Maine Garden Ideas
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Spinach

spinach Picture
Growing your own spinach gives you the makings for healthy smoothies, fresh salads or for steaming and serving as a side dish. This tasty vegetable grows quickly and requires little care. Try fresh spinach instead of lettuce in your favorite summer sandwiches.

How to Grow Spinach


Light: Spinach requires full sun for 6 to 8 hours a day. Although it will survive on less sunlight its growth may be stunted. Choose a location for spinach in direct sunlight. Keep in mind that the hours of direct sunlight do not need to be consecutive. Don't worry if your bed is shaded for a portion of the day as long as the total hours of sunlight adds up to six to eight hours.

Preparing the soil: Till the soil to a depth of 8 to 10 inches and remove rocks, roots and other debris. Rake the area smooth with a garden rake.

Amending the soil. Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of compost or well-rotted manure to the garden bed. Work this in with the garden tiller or hand tools. Organic matter improves aeration, promotes good drainage and adds slow-release nutrients to the soil.

Fertilizing: Sprinkle 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 fertilizer over the prepared garden bed following the recommended application rate on the container. Work this into the top six inches of the soil with a rake or hoe.

Planting: Plant spinach in the spring as soon as the soil can be worked. Sow seeds to a depth of ¼ to ½ inch spaced two to four inches apart. Space rows 18 to 24 inches apart. Cover with soil and firm down with the back of the hoe to secure the seeds.

Watering: Water thoroughly after planting and keep the soil moist until seedlings emerge. Reduce watering to once or twice a week once the seedlings are two inches tall. Generally, spinach requires watering when the soil feels dry 1 inch below the surfaces.

Weeding: Mulch with organic matter, such as grass clippings, to create a weed barrier and to maintain moisture. Otherwise, pick young weeds as soon as they emerge and cut larger weeds to the ground level with a sharp hoe.

Harvesting: Harvest spinach when the leaves are four to six inches high. Some prefer to harvest only outer leaves to allow the tiny leaves in the center to grow. Others cut spinach at the ground level. Which you prefer is up to you.


Copyright © 2014 Nannette Richford



  • Home
  • Garden Thyme Blog
  • Themes
    • Butterfly Gardens
    • Moon Gardens
    • Sensory Gardens
    • All About Fairies
  • Flowers
    • Annual Flowers >
      • Alyssum
      • Cosmos
      • Geraniums
      • Marigolds
      • Morning Glories
      • Nasturtiums
      • Petunias >
        • Reviving Petunias
      • Snapdragons
      • Sunflowers
      • Sweet Peas
      • Zinnias
    • Perennial Flowers >
      • Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Hortensia’)
      • Lupines
      • Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea)
    • Maine Wildflowers
  • Veggies
    • Warm Season Vegetables >
      • Beans >
        • Growing Beans
        • Growing Pole Beans
        • How to Make a Teepee Trellis
      • About Corn >
        • Growing Corn
        • What is Baby Corn, anyway?
        • Can you grow corn in containers?
      • Cucumbers >
        • Grow a cucumber in a bottle
        • Growing Pickling Cucumbers
        • Growing cucamelons (Mexican Gherkin)
        • Why do cucumbers blossom but fail to set fruit?
        • Trellising Cucumbers
        • Making Cucumber Relish
        • Powdery Mildew on Cucumbers
      • Melons
      • Peppers >
        • Growing Peppers
      • Squash >
        • Growing Zucchini
        • Spaghetti Squash
      • Tomatoes >
        • How to Harden Off Tomato Plants
        • How (and when) to Prune Tomatoes
        • Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) for Tomatoes
        • Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes
        • Growing Cherry Tomatoes in Hanging Baskets
        • 4 Best Tomatoes for Short Seasons - Early Tomatoes
        • 5 Early Maturing Tomatoes for Short Season Gardening
        • How to Ripen Green Tomatoes
        • How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes at Home
        • Grow Your Own Amazing Pomato Plant - Tomatoes on the Top and Potatoes on the Bottom
    • Cool Season Vegetables >
      • Cole Crops
      • Greens >
        • How to Grow Spinach
        • How to Grow Malabar Spinach
        • How to Grow Swiss Chard
        • Harvesting and Cooking Beet Greens
        • How to Grow Microgreens
      • Onions & Garlic >
        • How to Grow Garlic
        • How to Grow Onions
      • Peas >
        • Growing Garden (shelling) Peas
        • Growing Sugar Snap Peas
      • Potatoes >
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Containers
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Hay Bales
      • Root Crops >
        • Growing Beets
        • How to Grow Carrots
  • Herbs
    • Growing Basil
    • Growing Chives
    • Growing Lavender
    • Herbal Tea Garden
    • How to Grow a Culinary Herb Garden
    • How to Grow Herbs in Sponges
    • Colonial Herb Garden - Classroom Project
    • Herbed Butter
    • Making Herbed Oils
  • Gardening Basics
    • Seed Starting Basics
    • Grafting Basics
    • Soil >
      • Starting a New Garden
      • How to Prepare Soil
      • How to Test Soil Drainage
      • What Type of Soil Do You Have
      • Soil Mix Recipe for Containers
      • How to Make Compost Tea
      • How to Use Mulch
      • Control Blister Beetles
  • Birds
    • Hummingbirds >
      • DIY Hummingbird Feeders from Recycled Bottles
      • Annuals for Hummingbird Gardens
      • Perennials for Hummingbird Gardens
    • About Birdseed
    • Choosing a Birdfeeder
  • Fiddleheads and Fairies
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • How to Marinate Roasted Vegetables