Spinach, the growing of which is becoming more popular today, was brought to Spain from Asia Minor, and then quickly spread across Europe. This dioecious early-ripening plant of the mare family is a valuable vegetable dietary product. Spinach is added to a variety of salads , eaten as a mashed potatoes, as a side dish to meat or fish dishes, in the form of soup , and dried as a flavored spice. Vitamins of all known groups in this plant are greater than in any other vegetables. Carotene in it is the same as in carrots, and protein is 34%. Spinach is valuable for those suffering from anemia, as in a hundred grams of iron leaves about 20 milligrams of iron. But there are no acids in it, which is ideal for people with gastrointestinal problems.
The most common varieties of spinach are "Victoria", "Giant", "Virofly". The first is characterized by late maturation. It can be cleaned no earlier than 35 days after planting spinach. Such spinach has a rosette adjacent to the ground and corrugated thick round leaves. Unlike the "Victoria", "Giant" variety - early maturing. Plants have elongated-oval leaves, and the rosette is rather compact. In representatives of the variety "Virofly" the rosette is raised and consists of fleshy large ovate leaves.
Growing of spinach
This plant belongs to cold-resistant crops, so it easily withstands 4-5-degree frosts. The technology of growing spinach, consisting in early sowing, allows you to provide the table with early greens in April. By the way, the most delicate and nutritious spinach is obtained with early spring sowing. Spinach grows best at a temperature of 15 to 20 degrees Celsius. And if the temperature rises when the level of humidity decreases, then the leaves of the plant grow smaller, which leads to premature shooting.
Now about how to properly grow spinach in your garden to diversify the table. Spinach is sown usually with five- or four-line tapes at 20 centimeter spacing. Between these tapes it is necessary to leave 1.5 meter tracks. On the square meter of the bed you need 6 grams of seeds. Before growing spinach, the garden is approved (humus, nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers).
The process of growing spinach and caring for crops is not an easy matter. Loosening and weeding will be enough. If you want to get plants with fleshy, large and juicy leaves, then without abundant watering can not do. It is not necessary to thin out young shoots. Plants from too dense places should be removed early, as soon as the first three or four leaves appeared. In the flowering period, all male plants, underdeveloped and diseased bushes should be cleaned. And to the basic cleaning you can proceed with 6-7 developed leaves. As soon as the first arrows appeared, the plant no longer represents nutritional value. From a meter bed, you can get about one and a half kilograms of spinach.
If the conditions were sufficiently favorable, then in 80 days the seeds for the next sowing will ripen. As soon as the fructification has occurred, the seeds can be harvested. They remain germinating for a long time - up to four years.
Diseases and pests
Spinach is often infected with root rot and mildew. On the upper leaves you will notice yellow spots, and on the lower ones - grayish with a purple hue. Of pests, most of all spinach annoying miner fly, laying under the leaves of eggs. The larvae devour the leaves. To reduce the risk of infection, plant spinach away from the beds, where the beet grows, attracting miner flies.