Spinach can be grown and harvested all year round. It only takes about eight weeks to ripen. Every gardener can determine the harvest time himself. This is either in early summer or in autumn and depends on the time of sowing. If the spinach has overwintered, a second harvest is possible in the spring.

cultivation time and harvest time

Spinach is sown either from March to May or from August to September. Early spinach is sown from March to May. Its harvest time lasts from April to June. If sown in August, harvest will take place from late September to November.

It only takes eight weeks from sowing to harvest. Once the plant has developed large leaves, the spinach is ready to be harvested.

Second harvest in spring

If you have grown one of the numerous hardy varieties ("Matador", "Monnopa", "Winterriesen"), you can let the spinach overwinter in the bed. In spring you can harvest it a second time.

For the winter, the spinach is covered with fleece or brushwood in particularly cold locations.

Harvest spinach up to four times

For repeated harvesting, the spinach is harvested from the outside in. You cut off the outer leaves first, just above the ground.

You leave the heart of the plant standing, then the spinach will sprout again and can be harvested up to four times. After the last harvest, you remove the entire plant.

One time harvest

A one-off harvest is also possible. The entire plant is harvested. Leaves that you will not use within the next few days can be preserved.

Harvest Tips:

  • Harvest spinach late in the afternoon and in the evening,
  • When the spinach begins to flower, it tastes bitter and should no longer be harvested
  • Be sure to harvest the spinach stalks to avoid disease

Storing and preserving spinach

Despite its nitrate content, spinach is very digestible. Fresh spinach only lasts two or three days in the refrigerator. It tastes best freshly prepared, either as steamed leaf spinach or in the pureed version. Young leaves can be prepared in a salad.

Spinach can be preserved longer by freezing. To do this, the spinach is blanched so that it collapses. After cooling in a water bath, the spinach can be frozen.

tips and tricks

After the first harvest, light fertilization stimulates the spinach to sprout again. You should wait three weeks with the next harvest so that they do not contain too much nitrate.

Category:

Vegetable garden