Having trouble figuring out how much spinach to plant!

I'm brand new here and to gardening in general and am getting ready to start my SFG. I live in southern Ohio and am wondering how much spinach to plant. Let me give you a little background. My husband and I drink LOTS of green smoothies. We are using about 1-1/2 lbs. of spinach and other greens per day. I'm having a hard time figuring out how many spinach plants to try and keep going at a time to produce this yield. Thanks in advance!

That is a lot of spinach per day. I am guessing you should plant at least a whole 4x4 bed. You can either pluck outside leaves, letting the center keep growing, or you can cut and area and then let it regrow. If you have extra you can freeze it. Spinach won't make it through the summer, it dislikes heat, so get all you can in the spring.

Thanks, this is helpful to know!

But you can put in a fall crop as well so you'll get it twice a year.

Yes, I had considered that. Hey quiltbe, I'm a quilter myself and I think I should know you lol... I'm a longarm quilter and participate on some forums (even own one lol).... I needed a new hobby and felt gardening should be it! Then I found SFG and KNOW gardening should be it!!!

Hi Linda.

I eat about 1+lbs of greens per day also. IMO, plant a lot of spinach seeds. I planted about 4 squares, 1/inch. If they all sprout, which would be nothing less than a miracle for me, I'll thin and eat them. Any overage of spinach can be blanched and frozen for the summer, along with collards and kale which grow great here. But I'm also planting a lot of beets, so their greens will help get me thru the summer.

Keep us updated on your spinach growing. I haven't had any luck so far with it, so I'm hoping this is the year of the spinach!

CC

Thanks for that advice. I already have some seeds that have started to my surprise. Started them about 4 days ago and I have little sprouts already. Hopefully, these will keep growing. I started another set of seeds in my Aerogrow garden starter and I don't see anything from those yet. I had heard spinach is tricky, so I'm happy with what I have developing so far.

Thanks again!

wow! What's the name of your spinach seeds?

CC

I used Botonical Interest brand seeds and I planted the Monstrueux de Viroflay and Bloomsdale. I've heard some spinach is better to eat and some spinach is better to cook. I have no idea what these varieties tastes like.

Monstrueux de Viroflay is delicious, and its leaves are huge! So far, it's my all-time favorite.

I'll be trying Bloomsdale for the first time this year.

Bloomsdale is a pretty good bolt-resistant variety that takes warmer weather better than some. If you want to grow spinach thru the summer, try Red Malabar which is a vining spinach. You harvest the leaves off the vines. Different flavor.

Linda, welcome to this forum. You can always find me on the HGTV.com quilting and needlework forum. I often post there.
I was a quilter first and decided I needed something to do in the spring and summer when it got too hot to hold a heavy quilt over my lap. The two work great together and are seasonally different. Keeps me busy and alive as I continue to age. What's your URL so I can check out your site? I love quilt sites.

I have to add that SFG has become almost an obsession. I can't wait to get the seeds started in the spring and this fall I intend to extend my harvest up to Thanksgiving outdoors with covers. I also love my English Roses, Peonies, and Irises in my flower garden along with other perennials.

With doing both, you'll find they'll keep you busy all year round. Its a fun way to live. Enjoy and good luck.

For those not familiar with Red Malabar Spinach, here's more info from Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, article by: Scott D Appell:


Red-veined Malabar Spinach.

Malabar spinach excels in warm, tropical areas, where it can easily grow a foot per day. It's intolerant of any chills; thus, the only regions in the U.S. where it would be perennial are the Deep South or southern Florida. Gardeners in colder climates can grow it as an annual.

Basella alba prefers a humus-rich, sandy loam in full sun. Seeds can be sown in situ after all danger of frost has passed, or they can be started indoors eight weeks before the last frost date, hardened off outside, and transplanted one foot apart. Use any style of plant support you prefer: poles, teepees, chain-link fencing. Malabar spinach is amazingly insect and disease resistant, and that is saying a lot; in Puerto Rico, legions of caterpillars and grasshoppers can decimate an entire planting overnight, yet the spinach remains untouched!

Propagation from seed is a snap, and happily, the red-stemmed cultivar of Malabar spinach comes true from seed. Saving seed is easy too: Simply dry the entire fruit and use it for planting the following year. Stem and tip cuttings may be employed as well. (One source for the plant is Shady Acres Herb Farm, 7815 Highway 212, Chaska, MN 55318; 952-466-3391; www.shadyacres.com.)

The succulent leaves and stem tips are rich in vitamins A and C and are a good source of iron and calcium. They may be eaten raw in salads, boiled, steamed, stir-fried, or added to soups, stews, tofu dishes, and curries. Or you can use them as a filling for quiche, omelets, savory turnovers, and potpies. Since red-stemmed Malabar spinach can lose a lot of its red color when cooked, perhaps it is best utilized (visually speaking) in raw dishes.

A little off subjest here but I was a thing on pinterest where they blend extra spinach with some water then freeze it into icecubes and use spinach icecubes for the smoothies, thought I would share because I thought it was a great idea for excess!

A little off subjest here but I was a thing on pinterest where they blend extra spinach with some water then freeze it into icecubes and use spinach icecubes for the smoothies, thought I would share because I thought it was a great idea for excess!

Wow, I LOVE that idea! Thanks

Might try overwintering spinach.
I had one spinach plant left in my cold frame that I didn't dig out in early January. By the middle of April, the leaves were huge. Got me thinking to let some of my spinach overwinter next winter.