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.

Any suggestions?

TIA
Mike

On Thu, 05 Jun 2003 14:46:06 GMT, Michael Beck
wrote:

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.

Any suggestions?


Ann Reilly in my seed-starting 'bible' - 'Park's Success
with Seeds' says the following about spinach:

'To hasten germination, seeds may be placed in the
refrigerator in moistened medium for one week prior to
sowing. Germination takes 8-10 days.'

So you might want to try refrigerating them in moistened
seed-starting mix.

I wouldn't mix manure into a seed-starting mixture.

Maybe you'd do better with Swiss chard.

It tastes very much like spinach (I like it better) but is
(IMHO) much easier to grow and you get a lot MORE of it as
it makes very large leaves, and is a cut-and-come-again
crop, and will produce all spring, summer, and fall.

Last year, my Swiss chard (which was in big pots) lived
until December, when the temperature hit 12 F. Then it gave
up. It wasn't protected from the weather in any way. I
think it would last through a mild winter with some
protection.

Pat

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.

--
Where ARE those Iraqi WMDs?

On Thu, 5 Jun 2003 09:55:48 -0700, Larry Blanchard
wrote:



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.


Oh, I love chard. But maybe it varies according to the
climate where it is being grown - this can happen. Or you
and I just have different tastes.

Please let us know how the Good King Henry does for you, and
if you like it. Perennial vegetables are obviously A Good
Thing (TM).

Pat

"Michael Beck" wrote in message
...
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.

Any suggestions?

This idea is certainly not proven, but consider. I plant my spinach in
the garden in mid-March, when the soil is cool. Perhaps your pots are
too warm. Consider finding a place in your house which is cool,
perhaps a basement.

Another poster suggested some time in the refrigerator. This is close
to what I'm suggesting, but I think the refrigerator is too cold for
the seeds to actually sprout. I'm thinking of temperatures in the 40's
and 50's.

Guy Bradley
Chesterfield Mo
zone 6