October 14, 2014

I do like spinach, in salads and cooked. Some seasons, with spotty germination, I have to depend on Swiss chard. But I do relish the smallish leaves of spinach in a salad.

I remember when spinach salad came on the culinary scene. My first taste of it was at the El Adobe Restaurant in San Juan Capistrano in the late 60’s. It combined delicate baby spinach, sliced hard-cooked eggs and crumbled bacon with a thin, creamy dressing, all artfully arrayed on the plate.

So you see, I would like to succeed in growing spinach. Last winter’s garden spinach germinated and grew well. I’ve learned that fresh seed is critical for good germination. I compost seed that is over two years old. Last fall I soaked the seed before planting which may have helped.

Barbara Pleasant wrote an excellent piece on growing spinach. I reread it yesterday before I soaked my seed and prepared the bed for planting. Read Getting a Good Stand of Spinach on growveg.com.

This is my favorite spinach variety to grow. The leaves are relatively smooth without much savoy. Read the catalog description here.

Days to harvest: 40 and I’m counting.