"0tterbot" wrote in message
"Richard Wright" wrote in message
On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:15:51 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote:

exactly, it's not! :-) the spinach in question is true spinach, not
silverbeet. (i never worry when the silverbeet goes bubbly).

http://www.taste.com.au/how+to/articles/293/spinach

... like the lower two in the photograph.
it also occurred to me that the bubbly plants don't grow tall like the
middle bunch there - they stay short & get sort of wide.

IIRC, wide rather than tall in silverbeet is some sort of nutriet/trace
element deficiency - perhaps the same thing applies to Spinach. Knowing
your soil, it's rather poor. Have you tried adding a pinch of trace
elements when you'd done your bed preparation? Or even a one off
application of packet chemical stuff at the start.