We study the features of growing and caring for spinach in the open field
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 one of the early ripening vegetables. It takes 30-40 days from the moment of sowing to collecting the first batch of leaves. 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 harvests. Both summer residents and large crop farms use this property of the plant.
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 the middle lane, this occurs in mid-April. If the spring weather does not pamper with warmth, crops can be covered with non-woven material, 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 watering 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 the seeds and the 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, the seedlings of this useful and unpretentious plant will appear in the beds.
Plot for growing spinach outdoors
The success of spinach cultivation depends largely 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 to increase the return on planting in the open ground 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 superphosphate per square meter;
- when digging, add humus or manure.
In spring, on poor soils, the beds are additionally fertilized nitrogen, adding 20 grams of urea for each 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 spinach should be abundant and frequent. In order not to harm the landings, use sprinklers... At the same time, up to 10 liters of water is consumed per square meter, which allows the soil to be carefully and deeply saturated 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 nonwoven fabric or other shading methods are used. 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.