Spinach farming guide

Scientific name: Spinacia Oleracea

Introduction - Spinach is a cool weather crop that doesn’t grow well in hot summer months when the days are long. Hot weather causes the plants to seed too soon, which is called bolting. The best temperature for growing spinach is between 16ºC and 24ºC.

Spinach vegetable

Land preparation and planting
1.Loosen your soil by digging down deeply.

2.Apply fertilizer, manure or compost. If you are using fertilizer, use one handful for every square meter of soil.

Or 

-Four hands of manure or compost for every square meter of soil.

3.Use a garden fork to mix soil and fertilizer, manure or compost thoroughly, and then even out using a rake.

4.Put the seed or seedlings into the ground, working according to the instructions on the seed packet or the nursery recommendations.

5.Water the plants regularly. Use flood irrigation, a sprinkler, a watering can, a hosepipe or drip irrigation.

6.For a better crop, apply a top dressing about five weeks later as spinach needs a lot of nitrogen for good quality, broad leaves.

For this top dressing, use either chicken manure or LAN applied between the rows and work it in lightly. Remember to remove weeds regularly.

7.Harvest spinach regularly. Remove only the outer (older) leaves with a sharp knife about 30mm to 50mm above ground level.

Don’t damage the new leaves. If the leaves are not going to be used immediately, bunch them and put them in water to keep them fresh for longer.

8.Don’t plant spinach on the same plot over and over, because this causes spinach pests and diseases to build up in the soil.

-Rotate the crop with other vegetables such as pumpkins, beans, peas, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes and cabbage.

Tips
-Fertilize only if necessary due to slow growth, or use as a supplement if your soil's pH is inadequate. Use when plant reaches ⅓ growth.

-When seedlings sprout to about two inches, thin them to 3-4 inches apart.

-Beyond thinning, no cultivation is necessary.

-Roots are shallow and easily damaged.

-Keep soil moist with mulching.

-Water regularly.

-Spinach can tolerate the cold.

Pests and diseases
-Leaf Miners
-Bolting
-Mosaic Virus/Blight
-Downy Mildew

Care
-Keep an eye on your plants. 

-Harvest when leaves reach desired size.

-Don’t wait too long to harvest, or wait for larger leaves; bitterness will set in quickly after maturity.

-The whole plant can be harvested at once, and cut at the base, or leaves may be picked off plants one layer at a time, giving inner layers more time to develop.

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