GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

05-06-2003, 05:56 PM

In article , says...
I have a small urban garden, so I like to start my vegetables in pots
and then transplant. I am having a terrible time starting spinach. I
use commercial potting soil and mix in a handful of manure, wet the mix
and fill the pots. Then I add two seeds to each pot. Within two weeks,
everything sprouts, except spinach. I get one or two plants out of the
12 seeds every time. I have tried several brands of seeds. Same
results.

I start mine in two inch pots using seed starting mix (not the same as
potting soil). I sprinkle the top of each pot with spaghnum moss to
prevent damping off and put the pots into a covered tray under lights.

When they sprout I take off the cover (obviously) and as soon as the
first true leaves appear I transplant into the garden. The larger they
get the less they like being transplanted. I put little Osmocote in the
bottom of the garden planting hole and water them in with a B-1 solution.

I've never had a germination problem, so I'd suspect your potting mix.
Maybe the manure changes the acidity or raises the temperature or maybe
you're not keeping the soil moist enough. Try what I've suggested and
see what happens. You can plant some 6-9 weeks before frost and have
spinach well into the winter.

Another poster suggested trying chard. I did and we didn't like it. All
a matter of taste. I'm trying something called "Good King Henry" this
year. If it's good, it has the advantage of being a perennial. Another
possibility is perpetual spinach, which is a type of chard but with
smaller tenderer leaves than regular chard.

Good luck.

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