanting and watering, you can put arcs on top and cover the bed with non-woven agrofibre in order to protect the transplanted plants from intense sunlight at first and somehow "smooth out" night and day changes in air temperature.

Sowing in open ground or in a greenhouse

Sowing spinach seeds in greenhouses is considered the best option for getting early greens. The sowing time depends on several indicators, including:

On the climatic features of your region, including the spring weather of the current year.
From the quality and arrangement of the greenhouse. Obviously, vegetables can be grown in heated greenhouses with artificial lighting at least all year round. On spring sunny days in glass greenhouses, the air warms up faster and keeps the temperature longer at night. They are practically not inferior to them in these indicators and modern designs made of polycarbonate. And here a budget option film shelter will not keep warm well, especially if there are frequent frosts at night. In an effort to somewhat improve such designs, some gardeners use the densest film, and the roof of the greenhouse is covered with two layers, thus creating air gap for better heat retention.
From varietal characteristics of seeds.

On sunny spring days in glass greenhouses, the air warms up faster and keeps the temperature longer at night

Usually, work in greenhouses begins if the air in it is warm enough during the daytime. For spinach germination, such conditions are quite suitable. In addition, it is recommended to water generously before sowing the hole hot water, wait until it is completely absorbed, sow seeds and cover with 1.5-2 cm of soil. From above, the rows are covered with a piece of agrofibre, which will help to maintain both heat and the required level of humidity. After the first shoots appear, the shelter is removed. Work in the open field is carried out in a similar way.

In early spring, spinach seeds are sown in the garden, simultaneously with planting radishes, lettuce and onions on greens. In this growing method, moisture is the key to a successful harvest. Therefore, even during sowing, the grooves or holes are pre-watered, especially if the soil is dry. This will help to soften the sufficiently dense shell of the seed faster, and subsequently provide the forming plants with moisture. When the spinach is already ripe, it needs frequent watering, especially on warm and sunny days.

Spinach sprouts usually amicably and at the same time, therefore, if you want to extend its harvest period, sow it gradually, at intervals of 7-10 days. So you for a long time there will be young greens. If you need to save space on the site, spinach can be sown as a thickener, for example, between beans, tomatoes, dill, radishes or carrots. Thus, while the main crops are growing, you will already have harvested spinach.

Video about growing spinach, lettuce and basil

Autumn sowing

Experienced gardeners know how many worries spring brings, so they try to do some work since autumn. So, many cold-resistant crops can be sown podzima, for example, carrots, garlic, radishes, sorrel and, of course, spinach. The advantages of such plantings are obvious: there is enough time in autumn, there is a lot of free space on the site, and most importantly, the soil is saturated with moisture both during sowing and during spring growth.

Many people worry that the sprouted green shoots may die in winter, but fears are in vain - as soon as the snow melts and the April sun warms up in spring, the planting of spinach will quickly recover and delight you with the first greens from your own garden.

This culture combines the main characteristics for the gardener-gardener: a healthy and tasty leafy vegetable, while completely unpretentious in care. Prepare the soil before planting the plant.

In order to grow this vegetable, it is not necessary to cook and extract large space Location on. The smallest area will be enough for plants; for these purposes, a flower bed in the garden, which spinach will decorate with its dark green foliage, may well be suitable.

For successful cultivation and abundant fruiting of spinach leafy greens, an enriched and loose soil is needed. And the main condition for favorable cultivation is considered high level air and water permeability of the soil.

Loamy soil is considered fertile for planting, while a dense mixture with an earthen crust is absolutely unsuitable for growing a spinach culture. The acidity of the land is one of the important factors affecting the volume of the vegetable harvest.

The best indicator is the neutral level of acidity of the soil mixture. In the spring, before planting, the site is cultivated for sowing crops.

If we talk about the history of the site where the planting of leafy green seeds is planned, then the following are considered favorable predecessors: cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus, beans, lentils. To plant a leafy vegetable, you must select an area with abundant access to sunlight.

The video shows you how to sow spinach.

Since spinach ripens quickly, fertilizers that will be used for feeding must be effective and fast. For these purposes, at the beginning of March, urea in granules should be scattered over the area chosen for planting the culture.

The next step in fertilizing the land will be to add humus to the area where the seeds are to be planted.

There is also a method for preparing an open field spinach in autumn, which is used by many gardeners. To do this, in the fall, potash and phosphate fertilizers, together with humus or rotted manure, for each square meter future site for sowing. This land enrichment is carried out with simultaneous digging of soil.

If a leafy vegetable will be planted in an area that does not contain black soil. Before sowing, the following mineral fertilizers should be applied: 15 g of potassium, 7 g of phosphorus, 10 g of nitrogen. The dosage of the components is calculated per 1 m2. Given that spinach leaves tend to accumulate nitrates, it is not worth using nitrogen-containing fertilizers in the spring.

How to grow spinach in your garden? Most often it is grown from seeds. Before planting spinach, prepare its seeds for planting. And you need to do this correctly, otherwise you may not wait for the long-awaited shoots.

The seeds are soaked for several days in warm water, after which they are soaked, dried and sown on the site. Sow the culture either in beds or in rows. The first option is optimal for planting in an area with heavy, dense soil, and the second for more airy and favorable soil.

The planting material for spinach (seeds) is deepened 2.5-3.5 cm deep into the soil, leaving the row spacing at a level of 30 cm.

Since spinach is a cold-resistant culture, it is advisable to start the first crops immediately after the snow melts, that is, it is already possible even at a temperature of +4 ° С. Under these conditions, the seeds germinate quite successfully.

The method of growing spinach is identical with radish, so very often these plants grow with each other.

When best development events, the first harvest from young leaves will actually be collected after 30-40 days from the first sprouts pecking.

Planting of spinach is carried out from mid-April to mid-May, but of course it all depends on the climate and geographic location of the region.

If we take into account the plant's need for moisture, then late plantings, in dry soil, will not bring the desired results. Heat and dry weather are contraindicated in this culture. For this purpose, the principle is used the sooner the better.

When the soil for sowing is ready, in order to obtain a constant harvest, the plant is planted at the end of August. In this case, you can enjoy the first leaves in the spring.

A plant planted before the onset of the first frost, as a rule, will hatch the first shoots at speed. Then the plant overwinters safely, and when the spring snow melts, in two weeks, it will be possible to harvest a full harvest from fresh, green, juicy leaves.

September crops will sprout this year and will overwinter practically without problems. With the arrival of spring, they will thaw out and begin to grow intensively. When planted in October, the green petals will ripen in mid-autumn. To ensure a harvest within six months - from spring to autumn, it is necessary to select optimal varieties and sow seeds from time to time.

In order for the plant to develop correctly, and the vegetation process to proceed harmoniously, and nothing interfered with it, you should take care of spinach in the open field, competently and competently. To care for planted leafy vegetables, you need to start with thinning the rows and beds on which the culture grows.

Thinning takes place by removing excess, weaker seedlings, thus leaving a distance of 8-10 cm in the phase of two true leaves. Seedlings should be tried to thin out as early as possible, since in thickened rows they can bloom quickly, and all the plant's strength will go to the formation of flowers first, and then seeds.

When the plants begin to touch each other, a second thinning is carried out, leaving gaps of 15 cm. The removed plants can be eaten. The culture during the growth period also needs fertilizing with ammonium nitrate, which is produced at the rate (10-25 g per 1 m2).

The next step in the care is to clean the area from weeds and irrigate the soil. During periods of drought, watering is essential. Spinach is also extremely susceptible to lack of moisture, being at the stage of seed pecking and after the leaves have formed. Regular, timely watering prevents the formation of arrows on the shoots.

In order to obtain a large yield of spinach, a pinch is made on the upper leaves of adult plants, which will stimulate the growing season of new shoots. The soil between the rows needs periodic loosening. In order to protect leafy vegetables from ailments such as: false powdery mildew, leaf aphids, beet jaundice, you need to understand that wet weather contributes to these lesions.

The leaves of the culture are affected by the beet nematode, a common ailment with beets. In order to prevent such a misfortune, procedures are performed to combat aphids and isolation from the host plants of the disease, beets in this case.

Harvesting can begin if the leaves are the right size, that is, when 4-6 leaves are formed on the culture. Young and fragile leaves are removed first. Thus, the constant collection stimulates the growth of new shoots.

Summer varieties remove up to half of the leaves, while winter varieties are collected carefully, as they are very fragile, and are removed by hand.

For eating, you need large shoots of spinach, which do not yet have stems.

You can harvest the entire crop at once or partly by plucking the leaves as they form, in which case the collection of the leaves will last for weeks.

With spinach leaves, you should be extremely careful, do not tear, but slightly break off, so as not to uproot the plant.

In the conditions of a leafy vegetable densely planted in a garden bed, when its rosettes are cramped, young seedlings are plucked, thus, thinning is carried out. Young plants are quite edible.

The best time to harvest spinach is in the morning or evening, while plucked leaves during the day can quickly wither and become lethargic. Harvesting spinach when it rains is not recommended, as wet leaves can start to rot.

If a lot of spinach has grown or there is a need to free up an area for planting other vegetables, root crops, then it is plucked together with the root, folding it into the container with the roots down.

The root of the plant is washed (water should not get on the leaves), blot it with a napkin.

Spinach is stored in the refrigerator in plastic or in plastic container no more than a day.

It is not worth wetting and washing the leaves before placing them in the chamber, this will shorten their storage time.

When transporting crops over long distances, ice is placed in containers with leaves.

Spinach leaves are best eaten fresh, immediately after harvest.

The plant contains many useful components: fiber, organic acids, a balanced multivitamin complex: vitamins A, C, B, folic acid, high content of vitamin E, minerals - iron, potassium, magnesium.

The use of leaves has a beneficial effect on the body in order to prevent gastrointestinal diseases, anemia, diabetes, hypertension. Fiber of the leaves enhances intestinal peristalsis, improves digestion, etc.

The leafy vegetable spinach, unfortunately, does not keep fresh for long. And for the purpose of using such green shoots valuable for the human body in winter, they are dried, canned, frozen.

The video shows you how to care for spinach.

How to grow spinach in your garden? A previously little-known plant is increasingly appearing in our beds. How to plant it and take care of it in the future in order to get a good harvest, we will try to describe below.

Spinach appeared in the gardens of Russians relatively recently, but quickly gained one of the leading positions thanks to its valuable qualities and ease of growing. Growing spinach at home will provide you and your loved ones with an almost complete daily intake. important elements... It is consumed both fresh and in the form of mashed potatoes, sauces, canned or frozen.

Growing spinach at home will provide you and your loved ones with an almost complete daily set of important elements.

Spinach is good for diseases of the heart and gastrointestinal tract, with anemia, hypertension, edema. Recommended for nervous disorders. Restrictions are imposed only with its large use in childhood and with kidney and liver disease.

To all these positive qualities short growing times, frost resistance, unpretentiousness are added, and even the opportunity to grow it at home.

Video plot about useful properties

The farming technique for growing spinach is pretty simple. You need to know some of the features and the harvest can delight you with its abundance for almost the entire garden season.

Spinach is good for growing both outdoors and indoors. Indoors, of course, you will receive useful leaves earlier, but you can do without a greenhouse.

First you need to determine the plot with which soil to choose for spinach in your country house. The plant loves fertile, well-fertilized soil, loamy or sandy loam. Acidity plays an important role, since acidic soils you may not wait for the harvest. If the soil is highly acidic, then limestone can be added to even out the acidity.

Spinach is good for growing both outdoors and indoors

It is advisable to dig up the garden in the fall and apply potash, phosphorus fertilizers. Nitrogen - you need to partially add, the remainder is introduced in the spring before planting the first seeds.

Most often, you can grow a storehouse of vitamins with seeds. If you want to have fresh greens at home from under the snow, then you can sow seeds at the end of August. By October, the plants will already get stronger and will enter the winter. And with the first rays of the spring sun, you will have nutritious leaves on your table.

The growing season is 40 to 55 days, depending on the growing time at home. Therefore, it is better to plant the first seeds in April. Seed germination occurs already at 4 degrees Celsius, and adult spinach can withstand frosts up to 6 degrees.

The optimum temperature is 15 degrees. The next sowing can be done after 1-1.5 months and so continue throughout the season in the country. Thus, you will provide yourself with vitamins for the whole summer.

Spinach growing video

Seeds must be prepared before planting at home. Since they do not absorb moisture well, they must be in the liquid for two days. The water temperature is 25 degrees. After that, the seeds are dried so that they become free-flowing as before. Prepared seeds are sown in grooves 2-3 cm deep, sprinkled and tamped with soil from above. The distance between the rows is 25-30 cm.

In the garden, it consists in timely weeding, watering and thinning. After germination of seeds and the appearance of small plants, the bushes must be thinned out, leaving 8-10 cm between them.

Frequent watering will also speed up the growth of nutritious foliage. The roots of the crops are very large (about 25 cm), which means they need to be watered abundantly (about 10 liters per 1 sq. M.) And often, especially on hot days. Failure to comply with these rules will lead to plant shooting.

Caring for spinach in the garden consists in timely weeding, watering and thinning

Fertilizing under growing bushes is undesirable, therefore, it is better to add all the useful elements at the stage of soil preparation. It is permissible to feed the seedlings with nitrogen in case of emergency. And feeding with fresh manure is generally contraindicated, due to the ability of spinach to absorb nitrates.

Further agricultural technology at the dacha consists in loosening the row spacing and removing new shoots that thicken the crops. Male spinach is also unproductive and therefore needs to be removed.

If, nevertheless, the plants begin to give arrows, they must be broken off, otherwise the leaves will become tough and unsuitable for food.

When 6-8 leaves are formed, the rosettes can be collected. Do not wait for the appearance of the stems, the leaves will be rough and tough. You can completely pull out the bushes, you can cut them off. Cut leaves are stored for 7 days. Then they are canned, consumed fresh or frozen.

Plant care plot

If you do not have the opportunity to grow a valuable plant in the country, then you can grow it at home. To do this, prepare a soil mixture close to the composition in the garden, fill the boxes with it and sow seeds. can be done in January.

Seeds are prepared as for planting in the open field, soaking. Otherwise, the planting is the same as on the garden bed, only the crops from above need to be covered with film or glass to create a greenhouse effect.

For greater oxygen access to the roots, it is necessary to loosen the soil

After 10 days, the first shoots should hatch. The film or glass must be removed. And water the plants. As in the country, in the beds, the bushes need abundant watering and a humid environment. Spraying the leaves will create a supportive environment. There is an experience of hanging boxes with seedlings above the windowsill, so the earth dries less from heating appliancesand plants feel better.

For greater oxygen access to the roots, it is necessary to loosen the soil. Thanks to this, more vitamins will accumulate.

You can cut the plants after about 50 days. Only unlike the garden type, at home you do not need to cut off all the leaves. It is enough to remove less than half of the leaves from each bush. Then after a while he will delight you with new juicy leaves.

Video clip about growing on a windowsill

And yet, at home, spinach can be grown not as an annual, but as a biennial plant. To do this, you must follow the rules of care and be sure to remove all arrows.

This is how easy it is to grow such a valuable product both in the garden and at home. Caring for spinach will give you a lot of pleasure and health for your family.

Spinach is a plant that appeared not so long ago on summer cottages... Now it is "fashionable" to grow this garden greens in the beds. There are many publications about the extraordinary health benefits of spinach. The green plant is rich in ascorbic acid, beta carotene, iron, phosphorus, multivitamins, unsaturated fatty acids. The high fiber content allows you to remove toxins and toxins. No wonder doctors call the plant a "brush". The dark green spinach leaves are rich in chlorophyll, which has been compared to blood hemoglobin.

Low-calorie vegetable greens are nutritious and beneficial for dietary diets and are used in weight loss programs. Doctors recommend the use of spinach greens for almost all people, excluding some categories of patients. Cultivation of spinach in dachas, as well as other vegetable garden herbs: dill, parsley, celery, basil, cilantro, is an exciting activity, and grown herbs will enrich the diet with vitamins. Spinach is eaten fresh, boiled, stewed, canned, frozen, dried. From the leaves of the plant, salads, vegetable first courses, sauces are prepared, used with meat, in fish dishes, omelets, pies.

Soil selection

Growing spinach in your garden is not difficult. Now there is a large selection of seed varieties for growing spinach in the open field. In the fall, they prepare the site: they dig up and lay a full range of fertilizers - rotted manure, compost, phosphorus-potassium components. In early spring, urea granules are scattered over the snow. It should be remembered that nitrates are very well retained in spinach leaves, so feed nitrogen fertilizers young plants are not recommended.

Spinach responds well to growing in fertile and loose soil. Good permeability of moisture and air through the soil is an essential condition for growing vegetable greens. Loamy soil is most favorable for planting garden culture... A heavy potting soil, prone to crust formation, is not suitable for growing the plant. Soil acidity also affects spinach yield. The best option - neutral reaction of the earth, slight deviations in one direction or another are allowed.

The best precursors for planting crops are legumes, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini. For planting, places well lit by the sun are chosen. Spinach is grown in partial shade during hot summers.

Seed preparation for sowing

Spinach: Growing from seeds is the most common way to obtain vitamin products. The seedling method has not received any practical value, spinach roots are very sensitive to any changes and plant survival is very low.

Spinach seeds are tightly covered with a seed coat. The seed is kept in water for 1-2 days to improve germination. The water is changed several times. Experienced gardeners recommend soaking spinach seeds in biostimulants: Epine, Zircon, Energene. Then the seeds are dried to a state of flowability.

Sowing seeds in open ground

Experts recommend sowing spinach seeds, focusing on the lilac buds that have hatched. Seeds are buried in grooves spilled with water, 1-2 cm and 20 cm between rows. When rosettes of leaves appear, the spinach is pulled.

The growing season for spinach is short. To keep spinach on the table as long as possible, sow it several times per season. It is great to grow spinach during winter sowing. Seeds are planted in the prepared bed in the fall, starting from September to November. By winter, small rosettes of young plants will form, which will overwinter and will please with strong green leaves in mid-April.

Spinach is a frost-resistant plant that can withstand temperatures as low as -7-8 degrees. With this method of planting, the seed does not need to be pre-soaked. Seeds that won't sprout in the fall will hatch in early spring. Hardened and strong, they will quickly grow.

In the spring, spinach is sown in March-April. The green mass is harvested 20-25 days after germination. You can sow spinach in May-June, but in hot and dry weather, the spinach leaves will grow tough and the plant will quickly go into the arrow.

Agricultural technology of cultivation

Caring for spinach consists in loosening the soil, timely removal of weeds, regular watering and feeding. Spinach grows ideally at 18-25 degrees Celsius. In sunny dry weather, it is easy to shoot, the leaves become tough and tasteless.

The plant is demanding for watering. Drying of the soil and the formation of an earth crust are not allowed. After rains and watering, it is recommended to carefully loosen the soil and water it with liquid universal fertilizer with humates - Agricola Vegeta to increase yields, resistance to shooting, and lower nitrate content.

Removal of weeds throughout the vegetative growth of spinach - important condition high productivity.

In the greenhouse

The cultivation of spinach in a greenhouse is in many ways similar to growing a crop in the open field. Greenhouse conditions with adequate lighting and heating allow spinach to be grown year round.

The first sowing of seeds is carried out in the fall, the second in January. After the appearance of a rosette of 3-4 leaves, the soil is loosened, the thickened crops are thinned out, leaving a distance between the plants of 15-20 cm.Water spinach once a week. In order to avoid fungal diseases, the greenhouse is periodically opened for ventilation.

Fertilization is carried out at intervals of two weeks after watering and cutting green leaves. It is better to use universal organic fertilizers with humates and microelements, such as: Agricola Vegeta, Giant, Ideal. Fertilizers should be diluted and dispensed strictly according to the attached instructions.

The early maturity of spinach allows you to harvest the green mass 25-30 days after planting. You can cut the lower leaves at the stage of formation of a 6-8 leaf rosette, or by plucking the plant from the root.

On the windowsill

Growing spinach at home makes it possible to get a green product rich in vitamins and minerals right on the windowsill. To do this, a layer of expanded clay drainage is laid at the bottom of the flower lawns, poured fertile soil, consisting of garden soil, peat, sand and humus in the ratio: 2: 1: 1: 1.

Seeds for sowing are soaked as described above and buried by 1 cm. Watered by spraying and covered with foil or glass. After emergence, the film is removed.

In case of insufficient daylight hours, additional plant illumination is required. Spinach grows great in hanging pots near the window, located above the radiators. Young plants should be watered periodically, fertilized every two weeks, and sprayed with green leaves. The following varieties are suitable for growing spinach on a windowsill: Victoria, Fat-leaved, Tarantella, Giant.

Buy spinach seeds at specialty stores. Check the expiration dates of the seed. Only high-quality varietal seeds have a high germination capacity, are resistant to diseases and guarantee a high yield.
Spinach doesn't like acidic soil. Neutralize soil acidity by adding fluff lime, dolomite flour, chalk.
Experienced gardeners advise growing spinach on high beds: they are warmed up faster by the sun, and the presence of sides helps to retain moisture.
For spring cultivation use early-maturing spinach varieties: Krepish, Matador, Round Dance. This will ensure that the green vitamins appear earlier.
Remove flower arrows that impair the taste of spinach.
Thickened plantings of spinach are prone to shooting. Thin the plants, leaving a distance of 15-20 cm between the plants.

Spinach has not yet gained such popularity among Russian summer residents as other green crops, and it is completely in vain. Thanks to its cold resistance, in May it is possible to get juicy spinach leaves grown in the open field for spring salads with a unique taste. There are still very few greens in the garden at this time, so tasty and healthy spinach will not only perfectly complement any dish, but will also make up for the spring deficiency of vitamins in the body.

Tellingly, spinach leaves retain useful material with any processing: thermal or freezing. They contain a whole set of acids: ascorbic, oxalic and oleic, they are rich in calcium, phosphorus, carotene and manganese, iron and copper, and enough vitamins: E, K, B, P, PP.

Depending on the timing of ripening, spinach can be:

early ripening (15-20 days) - "Stoic", "Giant";
mid-season (25-30 days) - "Krepysh", "Matador";
late ripening (30-35 days) - "Fat-leaved", "Victoria".

Separately, we can note such a variety as Strawberry Spinach, which, in addition to tender juicy leaves, grows edible red berries that look like raspberries, but with a strawberry aroma. You can eat them fresh, as well as cook jam, compotes and other sweet dishes. Fruiting until late autumn, but not as abundantly as in summer.

Mid-season spinach gives viable and ready-to-harvest shoots only 30-60 days after planting the seeds

Soil requirements

Maximum yield is guaranteed on fertile sandy loam and loamy soils, well-drained and with neutral acidity. Under certain conditions, spinach gives good yields on other soils. So, the sandy soil will have to be watered much more often, and to loosen the heavy and dense soil, organic matter, lime and carbonate residues are needed.

A bed for spinach is arranged in a sunny place, since if there is insufficient light in the leaves, the amount of vitamin C is reduced. Soil preparation is divided into 2 stages:

In the fall, you need to add compost to the selected area (per 1 m2 - 6 kg), and also feed the soil with phosphorus-potassium fertilizer, and then dig it up;
In the spring, the site is cultivated, and if the soil is not fertile enough, then enrich it mineral feeding... Nitrogen is added only when absolutely necessary, since spinach leaves are sensitive to it and nitrates in them accumulate quickly.

The soil in the garden must be fertile, for this they bring into it peat land, a little humus, 1 teaspoon of superphosphate and potassium sulfate (per square meter). It is better to fertilize the soil in the fall.

Seed preparation and spinach sowing features

Spinach is grown only from seeds that must be pre-prepared. For two days they are lowered into warm water (+ 25 ° С), remembering to change it every 4 hours. After soaking, the seeds should dry well and become free-flowing again. This procedure is called bubbling.

Spinach needs long daylight hours for rapid and full development. So that flower stalks do not appear on it ahead of time, they sow it very early - at the end of April. This can be done even earlier if you remove the snow from the area prepared in the fall early, and as soon as the soil warms up, sow spinach. This culture is cold-resistant, not afraid of frost and requires almost no maintenance.

On heavy soils, it is better to arrange small beds, in other cases you can sow in rows. The depth of the grooves is 2 cm, the distance between the rows is 20-30 cm. For 1 m2, the seed consumption is approximately 5 g. Top the seeds should be covered with earth, covered with peat and watered with warm water. After 4-5 days, seedlings should hatch.

Spinach will grow well after potatoes, radishes, beets, cauliflower and early cabbage, as well as cucumbers. After the first sowing in April, you can sow it every 2 weeks, harvesting this delicious green crop without interruption. The last sowing date is the beginning of September, in this case the first harvest of vitamin foliage will delight in early spring.

Outdoor care rules

Caring for spinach in the garden consists of regular watering and weeding

Taking care of spinach in your garden is as easy as shelling pears. The main task is to prevent stalking, for which it is necessary frequent watering and spraying. Weeding for the entire period will take 3-4, they are needed to destroy weeds and loosen the earth. Simultaneously with weeding, young shoots are removed so that they do not thicken the planting.

The entire growing season, spinach must be fed, but only after watering or rain, and immediately loosen the soil. As soon as 7-8 leaves are formed, you can begin to cut them until the plant throws out the peduncles. Then they are pulled out of the ground entirely.

Pests and diseases

Spinach belongs to unpretentious plants, diseases and pests are extremely rare on it. Of fungal diseases, it can be noted root rot and downy mildew. In the first case, the root turns black and the plant gradually dies. You can fight this phenomenon by periodically loosening the soil. Downy mildew signals its appearance with yellow spots on the leaves and a gray-purple bloom. The leaves need to be greased with ground sulfur and treated with mullein infusion.

Aphids can harm spinach, which is destroyed by spraying the plants with a solution of laundry soap for a week. 300 g of soap is diluted in 10 liters of water. You can also find a mining fly on spinach, laying eggs on the back of the leaves in early June. The larvae gnaw the leaves, swollen spots form on them and the death of plants occurs. Protective measures are as follows: timely removal of weeds and leaves with damage, and spinach should not be planted near beets.

How to prepare spinach seeds?

There is nothing difficult in harvesting seeds. Choose 2-3 of the healthiest, strongest and most consistent with the varietal characteristics of the specimen and leave them to bloom and set seeds. By August, the seeds ripen, the spinach is pulled out of the ground and sent to the attic to dry out. It remains only to dry out required amount seeds for subsequent planting.

Growing spinach at home?

Like many green crops, spinach grows well at home on the windowsill, you just need to provide it with a long daylight hours (at least 10 hours). Therefore, he will need a southern windowsill or additional lighting with an artificial lighting lamp, which is placed at a distance of half a meter from the plants.

Absolutely any capacity is suitable, as long as it is deep and has drain holes... First, 3 cm of drainage from expanded clay or small pebbles is poured onto the bottom, and a soil mixture, loose and nutritious, is on top.

You can buy ready-made soil or prepare it yourself:

Option 1: a mixture of slightly acidic garden soil with humus and its subsequent disinfection in the oven;
Option 2: you need to mix 1 part of vermicompost with 2 parts of coconut fiber, which will retain water and "regulate" the moisture content of the substrate.

You should choose early-ripening varieties - "Giant" or "Stoic", which will give the first greens in one month.

Planting depth 1 cm, according to the 7x7 cm scheme. The easiest way is to divide the container into squares of the same size and then plant the seeds. Sprinkle them on top with soil, moisten with a spray bottle and cover with foil or glass. Seedlings will begin to appear in a week, then the shelter is removed.

Spinach seedlings dive in the phase of formation of 2-3 leaves, before that they have abundantly moistened the ground. If you carefully and carefully release the roots, then the plants will easily take root on permanent place after transplant.

The main condition for care is not to allow the earth to dry out, then the plants quickly wither and die. Therefore, it is recommended to water them often, but in moderation, you will also have to regularly spray the plants. A vessel with water can be placed next to the container to increase the humidity.

Optimum temperature for growing spinach at home - not higher than 16 ° C, higher values \u200b\u200bwill lead to the formation of flowering arrows. If the soil was fertile, then feeding homemade spinach is not needed, for such a short period of development, those nutrients that were originally contained in the soil are enough.

When the spinach grows to 8-9 cm, you can start cutting the leaves, it is carried out until the peduncles are formed. Then the plant is removed and a new batch of seeds is sown. Thus, appetizing greens are easy to grow not only in the garden or in the greenhouse, but also at home: on a windowsill or a glazed balcony.

Video: Growing and harvesting spinach

Spinach is a frost-resistant, fast-growing plant, a relative of beets and Swiss chard. Spinach can be planted either in spring or fall, or in both spring and fall if you want to harvest twice a year. Spinach tastes good both raw and cooked, and is high in iron, calcium, antioxidants and essential vitamins like A, B and C. Read this step by step instructions, you will learn how to properly grow your own spinach crop.

Steps

Variety selection

Grow spinach in cool climates. Spinach is exceptionally hardy and thrives in cold to temperate climates. This plant, which prefers cool conditions, likes temperatures from 1 to 23 ° C.

Choose Savoy and Semi-Savoy for fall planting. The Savoyard variety is characterized by dark green wrinkled leaves. This spinach is best planted in the fall because it becomes very brittle in cold weather.

Choose smooth leaved spinach if you want to harvest quickly. Leafy spinach grows taller and paler than Savoy spinach. It grows quickly and easily, making it the perfect addition to any summer salad.

Site preparation for planting

Choose an area full of sun. Although spinach prefers a mild climate and will not do well at very high temperatures, it still loves sunlight. The spinach will grow in the shade, but the harvest will not be as impressive and the plant as productive as if it were growing in the sun.

Make sure the soil drains well. Spinach enjoys a mild, humid climate, but will feel bad in soils that are regularly flooded and not drained. If you can't find a suitable spot in your garden, you can make a raised bed or plant your own spinach in a pot.
- If you are making a raised bed, use cedar boards as material if possible. Cedar wood does not rot when exposed to water.
- Since spinach is a small plant that doesn’t grow long roots, you don’t need a lot of space to grow it.

Spinach care

Thin plants. Once your spinach sprouts have grown to seedling condition, thin them out a little to prevent competition for space between them. You should thin out the plants so that the leaves of neighboring plants barely touch each other. This spatial balance needs to be achieved even if you have to pluck out some of the plants.