Spinach "Harp" F1

* Spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.) is far from the most popular plant in our beds, and, frankly, it is completely unpopular ...
Meanwhile, a dismissive attitude towards this vegetable is absolutely unfair!
Firstly, in terms of protein content, spinach leaves are second only to green peas and young bean pods, which means that spinach dishes are quite nutritious and satisfying.
Secondly, in the lists of the most useful foods compiled by nutritionists from different countries, spinach ranks first among vegetables. It simply has no equal in composition and quantity of vitamins, microelements and biologically active substances contained in it.
Spinach is one of the best sources of carotene (second only to carrots), its green leaves contain many vitamins C, B1, B2, as well as P, PP, K, E, which are rarely found in other vegetables. In addition, they contain folic and pantothenic acids, salts of potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and iodine. Thanks to such a rich and varied composition of useful substances, this vegetable, experts say, not only saturates the body, but also removes toxins from it, strengthens blood vessels, prevents tumour diseases and anaemia, and has a beneficial effect on teeth and gums. Especially strongly nutritionists recommend it to pregnant women, children and people with poor health.
But there is one feature that does not allow spinach to become popular: its juicy leaves do not retain their presentation for long - they quickly wither. But the owners of personal gardens and kitchen gardens can provide themselves with them from early spring to late autumn.
Boy or girl?
Spinach is an early ripening annual unpretentious plant of the haze family. Usually, it is a small rosette (15 - 20 cm high and 15 cm wide) of 6 - 10 basal leaves. They can look quite diverse, now there are many varieties with corrugated and almost smooth, pointed and rounded leaves. Spinach is a dioecious plant, which means that there are males and females. You can distinguish them by peduncles - in male plants they are formed earlier. In addition, male specimens have significantly fewer leaves and are not as valuable in composition as female specimens. And therefore, thinning out a bed with spinach, it is worth getting rid of the male sex first of all.
When to sow?
Another remarkable property of spinach is cold resistance. Despite the fact that the plant is southern, its seedlings withstand frosts down to -8ºС. And the rosettes of plants planted in autumn can winter under the snow (in Estonia - with a little shelter).
Therefore, in garden crop rotation, spinach is grown both as a precursor of heat-loving crops as a re-crop after green crops, and as a compactor - this vegetable is compatible with almost all garden plants. It can be sown both in greenhouses and in open ground. And almost always, when the ground is not covered with snow. From March to July - for the use of mature leaves, until mid-August - for the use of young ones.
Step crops are carried out at an interval of 20 - 30 days.
For winter crops, varieties that are resistant to stalking are selected. Their seeds are sown from late July to mid-August so that the plants form a small rosette of leaves before frost. In the temperate climate zone, they need to be covered for the winter. Before winter, spinach seeds are sown in November, before the onset of stable frosts. The harvest from winter sowing ripens a week earlier than from early spring sowing.
We are preparing a garden.
Spinach prefers fertile, organic-rich, not-too-acidic soils with good water-holding capacity. Sufficient moisture is very important for fast-growing spinach. A good predecessor for spinach is potatoes, a crop, the soil which is well-fertilized and cultivated many times.
It is better to grow spinach in low ridges. Before sowing, the soil is well loosened and full mineral fertilizer is applied to it (for garden soils in the temperate climate zone - 60 g of nitrophoska or "Kemira universal" per 1 sq. M.).
How to sow?
Small, 1.5-2.0 cm grooves are made on the surface of the beds. Their bottom is moistened and then seeds are sown at a distance in a row of 7-10 cm. Row spacing - 30-35 cm. If young plants are supposed to be used, the placement pattern is 5-7 cm by 25 - 30 cm. The seeds are planted in the soil with the reverse side of the rake, the surface is lightly compacted. Shoots appear in 14 - 21 days, depending on weather conditions.
How to care?
When the seedlings grow up (a second true leaf appears), the crops are thinned out, since two seedlings appear from one seed ball in spinach.
Thickening of crops is undesirable - with poor aeration, the risk of infection with powdery mildew increases. The distance in the row between plants should be about 15 cm. It is very important to be careful not to damage the remaining plants. Water the spinach after thinning is complete. Throughout the growing season, the earth must be loosened regularly.
In dry weather, plants need watering to form a good harvest and a decent appearance. Usually, it is enough 2-3 times a week for 3 litres of water per linear meter of the bed. Normal soil moisture prevents plants from stalking.
Harvesting.
Spring-sown spinach is ready for harvest 8-10 weeks after germination and summer - 10-12. It is very important to harvest on time: if the plants stop growing, the leaves will become coarse and tasteless. Rosettes are cut under the first sheet or pulled out by the roots. But you can pick the leaves just as needed. It is better to harvest spinach in the morning, but not immediately after watering or rain, as at this time the leaves are very fragile and break easily. They can also be transported and stored only in dry form.
Store spinach on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator in a plastic bag for no more than two days. For harvesting for the winter, it can be frozen - when frozen, it retains its beneficial properties well.