Spinach: profile, care & winter hardiness

Spinach is a fast-growing vegetable that requires little maintenance and is relatively hardy when it comes to diseases and pests.

How does spinach grow (Spinacia oleracea), what do spinach plants look like, what do you have to consider when fertilizing spinach and is spinach frost hardy? These are all questions that we will answer in this article. We also clarify whether spinach is a vegetable and provide instructions on how to propagate spinach.

Spinach: origin and properties

Spinach probably comes from Central Asia, where it emerged from the crossing of two wild spinach species. in the 12th It came to Europe in the 19th century, but was only planted in our gardens at the end of the Middle Ages. Such as 

chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris) and Beetroot (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris) spinach is a member of the foxtail family (Amaranthaceae).

How does spinach grow? What spinach looks like is highly dependent on the growth stage it is in. After sowing, spinach plants initially form leaf rosettes. The individual spinach leaves are long-stemmed and ovoid or triangular in shape. The size of spinach leaves depends on the variety, when it is harvested and where the plant is grown. Some varieties have spinach leaves up to 12 cm.

Spinach is a long-day crop. As soon as the day length reaches 10 to 14 hours, spinach begins to flower. The sprout of the spinach plants stretches, which is also referred to as bolting, and can then reach a length of 50 to 100 cm.

Spinach is originally dioecious and a wind pollinator. So there are plants that only have male flowers and some that only have female flowers. These look very different. While male spinach flowers are more spherical in shape, female flowers look like they are made out of threads. In the meantime, however, there are even monoecious varieties in which female and male flowers are located on a spinach plant.

After the spinach has flowered, fertilized female flowers develop into fruit containing the seeds of spinach. Depending on the variety, these are round or horned.

Tip: what it exactly with monoeciousness, dioeciousness and hermaphrodite is all about, we explain in a separate article.

Normally, spinach is not a perennial, but an annual. However, it can also be grown perennial, in which case the sowing time is in September. The young spinach plants survive the winter as a small rosette of leaves and continue to grow in the spring. This way you can harvest particularly early. However, you have to protect the small spinach plants from frost in winter.

Is spinach a vegetable?

There is no clear, uniform definition of vegetables. Statements differ, for example, depending on whether you ask a grocer or a botanist. In principle, however, one can say that vegetables are mostly annual plant parts suitable for human consumption are cultivated plants that have a high water and mostly low sugar content and are eaten raw or heated be able. All of these statements apply to spinach. Therefore, it can be said that spinach is a vegetable.

Spinach-like vegetables

In many recipes, spinach can be easily replaced with other leafy greens and spinach-like plants. The selection is large and ranges from New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonoides), strawberry spinach (Blithum virgatum or Blitum capitatum), purslane (Portulaca oleracea), Kale (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica), garden orchard (Atriplex hortensis), tree spinach (Chenopodium giganteum) and chard up to Good Henry (Chenopodium bonus henricus). Even plants considered by many to be weeds such as nettles (Urtica) or goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria) can be prepared like spinach as a leafy vegetable.

The right care

Although spinach is a frugal plant, regular watering is still necessary. The soil should be moist, but the spinach does not tolerate waterlogging. It is best to water more often in small amounts. Regular raking and weed removal have also proven useful in cultivation, since the spinach does not assert itself when weeds are excessive and its growth is thus inhibited. To prevent the soil from drying out can between the rows of spinach mulch be deployed.

Tip: Some spinach varieties may be grown in summer. Then regular watering is particularly important, because drought can be a reason for early flowering. It is best to water early in the morning or late in the afternoon. In this way, the amount of evaporation is reduced and you save water.

Fertilize spinach

Spinach is one of the moderately consuming plants. In order to cover the nutrient requirements of the plant, you should use a primarily organic fertilizer or your own compost to fertilize spinach. Our Plantura organic tomato fertilizer is ideal for this because it is completely animal-free and provides your plants with all the important nutrients throughout the gardening season. Thanks to its nitrogen-to-potassium ratio of 4 to 8, it also reduces the risk of excessive nitrogen fertilization in spinach plants. This should be avoided due to the possible accumulation of nitrate in the leaves.

Caring for spinach at a glance:

• Mainly organic fertilization with Plantura organic tomato fertilizer or compost
• Water regularly
• For example, mulching with grass clippings to slow the drying out of the soil
• Remove and rake weeds

Common diseases and pests in spinach

Few diseases affect spinach, making it fairly easy to grow. A disease of spinach is the downy mildew (Peronospora farinosa). In the meantime, however, there are enough new varieties that have good to very good resistance to the fungal disease. Especially when growing in a polytunnel, you should ensure regular ventilation. Outdoors, it is advisable to water the plants as close to the roots as possible so that downy mildew has less surface area to attack, because the fungus depends on leaf wetness. If the plants are already infested, unfortunately there is not much to save. Then it is advisable to chop off the culture and dispose of it in the residual waste. This drastic measure is appropriate because there is a risk that the fungus will survive in the compost and its spores will spread throughout the garden.

Occasionally, different forms of leaf spot diseases occur on spinach. In most cases this is about Cercospora beticola. Since the pathogen is also transmitted via the seeds and can survive in the soil for up to 2 years, you should only use tested seeds and take an appropriate break in cultivation.

Pests rarely visit the spinach Black bean aphid (Aphis fabae) can, however, cause problems for the spinach. For protection, the plants can be covered with a net in early summer until harvest.
Another pest that is sometimes detected on spinach is the larva of the turnip fly (Pegomya hyoscyami). From around April, the flies lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves of spinach, chard, beetroot and other turnips. Larvae develop from this, which feed on leaf miners within the leaves. This can be recognized by the light, irregular spots on the leaves. As a preventive measure, spinach should not be grown in intercropping with beets.

When spinach leaves start to turn yellow, there can be a number of reasons. In most cases, however, diseases or pests on spinach are not the reason. For example, it can indicate waterlogging, a lack of nutrients or excessive heat.

Hibernation: Is Spinach Hardy?

The question of whether spinach tolerates frost must be answered from variety to variety. Many varieties of spinach are frost hardy and can therefore be overwintered. Sowing is then possible until October.
The hardy spinach plants survive the cold of winter best when they have already developed a few leaves. Cold frosts, where temperatures are very cold and frosty for an extended period of time during However, if there is no protective and insulating snow, this can lead to the death of spinach to lead. To protect against this, spinach is covered with garden fleece or leaves and brushwood, for example. After the spinach has overwintered successfully, you can look forward to a particularly early one spinach harvest be happy.

Tip: Suitable for winter cultivation spinach varieties are for example 'Winterriesen' and 'Matador'.

Propagation: Harvest spinach seeds

If you want to propagate spinach yourself and harvest spinach seeds, you should consider a few things. F1 hybrids should not be grown as the offspring can vary greatly in appearance and taste. The safest way to replicate as identically as possible is to use monoecious varieties, because they are very likely to fertilize themselves.

The decision as to which plants to harvest spinach seeds from is made early in the growth phase, as this is when the healthiest and most vigorous specimens are selected. Even if it is difficult, one should not harvest leaves from these, but let them grow and bloom. There should be more for dioecious plants, because both male and female representatives must have flowered. After flowering, the male specimens are plucked. Only the female spinach plants are allowed to remain until they are ready to seed. This is the case when the seeds turn brownish-beige and can no longer be crushed between the fingers. Now cut off the entire plant close to the ground and dry it in an airy, warm place for a few days.

To extract the seeds, the stalks can be crushed between your hands. It is best to wear gloves for this. The seeds are then sorted out and stored in a cool, dark and dry place until it is time for the Cultivation of spinach is. Spinach seeds can germinate well for about 3 years.

If spinach grows under good conditions, it can be harvested after 6 weeks. We have more fast-growing vegetables compiled for you.