Dont blanch with boiling water as this will draw out too many of the nutrients and flavor of the leaves. Lettuce is lovely, and we love our spinach, too! Sow outdoors, directly where they are to grow. Spinach needs around six weeks of cool temperatures to grow from seed to maturity. Spinach grown at temperatures above 75 degrees F contributes to bitter flavor. This section is filled with all the starchy goodness we can muster! Early spring and in the fall are the two times of year when spinach is most likely to come to full maturity before bolting. Stored this way, your spinach may be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of 41-48 degrees for around ten days. Premised on that you can start a business where you identify commonly sought crops, you source seeds, grow seedlings and sell them to farmers. This skips the germination time that seeds take, allowing you to get a quicker harvest. Q: Should you soak spinach before planting? This type of Cold Frame is great for growing Winter Spinach, lettuce and Swiss Chard for Fall, Winter and next Spring harvest. Use a spinosad spray to wipe them out. Learn tips for creating your most beautiful home and garden ever. Its possible to transplant spinach I just dont recommend it if it was initially grown in a container! Leafy greens are the basis of our salads, our sides, an additive to our soups, and more. Generally 5-6 weeks are required to grow transplants to this size. You can treat both of these problems with copper fungicide. This tends to make the spinach quite brittle, so if you opt to do this, you should expect that you wont be able to rehydrate the spinach into full leaves. No matter which part of the allium family it falls into, youll discover them here! Well-draining soil is essential for your spinach plants, as they wont tolerate much standing water. When you grow spinach, its best to prepare in advance rather than risk weak plants. Here youll find cabbages and kale, broccoli and cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and more! Remain watchful for other plants with similar problems. While zones 1 through 4 might need to wait another month or so, many of us can begin to get seeds started outdoors in the soil now. You can add salt if you want (about a quarter teaspoon per pint). But how do you harvest spinach for the best taste, and how long can you store it for? Spinach comes in a variety of leaf types and textures. Required fields are marked *. Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. Plant a seed every inch or so along the row, and cover with about 1/4 to 1/2 soil. Cucumbers are perfect here because they are widely consumed in Zimbabwe. Use insecticidal soaps, appropriate insecticides, or strong water stream to dislodge insects. Rainfall has become so erratic that relying on natural rainfall is unwise. Use flood irrigation, a sprinkler, a watering can, a hosepipe or drip irrigation. Here we discuss all elements of growing berries on bushes, trees, or individual plants. Green vegetables represent a wide array of vegetables. To clean it, fill a large bowl with cool water and place your spinach inside. However, they yield leaves which are much greener than the standard cabbage. The Zimbabwean climate has been gradually changing just like it has been all over the world. Instead, place your greens into a resealable bag, and place them in the microwave for one minute, then directly into the freezer. Sow spinach successionally every few weeks to ensure a continuous crop. A: It depends on the region where you live! Avoid moist conditions that favor slugs. That means you should plant seeds in the garden as soon as the soil is workable in the spring. It's best to pot in a container that will accommodate the plant's mature size, as spinach doesn't like its roots disturbed in repotting. Both of these can cause black, brown or yellow splotches to appear, and as the spots spread, they cause the plant to fail. Spinach can be grown from seed or transplants. When over-wintering spinach, mulch the plants heavily and remove the mulch after the snow melts in the spring. Thus it would be strategic to grow them. Profits per hectare can be at least US$2000. Plus, hot weather will make it bolt and cause the remaining foliage to become bitter. Spices add vibrancy not only to life, but to our gardens too! Homegrown grain can be yours! If necessary, use a copper fungicide to treat the problem. The seeds can take more than 10 days to germinate, so don't worry if your plants are slow to appear, just keep the soil damp, but not wet, until they're up. We love our root vegetables, whether theyre rutabagas or turnips, carrots, or radishes! Repeat until no dirt or debris is visible in the water or in the bottom of the bowl. Green or black soft-bodied insects that feed on underside of leaves. Perhaps it is for the lack of English names, but the vegetables are easily recognizable in local languages. Continue to fertilize throughout the season, following your product's instructions. Stay tuned for the first newsletter in the morning, straight to your inbox. It needs around 6 weeks of cool weather to produce a decent harvest. Here we highlight all of the fantastic seeds and grains you can grow for sustainable food solutions. They can quickly bolt, resulting in bittered leaves and failing plants. Remove only the outer (older) leaves with a sharp knife about 30mm to 50mm above ground level. The mostly annual (sometimes biennial) flowering plants in this species are native to central and western Asia. Tobacco is the most important cash and export crop in Zimbabwe. Legumes are staples in most peoples diets for a reason: these protein-packed seeds sustain life even when the going gets rough. In this article, I will be focusing on crop farming. How to Garden Outdoors in Winter and Grow Fresh Vegetables, How to Grow and Care for Yellow Pear Tomato, 14 Fall Vegetables to Grow in Your Garden, Growing Kale: How to Germinate, Water, and Harvest, How to Grow Green Onions: From Seeds & Regrowing, How to Grow and Care for Dutchman's Breeches, Crocus Flowers: How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Spring Crocus, North America, Central America, South America, Asia. If you are planting in late summer for a fall crop, try to find an area with sun in the morning and partial shade in the afternoon. Such vegetables form a huge part of the Zimbabwean diet daily. 7 Tips for How to Grow Spinach 1. There are many different varieties of spinach that range in appearance. Spinach is an annual plant; once it has gone to seed, its lifespan is essentially over, and other than potential harvesting of the seed the plant can be removed. If the temperature is cold enough that its snowing, you should protect your plants with a cold frame. Spinach crops produce huge yields of nutritious, delicious dark green leaves that are a worldwide staple in salads and most dishes you can whip up in the kitchen. But do you know how to grow spinach? There is a huge market segment of people who do not or no longer eat meat for health reasons. If you cut about an inch above the crown, or base of the plant, it is likely the plant will send out a new flush of leaves. Not only is it a phenomenal food, but its reasonably easy to grow, provided that you follow a few basic steps. These approaches enable you to capitalize on several variables such as limited space and erratic natural weather conditions. Plant your spinach seeds 1/2 to 1 inch deep and no more than twelve to fifteen seeds per foot of garden row. You can opt to either cut the stems off slightly below the leaf, or to snip off the entire plant. Farming in Zimbabwe entails several segments with two major segments being namely, crop farming and livestock farming. Most plants will send down one deep taproot and a multitude of other thinner roots. But if the conditions are wrong, your spinach crops will suffer. Plants that bolt to produce seed are suffering from weather thats just simply too warm. Use fabric covers to protect seedlings and transplants from frost. To harvest baby spinach leaves, wait until its formed a rosette of at least five to six inner leaves, and then harvest. But what about those unforeseen circumstances, like pests and diseases? Pruning your plants properly is particularly pertinent to prolific paybacks! The global market for fruits and vegetables is projected to reach over US$370 billion by end of next year. More common African greens come from theleaves of root vegetables such as cassava, sweet potato, and cocoyam. Dense plantings will reduce weed pressure. To freeze spinach, begin by thoroughly washing the leaves. Learn how to treat, cure, and kill every common type of plant disease for most plants in the garden. This collection of articles provides insight and understanding of some of the many different things used as organic fertilizers, from fish fertilizers to bone meal and everything in between. Your email address will not be published. Space your spinach plants so they get good air circulation, and try to keep water off the leaves in the evening. Gardening tool reviews along with gardening product reviews of some of the most popular products on the market like the Aquafarm, Tower Garden, and much more. It is a huge market with so much money to be made. Lovely lemons, luscious limes, great grapefruit, tasty tangerines and mighty mandarins and even the freaky finger limes and more! Once there are four young spinach leaves there, you can add an extra dose of a high-nitrogen water soluble plant food around the base of your plant. Here are 55+ plants you can grow in a hydroponic gardenno trowel required. Thin spinach to 12 inches apart; s [ace rows 12 inches apart. Older leaves are often stripped off the plants first allowing the young leaves to continue to grow. The spider flower plant, with its five to seven leaves, are also often found growing in many backyards in Africa. What makes mushrooms appealing is their place as a healthy substitute for meat. Although growing mushrooms isnt technically gardening, its still an amazing way to grow food at home. Erosion is reduced and weed growth is slowed when a good cover crop is in place. Container growth is also an option. Hot weather will rapidly cause most growing spinach plants to turn to seed production, which reduces the quality of the leaves for eating purposes. You'll need a seed tray or container with cells and universal soil to grow seedlings. Remember to plant at least 3 inches apart. Lost Password? Some of the common examples are covo, cabbage, spinach, and rape, amongst others. Moisture fluctuations will cause leaves to become tough, slow leaf development, and contribute to off-flavors. Dunk it repeatedly under the surface of the water, then gently drain the spinach and refill the bowl. Frozen spinach is best used within three to six months. Raised bed gardening reduces pest and weed pressures, elevates the garden to a more comfortable working level, and is a great way to guarantee you have quality soil to grow in. Follow our tutorials here. Root vegetables may not be glamorous, but theyre fascinating and delicious. Place a seed in each of the cells, at a depth of about half an inch into the soil. Youll find a selection of in-depth articles on all things tuber-related here. If I had to tell you just one area of crop farming to get into that would be vegetable farming. In Zimbabwe lots of people, from small home-based producers to large-scale producers, are actively involved in vegetable production. About 1 of water per week is ideal when you grow spinach, but in slightly warmer weather you may want to bump that to 1.5. Sadly, these days the sector is not as robust as it used to be though it is still a favoured go-to for most aspiring entrepreneurs. This also helps to take away any bitter taste from the leaves. Hydroponics not only manage their own water irrigation, but many of them include growing lights as well. Radishes are one great option. When selecting a planting location for spring, choose one that gets 6 or more hours of direct sun each day. However, its important to note that seeds do not germinate well at soil temperatures above 85 degrees Fahrenheit. A: Yes! Grow spinach in moist but well-drained soil or compost in partial shade. While it may seem simple to plant spinach, theres a limited window of time which you should plant seeds in. 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