In message , Double Digger
writes
Hi,

This is my first posting to this group. I have recently taken over quite a
large area of garden that was previously used for growing vegetables, and
would like to continue doing so. At the moment the whole area is bare, so I
am able to start from scratch. I remember reading that now is a good time to
sow Spinach seeds ready for spring picking and have searched T&M's web
pages for spinach and found that it should be sown in spring. Could anyone
please tell me what type of spinach to grow ( not the supermarket rubbish,
the real stuff please), and when to sow the seeds for the best results.


It's getting a bit late now, even if you are in the south, but there are
a number of varieties of winter spinach, for example Giant Winter, which
are sown in late summer/early autumn. There are also varieties such as
Samish which have been bred for "baby" leaf production which you can
grow now with some protection.

Most normal spinach is sown from spring onwards. It's notorious for
running to seed and needs fairly fertile soil. Much less demanding are
perpetual spinach and chard, both of which are really beets. These are
best sown in spring or summer and should produce plenty of leaves
throughout summer and autumn - they will survive most winters and start
producing again in early spring before eventually going to seed around
late April or May.

--
Max Wright
www.wys-systems.demon.co.uk/plotcrop