Living Frugal
Growing Spinach in your Home Vegetable Garden
Growing spinach in your home vegetable garden is not only easy, but is is good for you. It is rich in iron, calcium and protein and is a good source of Vitamin A.
- Of all the green leafy vegetables, spinach is one of the best in regards to health benefits.
- It can be eaten raw or cooked, whatever your preference. However, to reap the greatest health benefits of spinach, you should eat raw.
- One spinach serving will contain protein, carbohydrates (only 3.2 grams), iron and calcium.
- Spinach is also very rich in vitamins and minerals to promote overall health. Spinach contains vitamin A, vitamin C, niacin, thiamin, phosphorus, riboflavin, sodium, potassium and magnesium.
Spinach can be grown in the spring, fall and even in the winter. As soon as the garden soil is prepared, you can plant your spinach. You typically want to plant spinach 6 weeks before the last frost. You can also start your seeds in peat pots indoors.
Start growing spinach from seeds 9 weeks before the last frost in your area. You shouldn't plant spinach seeds while the ground is still frozen, but you can plant when it is barely thawed.
Since spinach grows quickly, plan to transplant into your home vegetable garden in approximately 3 weeks from the time you started the seed. Since it matures so quickly, it's a better idea to re-seed every few weeks as opposed to trying to plant a huge amount and be overwhelmed with too much spinach.
How To Grow Spinach
- To prepare your home vegetable garden for growing spinach, loosen the garden soil at a minimum of 10 inches deep thoroughly mixing in compost.
- Sow the seeds about a half inch deep and a couple of inches apart.
- Prepare the spinach rows at least 7 inches apart and gradually thin them as they mature.
- When thinning, make sure the leaves of the plants just barely overlap.
Spinach matures in about 6 weeks. At this time, you can start pinching off the leaves needed in the kitchen while leaving the central portion of the spinach intact. If you cut the leaves about an inch above the base of the plant, you may get a new flush of leaves getting yet another harvest.
Since Spinach is a cool weather vegetable, you can expect the plants to bolt quicker as the weather warms up. You should expect to stop sowing spinach in May or June depending upon the weather in your area.
If you live in a warmer climate, you could still be growing spinach in the winter. Should the ground freeze before plant maturity, mulch them with hay. When the temperatures warm up next spring, the plants will continue growing providing an earlier harvest.
Common Spinach Pests
As one might expect, spinach can be susceptible to several fungus diseases since it is grown when the weather is cool and damp. Make sure your plants get good circulation of air by spacing them apart during planting. Also, do your best in keeping the water off the leaves. You can also try growing disease resistant varieties of spinach like Melody, Olympia, Tyee and Wolter.
Hose off aphids as soon as you see them.
And last but definitely not least, rabbits love spinach. To keep the rabbits out of your home vegetable garden, place used pantyhose (not washed) around the perimeter of your garden. The rabbits smell the human scent and aren't as likely to raid your spinach patch.
Not only is growing spinach easy, but it's good for you. Let's look at some health benefits from spinach.
5 Spinach Health Benefits
Preventative Food
- One of the greatest health benefits of spinach, is that it contains antioxidants and phytochemicals that help prevent the free radical damage. The free radical damage is often associated with various forms of cancer and heart disease.
Spinach is a great Anti-Inflammatory food
- Spinach is high in alkaline. Foods high in alkaline should be eaten by people who suffer from an inflammatory disease such as arthritis.
Reduce the risk for heart disease
- Spinach is a great source of folate. Folate is a water-soluble B vitamin that is naturally present in spinach. Folate can reduce levels of an amino acid in the blood called homocysteine. If you have a high level of homocysteine, you are at greater risk of heart disease.
Eyesight
- Spinach is a source of Lutein. Lutein is a carotenoid, which are the pigments that are in may fruits and vegetables. The evidence of studies in the medical community revealthat lutein helps protect against cataracts and macular degeneration which are common eye disorders.
Weight Loss
- The iron in spinach increases your metabolism as well as helps your blood carry oxygen from the lungs to the muscles and organs in your body. The result is your body is able to burn more fat when your iron intake is sufficient. If your iron is low you'll feel fatigued, irritable and may possibly result in headaches. Only 65-70% of the general population meet their daily recommended intake of iron.
May God Richly Bless all your Efforts in your Home Vegetable Garden
