Vegetables - Spinach

Spinach are sown March-April or even later if there's room. They are sown in a row.I do more than one sowing.

In fact, I don't grow spinach itself, because it tends to bolt badly in my garden. I grow perpetual spinach or leaf beet (two names for the same species). This is far less likely to bolt, and tastes the same.

They aren't transplanted, so they need to be sown very thinly, especially as they become quite big plants. The seeds are fairly big, so this is easy.

Sometimes the spinach doesn't seem to germinate, but with more than one sowing, at least one does. The plants grow bigger than something like lettuce, so make sure you allow room. You can also harvest spinach over quite a lot period of time.

You harvest spinach by breaking off the leaves you want. The rest of the plant will carry on growing, and indeed grow new leaves. Spinach cooks down into far smaller a volume than you might think, so make sure you pick enough leaves. If the leaves are big, with thick stems, I cut the leaf off the stems. Otherwise, you end up with hard stems in your cooked spinach. (Perhaps some people like this!). Boil in a little water. Some people just wash the spinach, then put the washed leaves in a saucepan without any more water, but I do add a small amount. When cooked, the leaves are tender, and dark green. If there is too much water, you can drain them. Butter is nice...

Seeds

Spinach plants

Spinach for cooking with cut off stems

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