Which month is the best time to plant spinach?

Spinach grows very fast. If you can make full use of the autumn climate conditions and manage it properly, you can plant it twice in one season and achieve two harvests. However, in order to achieve this goal, the planting time must be accurately mastered and the crop rotation must be properly arranged. Let’s learn together which months are the best time to plant spinach?

Which month is the best time to plant spinach?

Spinach is an adaptable, fast-growing vegetable that is suitable for planting in spring and autumn. The suitable sowing time for spring spinach is generally from early March to mid-April, and it can be harvested around May. Autumn spinach is suitable for sowing between August and September, and no later than early October to ensure sufficient growing period before winter comes. Fall spinach is generally harvested from September to November.

The cultivation of spinach needs to take into account the local climatic conditions, because spinach is a cool and cold-resistant crop, and its most suitable growth temperature is 15-20℃. In the southern region, due to the warmer climate, spinach can be grown in winter and spring. In the northern regions, it is necessary to wait until the temperature rises in spring before sowing. When sowing in autumn, the Northeast region can start after the Beginning of Autumn, the North China region can start between the End of Heat and White Dew, and the South China region can start in mid to late September.

When planting spinach, you should choose fertile, well-drained soil, loosen the soil before sowing, and apply an appropriate amount of organic fertilizer or chemical fertilizer. After sowing spinach seeds , the soil needs to be kept moist to facilitate seed germination and seedling growth. During the growing period, proper pruning and thinning will help promote the growth and rooting of spinach.

Spinach planting precautions

1. Choice of sowing time

Some farmers may think that spinach has a short growth cycle and can be harvested in about 30 days, so they think that the sowing time is not important. But in fact, in order to ensure the good quality of spinach and prevent early bolting, choosing the right sowing time and variety is very important.

If sowing is done too early in spring, the emergence of spinach will be slow under low temperature conditions, and it will be easy to bolt prematurely after the vernalization stage. The suitable sowing temperature for spring spinach is usually above 4-5℃. It can be sown after the soil thaws. It is generally recommended to determine the sowing time between February and April according to local temperature conditions. If the spinach leaves are small and grow poorly after sowing, it may be because the sowing was too late and the temperature exceeded 25℃, which is not conducive to the growth of spinach and will also affect its quality.

2. Choice of sowing method

In cold spring conditions, dry seed sowing may result in a prolonged emergence of spinach, sometimes taking 15 days or more. In order to increase the germination rate, it is recommended to use wet seed sowing, so that the seedlings can emerge four or five days earlier.

Choose cold-tolerant, late-bolting spinach varieties for spring planting. You can first soak the seeds in warm water for 5-6 hours to allow them to fully absorb water, and then remove the small, unfull seeds. Germination should be carried out under the condition of 15-20℃, and sowing can be carried out after most of the seeds turn white. Wet seed sowing requires the soil to remain moist. When it is dry, water it before sowing to prevent watering after sowing from lowering the soil temperature and affecting germination.

3. Choice of planting method

When growing spinach in the fall and winter, it is usually planted in flat beds. However, in spring, due to more rain and high humidity in the field, damping-off or root rot is likely to occur. Therefore, it is recommended to choose a plot with higher terrain and good drainage when planting spinach in spring, or to make high ridges with a width of about 1 meter after land preparation, and then sow the seeds. Compared with flat beds, high-bed planting is more resistant to waterlogging and is conducive to the growth of spinach.

4. Choice of fertilization strategy

Although spinach has a short growth cycle and is a leafy vegetable, it may still experience bolting when there is a lack of water and nutrients. Especially when spinach lacks nitrogen in the middle and late stages of its growth, it will lead to a decrease in the number of leaves, short plants, and reduced quality. On the basis of applying sufficient base fertilizer, topdressing should be carried out during the vigorous growth period of spinach leaves, and about 30 kilograms of ammonium sulfate can be applied per mu. At the same time, spray potassium dihydrogen phosphate, brassinolide, etc. to promote vegetative growth and prevent spinach from bolting prematurely.

Generally speaking, spring and autumn are the best time to plant spinach, and the specific time needs to be determined according to the climatic conditions in your area. Through reasonable soil preparation, sowing, maintenance management and pest and disease control, the high quality and yield of spinach can be ensured.