The Importance Of Choosing The Best Seed When Growing Spinach

Commercial operations growing spinach confront challenges specific to the crop, and that is why many new varieties of the original Spinacia oleracea have been developed. The latest seeds are available to home gardeners but are not always obtainable from supermarkets. So it’s a good idea to source from specialist online seed purveyors.

There are four types of this spinach available. They are known as savoy, semi-savoy, flat leaf and baby. Savoy has dark green crinkly leaves and strong stalks. Flat leaf spinach has plain leaves without crinkles and is not as upright as savoy. Baby spinach is very tender, grows close to the ground and has delicate triangular leaves. In most cases commercial growers prefer the savoy types because they are easiest to harvest and market despite the difficulties involved in getting soil out of the wrinkled leaves.

In addition to these ‘proper’ plants there are beets the leaves of which can be regarded as substitute spinach. In these cases one can pick the side leaves as the bulb is growing and then have the added advantage of the bulb later. Swiss Chard is another plant that is often used as a substitute.

The development of new strains is an essential aspect of the struggle for survival as the world population expands inexorably. In the case of spinach the important challenges are days to maturity, disease resistance and shelf life. The last of these is not important for home growers because they are fortunate to always have fresh vegetables. For commercial growers shelf life is important because marketing the crop as fresh produce is a major challenge.

Powdery mildew, sometimes called downy mildew, is a particular problem where this crop is concerned. It affects the leaves making them appear sickly and infected. As it is the leaves that are the desired parts of this crop it can mean total annihilation. Therefore the best solution is to buy disease resistant strains of seed, especially where humid conditions are likely to prevail.

The tendency to rush into seed setting rather than leaf growing is known as bolting. This can drastically reduce the productivity of crops because it is the leaves that really constitute the value of a crop. Strains that have been developed to be less susceptible to bolting have been developed and can be discovered by searching the sites of online seed merchants.

It has been shown that the optimal temperatures for growing this crop are between fifty three and sixty degrees Fahrenheit. It is best for soils to have a pH reading of between 6.5 and 7. Sowing usually starts in spring and continues at intervals throughout the Summer months with harvesting occurring as plants become ready. Well balanced sandy loams are best and some additional side dressing of nitrogen may enhance leaf growth.

The choice of seed is an important factor when growing spinach. There are pleasures and problems involved, as in most gardening and farming activities, but the choice of seed can have a big influence on the balance of these two opposites. Seeds should germinate between six and ten days and between forty and fifty days leaves should be available to eat or sell.

And if you enjoyed reading Susan’s article here on how to grow spinach, you may also like this related one on growing spinach.