Spinach for many harvests, sow early or late, space for long lived plants
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- True spinach, not leaf beet, is as delicious in salad as it is cooked. You enjoy most harvests when it's sown very early, or in late summer. See the results of using both sowing dates, and tips on picking to give a longer harvest season.
Called "The prince of vegetables" in 12th century Arabia.
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Dear sir, you are the antidote to the world’s madness. I can watch these for hours. Thank you.
Thanks Leneke, happy to help!
That's possibly the truest thing I've read in a year, and it especially resonates now. Now is the time for us all to honor and really sit with and appreciate nature, plants, and love and care, as best we can given the madness. Charles is certainly a beautiful way for us to go to church, if you know what I mean. Be well.
My thoughts exactly!!! ❤❤❤
I couldn't agree more!!
@@Fragrantbeard God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures.
Francis Bacon
Did anyone else notice the white seed tray turned into a black one at the beginning 🤣 love Charles learning so so much 👍🏻😊
Yep I was thinking Charles using a polystyrene tray
These videos are extremely helpful and filled with information. They are also very calming to watch. I can't thank you enough for these!
Nate, thankyou
I want to thank you for your speaking whilst planting! You went straight to the point and kept it quite informative all of the way through! I’m subscribing !
Ah thanks!
Your an amazing teacher. I am amazed at your knowledge. I learn so much from you. Bless you for sharing.
thanks so much Rachel
There is something very satisfying about watching you plant out seedlings! You have a well honed fluid movement 😊
Thankyou :)
I’ve binged watched your videos all morning, and they are so serene and thrilling! Happy to meet a fellow gardener with such a passion for growing! 🙏🏾
Hi, so nice to hear and thanks
Thank you for posting this video specifically about spinach. I grow it every year, but feel the need to watch this to remind myself.
We are -13 c and 8 f today watching you make me so happy 😊can’t wait for better weather in 2 month so I can try planting lettuce and spinach 🥰
Oh wow, good luck!
I'm learning so much from you Charles. I keep a note book while watching your videos writing down the tips you give us. I'm so glad I found your channel. You have given me so much confidence thank you
Cool I am happy to read this and wish you success 🥬
I tried my first no dig garden last year and the one neighbor called me a kook....but it did tremendously well!
Hi Leona, it is funny how people react to new ideas, and well done for persevering
I hope you harvested right in their Luddite face every chance you got.
Yea people can be ignorant and foolish when they see people doing sensible things like growing their own food and enjoying life outdoors!!!!! power to you!
I m in an allotment. When i started with no dig, they laugh at me, then they ignore me, now they adore me 😀 and my garden. Yeah it really works well... yeah it really does, they say...Nowadays the first neightbour iscoming and asking how can I start with compost gardening? Its an amazing process...
Same here. Read the book, took over a rundown allotment and amid comments like “Spray the lot, cover with black plastic and come back in 12 months” started with double layer of cardboard and thick layer of compost/horse manure grew some potatoes followed by leeks, established a strawberry bed and resurrected a large bed of autumn raspberries. Three years have gone by, a lot of food has come my way and they’ve stopped scoffing. Comments are now “How do you get away with so little work and get so much stuff?” Only one other no-digger though in a 120 plot site. Still using cardboard a lot.
Its my first year of growing and no dig for everything ,just so glad you are here Charles guiding us through x
You have the most excellent, informative and thorough videos. I so appreciate your patience to wait through all the stages of plant development to compile all the clips into one single video. Very helpful!
Very informative. The way you deliver the subject matter is just amazing. Thanks for sharing, Sir.
Thanks Lloyd
I totally agree Lloyd he explains things so well
I love all your videos Charles, i wish i could be there with you and learn EVERYTHING. But Im satisfied to look at all these Great videoes. Im learning so much from you🙌
Thank you very much for all this valuble informasion 👏🤩
I put my seeds 4 or 6 hrs in the water before planting! This week I planted. Corn,and spinach! Delicious salads, rice and "maminha"(Portuguese word for meat)
Now I know why I've never managed to grow spinach. Sowed it too late!
2018 is the year of spinach in the middle sized garden!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig and hopefully 2019 is the year of spinach in my garden :)
Thank you for your programs, I've learned so much!
Great, as always Charles.
This man is a pro. Thx for all theses videos
Glad you like them
Hi Charles,
Thank you for sharing your wisdom & gardening teachings. Last year was my first time growing vegetables & no dig gardening. Thanks to you, it has been a success & I am starting some more lettuce indoors & spinach tomorrow & it’s only the 2nd week of January here in Texas. Salute!
Hello Edelina, I am happy to hear about your growing success, wonderful.
A good early start too!
So far you have taught me so much, although I have done gardening since I was 12, starting with growing tomatoes. Now at 66, I am finally learning how to do a REAL garden. This year is the first year I have done raised beds to begin with and the first year I have had success with lettuce, thanks to you. I have very little compost, of which I am working on, but I have bought, so far, about 8 yards of very fine compost called Black gold at a very reasonable price. NO WEEDS--I love it. Your knowledge is absolutely fantastic, and I sincerely hope that you keep sharing it. As I have told you in the past, I keep sharing your site and videos on another site, which I belong to. I hope your subscriptions keep going up. Thank you so much, Charles.
I am so happy to hear that, and yes Bev/Bill my subscriber numbers are rising so thanks for your spreading the word.
Charles you are the garden goat! Really enjoy your videos.
💚 thanks Jeffrey
What a great master gardener and teacher ❤❤😊
So nice thanks
The smaller spinach plants are the ones that were transplanted more deeply; I believe it's an exact correlation, but I'd have to rewind to be sure. Thanks again for another great video!
Thanks Ted that is well noticed, I shall have a look
Your methods are saving me lots of time and effort, love your books. Thanks
This variety of spinach excites me 😂😂😂 people think I’m mad , the mad compost man they call me down the allotments , we will see who’s mad, when I’m sat in the sun drinking fresh camomile and mint tea , while they are digging and weeding , never getting anywhere , 😃😃😃 it’s defiantly a form of spiritual gardening Charles , great vid many thanks James ,
Definitely , not defiantly 🤣🤣
Thanks James and it's funny to hear this, how some folk look a gift horse in the mouth!
That's definitely something that doesn't cease to amaze me. Farmers or gardeners who have neighbours doing no-dig/no-till with great results, less erosion, soil run-off etc., but no, they dig their heels in and refuse to contemplate doing something differently.
I have said it before and I say it again I do like your videos that show the process from start to harvest Take care Mike B
Thank you very much. I love salads so I want organic veggies for my salad without the high cost.
Better than organic. Organic is just a commercial designation. Home grown is miles better.
Had spinach in the garden since late September last year and was delighted at how much I got over the winter I will do some more seedlings now as per your advice Charles :) I do love spinach
Good to hear Amberjane: spinach was called the 'prince of vegetables' in medieval Arabia
I’ve just started dabble with vegetable home gardening, and you are one of the experts I really watch for reference. Thanks 🙏🏼
Happy to hear that Dinah and I wish you success
I wonder why some of those spinach plants weren't growing as full and large as the others. But I appreciate that you showed us, because as someone new to gardening, I always expect the plants to grow perfectly and get discouraged when they don't. But now I understand that we don't have much control over everything and it's expected that not everything will be perfect! Thank you for sharing. I also watched your video about growing salad greens in the winter, and that motivated me to get back into gardening. I just transplanted some spinach leaves, swiss chard (bright lights), kale, and buttercrunch lettuce the other day and I am so impatient! You're an inspiration! I can't wait for harvest :)
Nice feedback Ayesha :) and I suspect that gardening will help you become more patient.
Not that impatience is bad, it shows how keen you are, and makes a good result more enjoyable.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thank you :)
Such a soothing person. You have the ability to take me back to when I was a nipper watching ground force with my grandad x
😅
Fabulous talk in Hereford this week! Very inspired, roll on 14th Feb!
Very informative. Particularly interesting that they get away better in a no dig system. Take care. Nick
This man does wonders
I like the idea of planting spinach seeds in clumps for more small leaves….I think I will do that this year
really enjoyed your video and all your crops are 1st class well done
cheers Steven
Thanks for the lesson, it is, as always, helpful, to actually see you sowing and planting a particular plant.
Last year was our first no dig garden year, and we had the best harvests ever!
We only made the mistake to not cover our paths with cardboard, so we had a hard time fighting the weeds.
Today we walked to a market in middle germany and saw endives, they were about 2,50 Euro (2,22 pounds)per endive, not organic grown!!. Thanks to your videos of the no dig method, we are lucky to have 12 endives , organic grown, in our polytunnel, ready to pick from! Your picking method is priceless, I had to become over 50 years old to learn this method!
Thank you James!
That is fantastic to hear Petara, and many are saying similar.
A satisfying endive experience!
Thank you...I'm learning so much from you!!! And the way you share your information is very understandable...
I'm so glad, thanks Agnes
Thank you very much for this spinach video and for all your other videos too. Having just taken on an allotment I’m really looking forward to applying lots of your ideas such as compost making, no-dig cultivation etc. I find your vids so informative and relaxing and inspiring. Thank you!
Good to hear this Michael, thanks and I wish you success
I have the same Engelbert Strauss boots. Absolutely brilliant. Just like this video!
Haha thanks!
i m so inspiring from you.want to plant more n more species of greens.love from nepal
I have been gardening for over 30 years and before that at every chance as I moved around the globe. It is wonderful to have an experienced person explain things. Too many who are doing something for the first time or the second make videos but each of yours is backed by practice and yet, like all gardeners you are always trying new ideas and are not afraid to say so. Your manner is so very natural and relaxed. Now for a question, how to you keep Brussels sprouts from falling over?
Wonderful to hear Linda.
I find that when they are grown in no dig soil, which is firm while at the same time open to plant roots, the plants stand up, or lean, but without falling over. Sometimes if there is high wind, we put in a tree stake beside each one and tie it.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thanks so much for the answer.
Thank you sooo much very informative
I have tied to plant main here in Florida am still struggling b but I will try in fall
You can do it
Hi Charles and thanks for sharing your experiences!
Thanks for your tips on the larger spinach: Successfully grew this bigger kind of spinach this season. They were thriving in compost from horse manure combined with some coconut coir, maybe 1/6, and perlite; in partly shade. They got bigger leaves than usual, otherwise the same consistency and taste. Gonna try them in fall again. Spinacia oleracea 'Matador'. Large dark green leaves. With the bigger leaves it felt I got "two-for-one"! Thanks again for the tips!
Nice to see Nanna!
Charles is crush as always. 3rd season gardener, and conceiving of getting some no dig beds working this time round ! thanks from WA, USA
Hi from WI. I just thought I'd make this suggestion in case you're interested and haven't heard of them yet and since you're out in the western USA. Singing Frogs Farm is also a no-dig & no-till market garden farm in Sebastopol, CA. They have a lot of details on the science of it, lotta great info in their lectures/presentations here on TH-cam & in an article I read online there were a few more nuggets not found in those, if I remember right. Anyways, I mainly wanted to suggest the vlog interview with them which Curtis Stone The Urban Farmer did with them on thr topic of their hedgerows specifically. So cool. In all of that, it's mostly all stuff which Charles has touched on at times I think but again, thought it may be of interest.
@@ajb.822 amazing; tyvm!
I love the way you growing them. Thanks for sharing it.
Thankyou Than
Great video! Going to the market for seedlings and seeds tomorrow so spinach it certainly is :)
Thanks for the great teachings Charles. You are an inspiration and so pleasant to listen to.
Untill the next time
Thankyou
Very nice way of presenting. Kinda like being on a school class field trip with my kids in the past. 👍
Thank youThomas!
Found this very usefull, i have small Spinach seedlings ready to plant out. Now i know how big they get i have a an idea on spacing. Looks like there is no need to net too. Awesome. Thanks
You're doing great and you are very organized
great work Charles
Thank you for your brilliant videos Charles, my husband loves spinach and now I'll have no excuse for not bringing home loads of spinach leaves for him to eat.
Florence that is great news (for him) and I am sure you will enjoy growing it.
Cheers @@CharlesDowding1nodig from South Western France
Thanks so much! I don’t know how I missed this one. Hopefully I’m not too late.
asap!! & thanks
And thanks for the timely reminder - along with all the other seeds to be sown soon.
Great stuff and so inspiring. I don’t get how come some people didn’t like it (Obviously, ppl has rights to express their own opinions!). It takes a lot of time and effort to plant > videos > post production.
Thank you, very calming to watch your videos !!! I really love the no dig method !!!
Glad you enjoy it! it's a calming method 💚
Great video, very informative and a clear presentation. Thank you for sharing the knowledge in this video, i am now subscribed and look forward to other videos!
Well... This afternoon I was rewatching you How to grow series. I was going to ask whether you were planning an episode about spinach. And here you are.
Thoughts are powerful!
Its Dec and already I'm desperate to get out there planting ! Thank you for such an informative video.
Exactly! and thanks
Bit early for us in Minnesota! :) Nice to look forward to though.
Excellent Video. I wish I had watched it before I planted out my spinach seed last night! I will definitely try this next time! I have a huge slug problem in my garden but they generally leave the spinach alone oddly.
Good luck!!
Very informative, as always. My parents attended your talk at the Bleddfa centre last week and will be practising no dig in their veg garden this year as a result.
Thanks Charles and that is nice to hear
Well I stuffed that up very precisely - i now expect only a few leaves before they flower! I'll plant out another lot later on.. Should have checked first - mind you, the plants LOOK great!
Enjoy your harvest, it will be tasty, just it won't go on for very long.
Sow again in February
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Gotcha - thank you!
Your videos are ideal Information for me here in Victoria, Canada. We are the exact same zone as you so your lessons are spot on. Thanks so much! Every year I get a few more things right.
Cheers Wellix that is good!
That is one very nice and well built greenhouse. Beautiful!
Very good
You live in good grow zone Charles. I live in zone 6 in the U.S. I have to wait till end of March early April to sow spinach outside.
Thanks for your valuable tips ...your vids teach us alot...love from India
The Bob Ross of gardening.
Another great vid charles.
I’ve never been able to grow spinach, now I see why. Looking forward to doing it the right way!
Excellent :)
So excited to have some seeds to plant early as I'm itching to get started on 2018 crops
Foodie Laura same here. Iv already started onions from seed, early peppers in a propegator and some cauliflower...spinich is next on the list.
WOW....I WILL FOLLOW YOUR GOOD ADVISE TIPS FOR PLANTING....I LIKE THE WAY YOU TRANSPLANT
Thank you x
Hermosa huerta. Gracias por compartir el tutorial. Saludos desde Argentina
Thank you for this amazing video. Best regards from germany :)
Do you think you would sell a box set of your advice and evidence by growth?
this is incredible and has been a big help for many of us, the production and narration are things people have enjoyed from a PBS
Thank you for helping people out with these videos, and happy gardening!
Thanks Vincent.
An issue with selling say flash drives of videos is that others could copy them. (Not you!).
I am creating an online course about growing vegetables, releasing January, from my website.
Spinach plant I didn't even sow grew over the winter in my greenhouse on stony and sandy soil ground, it was growing in to a monster. Hardy plants, indeed.
Am soooo happy and comfortable... 🥰🥰🥰
Nice videos
Your techniques have allowed me to make use of my steep landscape that's too steep to get a tiller on.
Nice to hear Dawn 😀
Thank you for sharing this - really helpful 👍
I would like to ask, where do you find your lovely styrofoam flats? I am in the USA, and have not seen them sold with square shapes, only round, and even those are quite hard to find. Thank you for posting so many helpful and useful ideas. We've gardened since childhood, but are now growing for marketing. You've helped us see so many things we weren't doing, that we can add in and be much more successful. Thank you again. God bless you.
Nice to hear! I wish these flats were available generally, Steph found them in a garden centre where they sold them cheaply after potting on seedlings they had bought which were growing in them
Business idea!
Thanks for sharing I found this very helpful 🙂
wow! those spinach are different with spinach in my country, indonesia. i think i can try planting it. hope that could grow in tropical climate.
Yes Isap you have Malabar spinach I believe,
This one likes cooler conditions :)
Charles,
You shld do a video on seedlings in nursery pot. how is too big or too late to be xplanted. Especially how is the root and leaves is good for xplant ? Sometime i xplanted but the potting mix will just fall apart when i pushed plug out; while some were already obviously root bound.
Also tell us how to xplant if the root bound is obvious or serious.. just plug it in or have to break the root or can cut the root off so that it can grow outward ? what to do ? or is it worth xplanting ?
Pls do a video on it.. not much such info. I often encounter this issue...
Thx.
Hi Andrew, that's interesting because there are a few different issues such as compost quality, how firmly it was pushed into the container, and growing conditions, as well as the more obvious one of plant age.
Since mine are pretty consistent, I might struggle to find the difficult/different ones! I shall have a think.
Love your videos, so helpful. I thought there were more videos but I only see a few. I was looking for one on growing radishes an leaving some for the seed pod. Thank you for your videos, the one on peas helped me last year and I am using the same method this year. :)
Thanks Ida. I tried the radish seed pods trick, "rats' tails" to eat (!), was not too impressed
I love spinach great video😊
Hi Charles, In this video you showed new spinach plants being sown and planted out in early spring and also the older plants which had overwintered and were producing a lovely crop of fresh spring greens, but at what point do you decide to pull up those old plants, is it when they start to flower in summer?
Thanks
Sandy
Hi Sandy, they all keep cropping until the flower stems appear, and then the leaves become much smaller and thinner, so that's when I twist out any spinach plant. It's during May for the overwintered plants and up to mid-June for the spring sown spinach.
This is so helpful. Thank you so much!
Man, I have had spinach growing all over my backyard like weeds. I don't even have to water them at all and big patches just start sprouting up all over.
Ideal! :)
Thank you for posting this great information.
I wish I had your growing climate. I'm going to try your multisowing in compost for winter sowing.
Your green fingers will help
I always feel like I’m getting away with something when I watch your videos. I can’t believe you teach us all of this for free! Your love of your craft is so inspiring. Do you have a favorite spinach variety? I’m due to order a few packs.
Thanks Nikki and it;s Medania.
More free info here, about varieties charlesdowding.co.uk/seeds-and-varieties/
Spinach is very cold hardy as you said. Here in Tn in the U.S. we have had several nights in single digits and also in the low teens. I am still eating spinach. They are in an unheated poly tunnel.
Ideal for you then! and I hope it's sweeter after the cold - we sometimes find a leaf or two almost sugary
It is very sweet when maturing in cold weather. It is my favorite raw veggie. When the weather breaks a bit i am going to sow some for spring. I usually sow mine directly in the ground. After watching your video's and reading from your No Dig Organic Home and Garden book that i recently purchased i may start sowing in flats and transplanting more than i do. I like your method. I believe you get a good sturdy plant that way.
OK ! NOW FOR ME IN ZONE 8 40 TO 50 's day dips 25 To 30's
Yes perfect for spinach sowing and growing, especially with a row cover until about mid April
Save yourself back bending pain and add wooden legs to your raised gardens making them higher off the ground waist height saves you all of that back bending as you mature.square boxes on legs. Works great.
Wonderful. Slowly the jigsaw puzzle is starting to take shape. The onion and spinach pieces should be together - both are sown mid-winter. It¨s time for me to shop for seeds tomorrow. I¨m in zone 6, isn¨t it a bit too early?
Thank you very much for all the detailed instructions. This year I hope to grow at least some of the vegetables, even though my garden is at a weekend cottage and we don¨t even get there every weekend. I¨m sure I¨ll also make use of your video on pests, especially slugs - they thrive in the wet mini-climate there.
Thanks Jindnska and in zone 6 I would sow early to mid March undercover, for onion, spinach etc.
Have a clear area near to your veg so there are less hiding places for slugs.
The secrets of the dibber is out!
Charles I found your videos a little while ago and I can't stop watching them. You are right in line with what I'm trying to do....less work. Thank you for all you do to put these videos together for us. Question.. I have a small garden in the city and am expanding this year into some fabric grow pots. I was hoping to plant some spinach this way, although I may also see if I can tuck it into various places. I have upwards from 5gal to 30gal grow bags. Is there a particular size bag you would suggest? I was going to plant 1 spinach plant in it, but I would like to harvest leaves not the whole head so now I'm thinking I could use your clumping method. Would you plant more than one clump in a pot?
Thanks for your comment, glad you like the videos.
Spacing your spinach depends on both volume and the surface area of each pot/bag. Say 6in for individual plants, for larger leaves to cook, and 9in for clumps of say 3 spinach for smaller leaves.
Love your video so much. I'm a novice gardener from NZ. Your no dig method is very inspiring. I started to try it as soon as I watched all your videos this spring. As we are having a big drought this year, the mulching on top helps enormously . I'm enjoying the best harvest that I have ever had. So thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with us. I have one question that I've tried to grow celtuce and daikon radish for 2 years, but they always go to seed prematurely. I think it might be the timing of sowing. I mulched the celtuce with thick layer of compost this year, it did help a lot. They reach about 5cm (stem) with huge amount of leaves on top. But they are going to flower now. Same as the daikon radish. Really love the taste of these two veges, hope you could give me some advice on when is the best time to grow them to avoid bolting. Cheers
Thanks Lodge Zip and I am pleased to hear of your success.
For celtuce, surely going to flower after growing big is normal? Then you eat the stem? I grew it once and that was my result.
Daikons are best sown in summer and do indeed flower from spring sowing. Sow early to mid February, guessing a bit but of that order, for harvests in autumn.
Thanks very much for the reply, yes I'll sow some next week and hope for the best. Though we are on the total outdoor water ban at the moment.