Growing spinach from seeds in open ground, tips for care and storage. Spinach - planting and caring for leaf crops When to plant spinach outdoors

A large amount of vitamins, essential acids, vegetable proteins and microelements in a balanced form, preserved even during cooking and freezing, are obtained by consuming this early ripening green crop. Spinach- is a vegetable cultivation and care behind which V open ground will allow you to get early greenery in a season when almost nothing grows in the beds. Its seeds germinate already at +4º C.

I'll tell you this: Popeye lied about the health benefits of spinach. But, of course, spinach is good for health, you need to grow something in the garden, and it is important to do it with talent. For example, one architect Marijke Bruinsma, together with another and a third, came up with one building for three, called it a house and thought to surprise visitors with plants on the roof - . So, you can grow spinach in various containers and designs, fit it into the design of your site and enjoy the landscape design.

From what could easily be eaten, there is a guide to planting and caring for: razmorin, daikon and physalis.

Spinach - method of planting seeds

Sowing spinach seeds and simple care behind him in open ground- the only way growing this plant. For successful cultivation careful preparation of the seeds is required - they are soaked for 2 days in warm water, bubbling, and then slightly dried.

Sowing seeds

Spinach care

Spinach care measures include regular watering, weeding, and loosening the rows. It is especially important to remove weeds and thin out overly densely planted plants, since dense planting will be unproductive and root rot, slugs. Removing male spinach plants will help increase yield. They can be recognized by the type of leaf appearance: on female plants they appear in the form of a round rosette, and on male plants they grow from the axils.

Harvesting and storage

Plants are ready to eat after 6 to 12 leaves appear on the spinach. Delay in harvesting will lead to aging and coarsening of the leaves, loss of valuable qualities of spinach. The leaves are cut off as they grow or the whole plant is pulled out when harvesting spinach for long-term storage.

The shelf life of collected leaves is 1-2 days; well-washed greens are frozen whole or in the form of puree crushed in a blender. One storage method is to preserve spinach leaves by sterilization.

Preparing for winter

Spinach is grown as an annual crop; it does not overwinter in open ground. Winter sowing of this green crop is of practical importance. Sowing in September-October will allow you to get the first greens early in the spring. Small rosettes of leaves that appear in the fall are sprinkled with weathered peat or rotted compost. This cover from spinach rosettes in spring should be removed immediately after the snow melts.

Spinach is a plant that has a number of beneficial properties. Over the course of a year, in warm regions, you can harvest several harvests of green leaves with a high content of trace elements and metals. Beginning plant lovers should familiarize themselves with the basic rules for growing and caring for spinach in open ground. This is not a difficult job, but requires knowledge of the basic steps.

Features and benefits of spinach

This plant looks similar to sorrel, but there are several differences:

• spinach foliage is not long, round, with a bumpy surface and more fleshy;
• the taste of the leaves is piquant, the aftertaste is slightly sour and bitter.

According to nutritionists, the benefits of spinach are that the leaves contain a large amount of fiber and a complete vitamin complex. Thus, vitamin “E” is responsible for rejuvenating the body. High level microelements (selenium, iodine, folic acid) also have a positive effect on human health. Flavonoids help slow down inflammatory processes, and vitamin K helps normalize blood pressure and improve the functioning of the heart and vascular system. Fiber has a beneficial effect on the digestive system.

The unconditional benefits of spinach increase its popularity, but it is also important to know the group of diseases in which excessive use of spinach can cause harm.

Spinach consumption should be limited:

• for all types of diseases of the urinary system;
• gout;
• liver diseases;
• rheumatism;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and biliary tract.

Important! Having the ailments listed above, you should not exclude the plant from your diet completely: the main danger is oxalic acid, and the remaining components are extremely useful. Therefore, leave spinach on the menu, but in small quantities and take only young leaves, where the acid concentration is reduced.

The best varieties

According to gardeners, seven varieties of seeds are best suited for growing plants in open ground. All of them are divided into three groups: early-, mid- and late-ripening.

The most suitable early ripening varieties:

• “Godri” - 14-20 days after planting, you can harvest the first harvest of leaves. The rosette of foliage reaches a diameter of 230 mm;
• The “Giant” variety allows you to grow rosettes of elongated leaves with a diameter of up to 500 mm. After 14 days, you can collect the first juicy, fleshy leaves.

Mid-season:

• variety "Matador" is resistant to low temperatures, but requires good watering. A medium-sized rosette of foliage is ready for harvest within 20 days. The leaf is smooth, gray-green in color;
• spinach resistant to frost and early sprouting - variety “Krepysh”.

Late-ripening varieties ideal for planting in the ground: high-yielding “Victoria”, “Spokane” and “Varyag”.

Preparing for landing

At the dacha, you don’t need to allocate a large area to grow a crop; it is much more important to prepare the soil before planting.

Soil selection

The best option is to plant seeds in the beds where they grew before:

• all types of legumes;
• zucchini;
• cucumbers;
• tomatoes.

Spinach should not be planted in the shade. best option- a place well lit for at least half of the daylight hours in summer and on a small hill. On a hillock, the soil will warm up faster and the bushes will develop faster. At the same time, bright sunlight and intense heat are contraindicated for the plant.

The preferred composition is loam or sandy loam, saturated with organic fertilizers, with a free flow of air and water. It can also be planted on heavy soil. In this case, you will need to add lime, ash and organic matter. When planted on carbonate soils, the plant does not receive sufficient iron nutrition, so its deficiency will have to be replenished.

In general, for strong growth it is important to maintain a normal level of soil acidity. This figure should be within 6.7-7. With higher acidity, the plant lags behind in development and may perish. Timely application will solve all problems and increase productivity. nutrients. To reduce acidity, add lime, chalk or dolomite flour.

Fertilizer application

It is necessary to prepare the soil for planting seeds in the fall. To do this, distribute in an even layer mineral fertilizers and organic matter on the surface and only then dug up. In the spring, before planting, it will be enough to level the bed, and you can sow the seeds in open ground.

If the soil contains insufficient chernozem, you will need to prepare a mixture of mineral fertilizers for 1 m2 of beds:

• potassium - 15 g;
• phosphorus - 8 g;
• nitrogen - 10 g.

Important! The leaves of the plant accumulate pesticides, so it is not recommended to apply large amounts. organic fertilizers after planting the seeds.

After planting, you can feed the spinach when watering or fertilize the soil after the next harvest, with intervals of 14 days. The best option is industrial fertilizers with a balanced content of humate and microelements, but when diluting, be sure to strictly follow the proportions indicated on the packaging. Otherwise, the plant will either not receive enough nutrition, or the leaves of the plant will dry out due to burns.

When and how to sow seeds

Spinach is sometimes planted as seedlings, but in this case the plant suffers for a long time - the seedlings quickly catch up with the seedlings in development. Therefore, planting is often done with seeds, and seedlings are used as a backup option during a prolonged cold spring. The only condition is to soak the material for several days in warm water before work. After this, the seeds are washed and dried.

Spinach can be planted over the entire surface of the bed or made into neat rows. If the soil in your dacha is heavy, it is better to sow by scattering the seeds in an even layer. If the soil is loose, there will be good germination in the rows. In this case, furrows are made to a depth of 25-30 mm with a row spacing of 250-300 mm. Then the seeds are evenly distributed along the row, covered with soil from the sides and the soil is slightly compacted.

Spinach is not afraid of light frosts, so planting can begin at temperatures above +4° C, immediately after the snow melts. This is even recommended, since seed germination increases: the soil is saturated with water, and the plants receive the necessary conditions for growth. By periodically loosening the soil and watering the beds, the zealous owner receives the first harvest of green foliage within 20-30 days.

Advice! According to experienced gardeners, when planting spinach it is better to focus on lilacs. As soon as the buds appear on the bushes, you can safely plant the seeds.

You should not sow seeds in summer in extreme heat: such plantings will not bring a good harvest.

• in early spring;
• The best option is in the fall, before the first frost.

In the latter case, the first shoots will hatch before winter. Spinach is not afraid of severe frost, especially if it is covered with a layer of snow (if the winter has little snow, you need to cover the beds with film). But the first harvest of vitamins will be on the table within 7-10 days after the snow is cleared from the beds.

Plant care

It is important for the plant that the soil in the garden bed is always loose and moist, good ventilation landings, there was enough sunlight. Accordingly, the entire process of caring for spinach consists of several stages:

1. Thinning and pinching.
2. Weeding.
3. Feeding.
4. Loosening the soil.

As soon as the second true leaf appears in the rosette, it is necessary to thin out the plantings. In this case, it is better to remove male shoots. It is easy to distinguish them: the male ones first shoot out a stem, and only then a rosette with sparse leaves develops. On women's, a strong rosette is immediately tied with big amount foliage. When thinning for the first time, it is important to maintain a distance between bushes of 80-90 mm and remove weakened plants. This work prevents early flowering spinach and directing energy to flowers at the expense of foliage.

The second thinning occurs when the leaves begin to touch adjacent spinach bushes. It is necessary to make gaps of 150 mm. At this time, you can feed the plants with industrial products or a solution of fermented manure.

Caring for spinach will require gardeners to remove weeds, water and loosen the rows. This kind of care will prevent early education shoots on the bushes and uniform and rapid development of spinach. To increase the yield of bushes, they can be pinched. To do this, pinch off the top row of foliage on adult plants, ensuring the rapid development of new shoots.

Mulching the soil in the beds not only conserves moisture, but also protects plants from fungal diseases. At the first sign powdery mildew or infestation of leaves by aphids, it is important to treat the plants with fungicides and wash them with soapy water. To protect spinach from beet nematode, you should plant the seeds further away from the beets.

Memo for beginner gardeners

Spinach is an unpretentious and quickly ripening crop, but it is important to follow a few basic rules in order to get excellent harvest juicy leaves:

• the growing season of the plant is up to 60 days, therefore, if you need to get succulent leaves throughout the season, seeds are planted in the spring with an interval of 7-10 days;
• By constantly cutting off old foliage, you increase the growing season of the bushes;
• It is better to purchase seed material from trusted seed centers; you should not chase small savings at the risk of buying expired or low-quality seeds;
• be sure to remove the shoots on the spinach and thin out the bushes, removing weak and male plants, if you want to collect several harvests.

In conclusion, a few words about storing spinach leaves. The vegetable will remain fresh for 8-10 days if it is washed and placed on the refrigerator shelf. Are saved useful material and in frozen or dried leaves. Bushes on the windowsill develop well in winter. And yet the healthiest and juiciest spinach grows in open ground. It is enough to follow simple rules, and you will enjoy greenery with early spring until late autumn.

In addition to the usual herbs and spices, such as dill, sorrel, parsley, celery, spinach can be found on the plots of many summer residents. This plant is used not only for preparing salads, but also helps cleanse the stomach of various harmful substances. Not all gardeners know how to grow spinach from seeds, so we will deal with a similar issue in our material.

Spinach is considered a cold-resistant crop, and although it came to us from Iran, its seedlings can withstand temperatures down to -8 degrees. It should be noted that the rosettes of this spice successfully winter under a small layer of snow, and in the central zone of our country it is left for the winter under a film. If crop rotation is observed, spinach can be grown after any vegetable or herb; in addition, it is used to compact crops of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, etc.

Chapter 1.

The crop in question is sown in unprotected soil or greenhouses of any type (film, polycarbonate or glass). In the latter case, the growing season is reduced by about a week. Sowing of seeds is carried out during the spring, and the grains can be buried in the soil immediately after the snow melts. A repeated harvest of greens is usually obtained by sowing seeds at the end of summer; for long-term fruiting, spices are sown at intervals of three weeks, and for the winter it is necessary to sow grains that are resistant to the formation of flower shoots, for example, a Teton hybrid. Sowing of such spinach must be done in mid-August so that the plant can form leaves before the first frost.

In moderate climatic zone, in case of sowing grains, the crops are covered for the winter. Sowing spinach for the winter allows you to get the harvest about a week earlier than usual. The plant loves fertile, well-enriched organic substances soils with sufficient water-holding capacity and normal acidity. An example of such a soil would be loam. Potatoes can be considered an ideal predecessor of spinach, because the land for this crop is well cultivated and fertilized.

In our country, greens are grown on small ridges. The application of organic matter is carried out in the fall, and with the onset of spring, the site is dug up, and then complex mineral fertilizers, for example nitrophoska, are destroyed at the rate of 60 grams of the substance per m 2 of crops.

Before sowing the seeds, make shallow, up to 2 centimeters, ditches on the surface of the plot at a distance of 30-35 centimeters from each other. The bottom of the furrows is watered warm water, and then place the seeds every 8 centimeters. In the case where greens are harvested many times at an early age, the distance between rows is reduced to 20 centimeters. The grains are sprinkled with loose earth, which is pressed down a little. Under favorable weather conditions, spinach shoots appear two weeks after sowing.

Chapter 2. Caring for spinach after planting

Spinach does not require special care measures, as it is unpretentious and cold-resistant. It has been noted that its seedlings can be obtained when the soil is warmed to 5 degrees Celsius, although optimal temperature conditions growing temperature is considered to be 14-19 degrees. The crop in question began to be popular among gardeners relatively recently, but due to the significant amount of useful substances in its composition, it is used to prepare various vitamin-rich salads and other dishes.

Sowing spinach seeds can be done after the snow melts. This spice can grow on any soil, but the most high yields Greens can only be obtained on soil well-filled with useful substances. The soil must retain moisture well, so ideal option There will be light loam for the development of this crop. The green mass forms well with short daylight hours, from 12 to 15 hours, therefore spinach should be sown in early spring or late summer.

Long daylight hours combined with high temperatures and lack of moisture causes the formation of a peduncle. In this case, the beneficial substances that enter the plant will not be directed to the formation of greenery, but to the formation of inflorescences and seeds.

About a week after the emergence of seedlings, it is necessary to thin them out and loosen them. upper layer soil. After such a procedure, the distance between neighboring plants should be within 20 centimeters; it is in such conditions that spinach will feel comfortable.

Section 1. How to water spinach

The spice in question needs regular watering. As we said, lack of moisture can lead to the formation of flower stalks. Soil moistening should be carried out based on weather conditions. In dry weather, watering is carried out at intervals of three days, spending up to 15 liters of warm water for each square meter of crops.

If the plants begin to wither and the color of their leaves changes, then watering can be combined with fertilizing. For this purpose, a kilogram of mullein is dissolved in a bucket of water.

Section 2. Cleaning

According to observations, spinach greens can be eaten a month after germination. The leaves are picked off selectively, but when flower stems appear, harvesting of greenery must be stopped. The harvesting rules are as follows: it is advisable to break off the petioles and not tear them off along with part of the stem; The collection of greens begins with the outer leaves, but no more than half of them need to be collected.

Spinach is consumed raw, vegetable salads are made from it, soups are prepared, and juice is squeezed out.

Chapter 3. Choosing a spinach variety to plant

It is important to decide on the type of spinach to plant. We will describe some well-proven varieties that grow well in our latitudes.

Section 1. Variety Victoria

The variety came to us from Germany; it is considered late-ripening, because the growing season of the plant is 40 days. Seeds are planted from March to mid-May, for winter - from mid-autumn. The plant itself has a small rosette of 15 centimeters in diameter pressed to the ground. The leaves are rounded, arranged in a horizontal direction with darkly aligned edges green tint. The variety is characterized by minimal bolting.

Victoria grows well in soils with normal acidity that can retain moisture. During the growing period, crops need thinning, removal weeds and watering. At good care from each square meter usable area you can collect about 3.3 kilograms of greens.

Section 2. New Zealand

This plant is not considered a variety, but a separate variety of spinach. The annual crop reaches a meter in height and consists of branched stems that spread near the surface of the earth. The leaves are quite thick with jagged edges and dark green in color. New Zealand is similar in taste to most varieties of this crop.

The seeds germinate quickly, and the plant gives good yields when grown in warm regions of our country. The variety is demanding on moisture, heat and sunlight. In the middle zone, New Zealand spinach is grown through seedlings. The harvest of this crop is considered to be the upper part of the shoot - they are removed several times a season.

Section 3. Stoic

Summer residents of our country have been growing the variety of spinach in question since 1995; it is early ripening with growing season about 3 weeks. Greens are used for canning various vegetables and preparing salads.

The bush has raised leaves, up to 19 centimeters long, quite wide - 12-14 centimeters. Stoik is capable of producing significant weight when grown in the spring in a temperate climate zone. From m2 of crops you can collect no more than 2.8 kilograms of crop.

Section 4. Gaudry

A variety for growing in unprotected soil and film shelters, early maturation with a growing season of 18-30 days. Plant seeds in the soil in early spring or late summer, when the duration of light and temperature promote the formation of greenery. The Godry bush can reach a diameter of 23 centimeters.

Section 5. Matador

A variety of Czech selection with a medium ripening period (no more than 50 days pass from germination to the last harvest). The culture has a medium-sized rosette compact shape. The leaves are smooth, fairly thick, gray-green in color, and oval in shape.

The matador hardly shoots, is resistant to low temperatures, and requires moisture. Sowing of seeds is carried out in mid-autumn or early spring. Up to 3 kilograms of crop are harvested per square meter.

Section 6. Virofle

The variety was developed by French breeders for early harvesting with a growing season of up to 25 days. The bush can reach 35 centimeters in diameter, consists of tender and fleshy leaves made in the shape of an oval. Stems with seeds form quickly.

Chapter 4. Video

How wonderful it is on a spring evening after working day In the beds, collect fresh lettuce leaves, onions, slightly grown parsley and dill, and tender spinach shoots. Salad from early greenery perceived as small miracle, after winter greenhouse vegetables.

An undeservedly forgotten plant is again beginning to take pride of place on country beds. You can see what spinach looks like in the photo.

The first mentions of spinach can be found in two-thousand-year chronicles. It was widely cultivated in Russia in the 19th century.

What kind of plant is this

Spinach rosettes are slightly similar to sorrel. But the difference exists and is quite significant if you look closely.

The leaves of sorrel are elongated and thinner, unlike spinach. Its shoots are dense, leaves round shape, slightly lumpy.

The taste of these two plants cannot be confused. In spinach, it is piquant, with hints of bitterness and a slight sour aftertaste, in contrast to the main, pronounced, sour taste of sorrel.

Doctors have long noted beneficial features spinach It is rich in fiber and helps improve digestion. Flavonoids slow down the process of inflammation, vitamin K helps normalize blood pressure and improves the functioning of the heart muscle and the vascular system as a whole.

Iron from spinach leaves is easily absorbed by the body and helps patients with blood diseases. The large amount of vitamins in fresh spinach leaves is not comparable to other green crops.

There is a complete vitamin complex of groups B, C, A. There are anti-aging elements of vitamin E. A large set of microelements, including rare ones: selenium, omega-3 fatty acid, iodine, folic acid and others.

People suffering from kidney and liver diseases and gout should eat spinach leaves with caution. Minor content oxalic acid may still cause an exacerbation of the disease.

Soil preparation and planting time

Spinach annual herbaceous plant. You can choose any landing time. Grows well in spring, when winter sowing seeds

The bed is prepared in advance by deep digging and applying fertilizers in the form of compost, rotted manure, humus and full complex mineral fertilizers. Doesn't like spinach acidic soils, therefore, during digging, chalk, lime, and dolomite flour are added.

The site for planting is chosen to be well-lit and with fertile soil. The best predecessors for planting spinach are potatoes, legumes (peas, beans, beans) or various types cabbage.

Note: at spring planting the bed is prepared in the fall, and in the winter - in the summer or even in the spring.

To obtain earlier spring spinach leaves, the seeds need to be sown late autumn, when the ground is already frozen, into previously prepared grooves. The crop is early ripening, so cultivation is practiced at several sowing times.

Starting from March and ending in August, you can sow seeds in the garden and get fresh herbs all summer long. In early spring, spinach can be sown locally as a precursor to more late species vegetables or compact other plantings by placing seeds between rows.

It is sown as a beacon, fast-growing green, in plantings of root parsley or carrots. In the early stages or during a prolonged cold spring, spinach is grown in a greenhouse.

Popular varieties

For middle zone High-yielding varieties of spinach have been bred in Russia; the best can be considered:

1. Victoria is a variety of German selection, high-yielding. It is considered late-ripening - from the appearance of the first shoots to the harvest period, it takes from 20 to 40 days. The diameter of the rosette is about 15 cm. The yield is up to 3.5 kg per 1 sq.m. When thinning is carried out, the quantity and quality of cut leaves increases.
2. The early ripening variety includes the Ispolinsky variety. From the emergence of seedlings to harvest, it takes from 14 to 35 days. The rosette can grow up to 50 cm in diameter. The variety is suitable for greenhouses and open ground.
3. late-ripening Zhirnolistny variety with beautiful leaves in a rosette, the diameter of which is up to 30 cm. The cutting period occurs on the 28-30th day.
4. Matador is a variety brought from the Czech Republic, but is perfectly adapted to growing in the conditions of central Russia. Smooth, thick leaves are ready for cutting 30 days after the first shoots appear. Sowing is carried out in early spring or late autumn, before winter. Productivity up to 3 kg per square meter. meters.
5. Spinach Boa was bred specifically for the harsh Siberian region. Seeds are able to germinate at a temperature of +4-5 degrees. The leaves can be used as fresh, and during processing.

Planting and care

As already mentioned, sowing seeds in open ground can be done at any time, from early spring to August, and before winter in late autumn.

Grow good harvest It is possible only in highly fertile beds, well-filled with fertilizers.

Before sowing, seeds must be soaked for 1-2 days in water and placed in a warm place. Such heating will ensure friendly and early sprouting of spinach. Before planting in the ground, the seeds are slightly dried until they flow.

Sow in rows, with a distance between them of about 20-25 cm, in grooves 1 cm deep, the distance between seeds is 4-5 cm. The top of the planting is sprinkled with nutritious soil and watered with warm water.

Shoots should appear 7-12 days after planting. When planting early, the bed can be covered with covering material for faster germination. After the first shoots appear, the spunbond is removed and the row spacing is loosened.

It is advisable to thin out the plants at the same time, leaving them at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other.

It is worth taking note: the procedure must be carried out as the spinach grows, eating the harvested plants. Thus, by increasing the distance between the outlets, they quickly increase the green mass.

Caring for spinach involves loosening, timely thinning, weeding, watering and fertilizing. IN hot weather and to prevent rapid and early bolting, it is necessary to provide abundant watering.

They can be combined with fertilizing. After this, the greenery of the plant looks especially appetizing and bright. Properly selected fertilizers will provide an abundance of fresh greenery and prevent early bolting.

It is better to feed with nitrogen fertilizers. Phosphate and potassium types of fertilizing make the leaves hard and speed up bolting.

Remove spinach leaves until a flower stem forms. After the arrow appears, the shoots become tough and tasteless. Ripened spinach rosettes (more than 10-12 leaves) can be completely removed from the garden bed.

Growing methods

Spinach grows well at home. It is easy to grow at home on a windowsill in a container or regular flower pot.

Nutrient mixture for growing can be purchased at a specialty store. Early ripening varieties are selected for planting. Seed preparation is the same as when planting spinach in the country.

Seeds are sown to a depth of 1-1.5 cm, sprinkled with nutritious soil and watered with warm, settled water. You can plant the seeds in a box, and then, after germination, seedlings are planted in separate containers. You can plant a sprout with two true leaves in cups.

It is important to know: After sowing the seeds, the box is covered with glass or film and placed in a warm place. After the first seedlings appear, the cover is removed.

A good harvest of spinach at home can be obtained by growing it on an insulated balcony or loggia, if the sun does not shine there too much during the day. If the windows are located on the south side, then the plant needs to be shaded or moved deeper into the room, otherwise the rosette will quickly form a flower arrow and the leaves will lose their tenderness and taste.

Deal with step by step cultivation spinach by watching the video:

Some types of fresh greens are available throughout the year, even in winter. Every gardener can grow spinach from green seeds. Spinach is a valuable product, indispensable for diet and children's menus. This plant is unpretentious, takes root on any soil, withstands cold snaps and produces crops even in cool conditions.

Characteristics of the plant, spinach varieties for the windowsill

Spinach is an annual herbaceous crop that produces juicy leaves that are extremely healthy for nutrition. They contain minerals and vitamins in high concentration, and the calorie content is very small - 23 kcal per 100 g. In spring and summer, spinach feels good in the garden, and in room conditions can grow all year round.

For home grown early ripening ones are selected, often hybrid varieties spinach with resistance to greenhouse conditions.

The following varieties have good taste characteristics:

1. Fat-leaved is a variety of spinach with soft and textured foliage. Rosettes of leaves reach 25-30 cm in volume. The greens are edible within 25-40 days after the sprouts appear.
2. Gigantic - medium-sized leaves with a mild taste. This variety is used for preservation and is recommended for feeding children. The leaves are edible 30 days after sprouts appear.
3. Matador is a variety with smooth grayish leaves that ripen in 35-50 days. This type of spinach is adapted to unfavorable conditions, is rarely exposed to pests.
4. Victoria - this species has rounded leaves collected in a small rosette. An early ripening variety, the harvest ripens in 25-40 days. Due to its compactness, it is one of the most popular varieties for growing on a windowsill.
5. Strawberry is interesting because of its light berry aroma emanating from the bush. Both leaves and fruits are edible. One of the earliest ripening varieties, 2-3 weeks are enough for it.
6. Krepysh is a mid-season variety that gives big harvest under conditions of regular watering. Releases flower arrows late. Suitable for growing in open ground.

Advice! If spinach is grown for the first time, gardeners recommend sowing several varieties at once for testing.

Greens vary not only in leaf size and ripening time, but also in taste. The harvest is harvested within 2 months, during which time you can decide which variety to give preference in the future.

Preparing for sowing

Spinach seeds are medium-sized, round, light brown. Before planting, they are soaked for a day in warm water, since it is dense external structure will not allow them to germinate in dry form. Then the seeds are transferred to a weak solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection for 2-4 hours, and dried before sowing. paper towel. If the material has not been soaked, then it is necessary to water the soil abundantly after planting. Gardeners recommend not to ignore soaking, as this increases the percentage of viable seeds.

Containers are selected in accordance with further cultivation seedlings. If it will be located on the windowsill, and the harvest will be harvested at home, then long, wide and shallow pots are taken. If the sprouts will dive into open ground, then take smaller containers. The material of the growing pots does not have of great importance, regular flowerpots will do. A prerequisite is drainage holes at the bottom to remove moisture.

Spinach - unpretentious plant, it takes root in any soil. The only rule: there should be no peat in the soil. Increased acidity negatively affects the quality of the crop. Self-cooking soil for sowing seeds: 1 part coconut fiber + 2 parts vermicompost. Coconut fiber is sometimes replaced with perlite. To exclude diseases of seedlings, the soil must be calcined in the oven or watered with a solution of fungicide or potassium permanganate.

Advice! To harvest throughout the year, seeds are sown every two weeks.

Landing

Stages of sowing spinach seeds:

1. A drainage layer of broken bricks or expanded clay.
2. The treated soil mixture is poured onto the drainage.
3. Spinach seeds are buried 1-2 cm into the soil.
4. All plantings are covered with soil.
5. Immediately after sowing, the soil is slightly moistened. This will speed up the appearance of entries.
6. The box is covered plastic film or a transparent lid and move to a bright place.

Advice! When planting seeds in a common pot, you need to take into account that each plant needs at least 8-10 cm of soil for normal development.

Seedling care

The first shoots should appear on the surface a week after sowing if the box was stored at a temperature of +15-17° C. When caring for seedlings, several conditions must be observed: abundant watering, maintaining air humidity and a sufficient amount of light.

Spinach loves good light, but does not tolerate dry soil. After planting, it is allowed to place the flowerpot on the south side, but away from heating devices. To maintain moisture, the seedlings are sprayed with settled water from a spray bottle. The frequency of moistening the leaves is once a day, in dry times - twice. If the room is too hot, the spinach will wilt and form seed pods faster.

Watering spinach should be moderate. The soil should not dry out, but also overwater root system no need. Each new addition of moisture is carried out with the drying of the top layer of soil. Water is taken that has settled, room temperature. After each watering, the soil is slightly loosened so that air can flow freely to the root system.

Young seedlings are afraid of scorching sun rays, therefore, at midday it is recommended to shade the place where the box is located, otherwise the delicate leaves will get burned. IN winter time Daylight hours are extended using a UV lamp for at least 2 hours in the morning or evening. Optimal quantity hours of daylight - 10-12. The lamp is installed at a height of 50-60 cm above the box.

Advice! In cloudy weather or winter, the lamp can be left on all day for up to 14 hours.

The optimal temperature for growing healthy and tasty leaves is from +14 to +18 degrees, so spinach will be comfortable both indoors and on an insulated balcony. The plant produces a harvest even at a temperature of +7-10 degrees, but in such conditions leaf growth slows down. At temperatures above +20 degrees, early appearance of the peduncle is possible.

From the first shoots, it is recommended to feed spinach for healthy growth. Liquid mineral fertilizers are applied. However, if the soil was sufficiently fertile at the time of planting the seeds, feeding the spring seedlings will not be required. Excess nutrients affect the taste of spinach leaves.

Growing greens lasts approximately 2 months. If you plan to re-grow the crop in a pot, then you should add organic fertilizer to the soil.

Growing in open ground

Growing spinach in open ground is convenient when a large amount of harvest is required, and the windowsill does not accommodate large boxes. When planting, you need to take into account that daylight hours longer than 14 hours contribute to rapid education peduncle, and such plants are no longer used for food.

More often, spinach in open ground is grown directly from seeds, rather than by seedlings. Sowing takes place around mid-April. Young shoots can withstand frosts down to –8° C. If sudden cold snaps occur in the region in the spring, the seedlings are covered with non-woven material.

How to sow spinach seeds in open ground:

1. As for sowing seedlings, seeds for soil are soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate.
2. Before planting, spring soil can be fertilized with nitrogen.
3. The seeds are immersed in the soil to a depth of 1.5-3 cm. A distance of 8-10 cm is maintained between them. It is better to leave about 30 cm between the rows.

Sowing spinach is also possible in the summer (at the end of June), and in warm regions - until mid-September.

Caring for spinach in open ground is practically no different from caring for seedlings on a windowsill. The plant also needs abundant watering, loosening the soil and fertilizing.

The strengthened seedlings move from the windowsill to open ground when the soil in the area warms up well. At first, young plantings need to be sheltered from the spring sun and protected from daily temperature changes. To do this, arcs are installed and covered with agrofibre.

Growing problems

If the seedlings have stretched out, then you need to increase the amount of light. It is better to move the boxes from the north, east and west windows to the south or install a lamp for additional lighting. If spinach develops extremely slowly and the sprouts have small and weak leaves, then you need to add fertilizer to the soil.

Diseases of spinach seedlings:

1. Fusarium - fungal disease. It manifests itself as darkening of the leaves and stopping their growth. The lower leaves turn yellow and die.
2. Anthracnose is a brown or grayish stain caused by a fungus.
3. Root rot is another fungal disease that mainly affects young plantings. It appears as spots with a fungal formation in the center.

If the fungus has infected a small part of the plant, it is removed and the seedlings are treated with a fungicide solution. If most of the spinach is damaged, it is better to dig it up and plant new seeds.

Important! The leaves of the affected plant are not edible! They need to be thrown away.

Pests of seedlings appear only in open ground conditions, on indoor seedlings they settle extremely rarely.

Examples of pests:

• cutworm caterpillar,
• beet fly.

To expel the pest from the plantings, the bed is treated with a solution of the substance anabasine sulfate: 15 cm 3 per 10 liters of water.

When and how to harvest

The harvest is harvested when 5-7 leaves appear on the sprout, and all the leaves are torn off at once, leaving a rosette or part of them. Experienced gardeners It is recommended to pluck no more than half of the crop in one go: this way, the formation of leaves will last for several weeks.

To separate the leaf, it is broken off or cut off. Pulling and abruptly tearing off is not recommended, so as not to damage the entire plant.

The harvest takes place in the evening. It has been noticed that leaves picked during the day quickly wither. If spinach grows in open ground, then the leaves are not cut off during or after rain, as they quickly rot when wet.

After the flower stalk appears, the taste of the leaves changes and becomes rancid.

Storage

Fresh spinach greens are stored for 5-7 days at temperatures from 0 to +1. If the leaves are placed in the refrigerator, wipe them dry.

Advice! The sooner the torn leaf is eaten, the more benefits it will provide to the body. From long-term storage, greens lose valuable substances.

1. For freezing, the leaves are washed, dried, and the roots are cut off. Spinach can be frozen either whole or chopped. A good option is to blanch the greens (pour boiling water over them) before moving them to the freezer.
2. Spinach leaves are also stored in the form of puree: they are washed, immersed in a blender and crushed.
3. The spinach harvest is dried in a shaded, dry place, preferably on outdoors. After a few days, the leaves are transferred to fabric bags and sent for storage.
4. Salting is not the most popular way to prepare spinach. The peeled leaves are placed in jars and sprinkled with salt. The product is stored strictly in the cold and for a short time.

What are the benefits of spinach?

Spinach is useful not only fresh, but also as a winter harvesting. This green is a source of fiber, vitamins A, group B, C, E, K, P, PP, microelements (iron, potassium, magnesium), organic acids, flavonoids and vegetable protein.

Spinach is useful for children as a preventative against rickets, has a positive effect on stomach health, stimulates intestinal function, improves blood composition and much more. Spinach saturates the weakened body with vitamins and is an integral part of the diet menu.

If you want to easily grow a useful and attractive plant, then no. best option than spinach bushes. The greenery of this plant enlivens the room, looks neat on the site, and most importantly, is a tasty and healthy product.