Container gardening is an excellent choice when you lack of outdoor gardening space. They allow you to grow any plant in any space. Anything you grow in garden from herbs to vegetable can be grow in containers. In this educational article we will show you how to grow Spinach in Containers.
Why spinach? Whether you’re starting or you’re an experienced gardener, you will need to have spinach. Besides being easy to grow, it is rich in essential nutrients and vitamins such as A and C, potassium, and folic acid which minimizes the risk of heart diseases, and it can be added to the most of what we eat.
Spinach is the kind of vegie that quickly matures, keeps supplying around the year, and does not grow big so you can place it anywhere indoor or outdoor. To grow spinach in a container successfully , follow the below step by step tutorial.
1. Preparing the Pot
Spinach is a vegetable with long root so when choosing the pot, the depth matters the most. It is recommended to use containers that are at least 8 inches deep. If you’re growing multiple plants, you may need a pot of 30 cm/12in across and 45 cm/18in deep.
For soil, we recommend buying quality potting mix that is rich in organic matter. Before filling the pot, mix the soil with organic compost or well-rotted manure. This will ensure your plants have enough nutrients and Nitrogen to grow. Also, keep in mind that these plants like Soil that drains water slowly. PH levels should range around 6.0 to 7.0.
2. Planting Spinach
Unlike other vegies, Spinach does not grow from cuttings, it only grows from seeds. You can get the seeds online, from a nursery or from mature spinach plants. Spinach develops seeds once it matures. The seeds are located at the bottom of mature ripe branches that has flowers and big leaves.
The seeds should be planted half an inch deep 1,5 cm and you should keep at least 3 inches (7,5 cm) between each seed. After sowing, cover the hole slightly with soil. Do not cover with too much soil so the plants won’t struggle when they’re coming on top.
As we mentioned, this grows in impressive speed. In just one week the seeds will germinate and you will see small leaves coming on top and in two weeks your plants will look like this:
3. Location
Spinach is a sensitive veggie that doe tolerate neither extreme heat nor extreme cold. Therefore, depending on the climate in your region, it is generally recommended that you expose your plant to direct sunlight in spring, autumn and winter. In summer, you should allow it to receive direct morning sun and shade it in the afternoon.
4. Caring For Spinach,
Caring for Spinach Includes watering, fertilizing, and thinning. Although not all are essential, but if you perform these activities regularly and look after your spinach will help you have a great harvest.
Watering: Watering Spinach is the most important activity when caring for your plants. This veggie needs careful watering. You should water the plant at the bottom level to avoid wetting the foliage. Also, don’t over water your plants, it is true they like constant moist soil but water stagnation will lead to the development of rot and various fungal disease.
Fertilizing: Although not necessary, but it is highly recommended for big harvest. You can apply time-based fertilizer or liquid fertilizer realizing slowly into the soi when you sow the seeds. After a couple of weeks, enrich your soil with fish emulsion, cottonseed meal, organic compost, or manure tea.
Thinning: Thinning is not required but it is recommended for best results. When the space between your plants becomes crowded, consider pinching off the big leaves. This helps the plant concentrate its growth energy on the small leaves.
5. Harvesting
Spinach should be ready for harvesting after 6 weeks from planting. You can pick the leaves as soon as they’re 4 inches long and the plants has more than 5 leaves. You should pick the whole plant before it starts flowering as this will change the taste of the laves. You can even cut the plant at bottom using scissors. Don’t worry about, keep caring and it will keep re-growing.
If you need further information or details about growing spinach in containers, please leave your questions below.