Spinach is one of the easiest leafy greens to grow–and it tastes a heck of a lot better than kale if you ask me…though no one ever does ask me.  It’s weird.  It grows well in the shade, it tolerates cold weather {it will even survive freezing temperatures under the right conditions}.  I like to toss it into smoothies to give them a little boost, okay, okay, you got me:  The Girl tosses it into my smoothies when she is nice enough to come home from school and make me one.  I rarely muster up the energy to go to all of the effort.  I do love to add it to quiches and breakfasts scrambles for the HH’s Sunday breakfasts, though.

I typically grow Monstrueux de Viroflay.  It grows like mad, and produces big leafy goodness.  It also looks great in ornamental pots.

How to Grow Spinach from Seed:

Spinach is crazy easy to grow.  I’m going to spend the next few sentences pretending it’s harder than sticking seeds in the dirt and watering, but really, it’s not.  If you want to start spinach early indoors, you should be able to plant it outdoors in most places in early March.  To start it indoors, fill your containers with a grow medium {seed starter soil, peat pellets, etc.} and water them well.  Stick 2-3 seeds in each container 1/2″ deep.  Use a grow light or a bright window sill for light.  Water the seedlings regularly.  When the seedlings are about 2″ tall, thin them to one per container.

You can transplant them outdoors when the soil temperature is at least 40 degrees.  Spinach is not a fan of overly warm weather, so it will bolt early in the growing season.  To encourage spinach to grow the entire summer, you can direct sow it in a very shady part of the yard.  It will grow much slower, but it will still grow.

When is Spinach Ready to Harvest?

Spinach can be harvested pretty much as soon as the leaves are big enough to actually use.  Pick leaves individually from the outside, working your way in.  Pick frequently to encourage regrowth.

Random Facts That Will Impress No One:

Cooked spinach actually has greater health benefits than raw.  Cooking helps the body breakdown nutrients that would otherwise be unavailable.

Juicing spinach is like giving your skin a health tonic.  It remedies dry, itchy skin, along with providing vitamins and minerals that give skin a healthy glow {which is way better than having to rely on pregnancy to do it}.

One cup of cooked spinach contains 987% of your daily vitamin K requirement. Wowza, it’s no wonder spinach is considered a super food–I guess Popeye had it right.

Do you grow spinach?  What’s your favorite variety?

~Mavis

P.S. If you need some spinach motivation, I highly suggest you check out Super Salads:  More Than 250 Super-Easy Recipes for Super Nutrition and Super Flavor.  It’s one of my favorites…you’ll never see salad as boring again.