Eggs Florentine and Other Spinach Culture

Let's talk green.  Spinach, that is.  Spinach is an early spring crop,  it prefers cooler weather and will bolt when it gets too hot, you can also plant it in the Fall but if you aren't careful about timing it may still bolt.  The earliest record of the spinach plant is from China AD 647.  Since then it has been used throughout China, India, the Middle East, and was introduced to the Italians in the 9th century.  Native of Florence, Italy, Catherine de Medici was a huge fan of spinach and insisted it be served with every meal; this is why "Florentine" is the label attributed to foods with spinach added.  (BTW, all my spinach trivia is via Wikipedia's "spinach" entry)

Spinach plant, this is a much healthier plant than mine were.

Like many leafy greens spinach is said to have high antioxidant levels, it is a great source of Vitamins A, C, E, K, and the B complex vitamins.  It is also high in many minerals, and is considered to be a rich source of iron. Storage of spinach for more than a few days can destroy its nutritional value though, which is one reason to grow it yourself; fresh from the ground it is packed with vitamins and minerals.  Spinach is also one of the 12 most pesticide-laden produce products, so even if you don't grow your own organically you should always be sure to buy it organic.

Spinach comes in three primary types: Savoy, with dark green crinkly or curly leaves; Flat or Smooth, with broad smooth leaves that are easier to clean; and Semi-savoy, with less crinkled leaves this variety is a bit easier to clean than a standard savoy. 

New Zealand Spinach is actually not even closely related to spinach, it was given the name because of it's resemblance to spinach.  New Zealand Spinach leaves are eaten and have a similar taste and texture to spinach.  Unlike normal spinach it is comfortable growing in hotter climates, and is nearly untouched by slugs and snails.  If, like me, you find you lose more spinach to the slugs or bolting than you get on your plate, then New Zealand Spinach might be worth a try in your garden.

Start your spinach seeds in the ground several weeks before the last frost date, 3 to 5 weeks is acceptable.  In my garden it's pointless to start spinach this early since my garden beds don't see sunlight until April, I start spinach at the end of March.  It takes about 7 weeks to reach full size, but can be harvested a few leaves at a time after the first 4 weeks or so, when the leaves are large enough to be worth the trouble to harvest.  According to SFG standards spinach can be planted as close as 9 plants per square foot. 

At my house, early Spring is slug season so I rarely see much spinach at all.  In fact, I likely won't even be planting it this year since I lose so much to the slugs and most of the rest to bolting.  For those who want to plant it be sure to protect it from slugs, and if needed shade it from the heat to prevent bolting.  Some tips for doing this can be found in my posts "Slugs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails" and "Bolting Is Bogus".


Since spinach is so very happy to bolt like crazy, make sure to plant open pollinated varieties and let them go to seed when they bolt.  You can essentially have free spinach seed for life!  Last year my spinach bolted the first week of June, set flowers that attracted pollinators to the garden, went to seed, and dropped the seed by early August.  Then that dropped seed sprouted just as the weather began to cool, and a second crop popped up for fall.  Not a bad system when you think about it.

As a final note, while spinach can be a bit touchy, and is appealing to certain slimy pests; it also grows quickly, is packed with nutrition, and is very versatile in cooking.  Give it a shot, and enjoy.

"I'm strong to the finish, cuz I eats my spinach!"--Popeye the Sailor Man

Organic or Conventional

Gardening is the newest, biggest trend lately.  With food prices skyrocketing, "green" living becoming something average people do (not just hippies and gurus), and more emphasis put on the dangers of GMOs and processed foods; it makes sense that gardening, or "urban homesteading", has become a major trend.  Most of my generation considers this a new thing and doesn't really think about the fact that their grandparents most likely grew at least a few if not all of their own produce.  Grandma did not eat bananas and bell peppers in January.  So what we consider "conventional" gardening (i.e. using pesticides, commercial fertilizers, etc.) is really not all that conventional.  In fact that style of gardening was only popularized after World War II, when the chemical companies that had supplied the troops with chemical weapons found themselves with an overstock of ingredients and no further need for their products.  So they revamped them into pest killers, fertilizers, fungicides, and all the rest of that arsenal the gardener uses to protect their crops.
The pros and cons of conventional gardening are as follows:
-Expensive! Those chemicals are not cheap
-Has environmental repercussions.  Chemical farm practices may be to blame for the dying off of many beneficial species, including the honey bee and monarch butterflies; pesticide runoff pollutes water, soil, and the air.
-May have health repercussions.  Roundup alone contains at least two chemicals that are associated with altered endocrine function.
-Makes taking out a colony of aphids or whiteflies a breeze.
-Chemical fertilizers give a huge nitrogen boost to plants making them look lush and happy.

Organic gardening has picked up major momentum in the past few years, unlike conventional gardening, there are no expensive chemicals to buy.  You can make your own natural fertilizer, compost, and you can be sure your kids won't grow a third eye from chemical exposure in the garden.  Probably more importantly than any of the other reasons to grow organics is the impact on the environment.  Organics grown at home do not pollute streams and lakes, they do not pollute soils and the air. In fact, an organic garden promotes air quality with plant respiration, and it promotes insect and animal health, providing a safe food source, habitat, and protection for birds, bees, rodents (sadly), praying mantises, ladybugs, lacewings, etc.

There really is no choice here, organic is the only way to go.  Although I personally have no problem using certain products to help manage my garden's health, I do make certain they are stamped as "organic approved" or something similar. (The one product that I do use is a slug bait, slugs are a major problem in this area, and if not controlled they will eat everything I put in the ground until July).
If you do prefer to grow conventionally I recommend switching, or at least putting in a new planting area that will be organic only and seeing what kind of difference it makes.  You may be surprised to find the organics need less work on your part and grow just as well or better.