Gardeners: Do any of you plant spinach?? I have a question.

[Liberty1980]

What are we doing wrong? We planted some small spinach plants and they did good for a couple of weeks. They're in full and a few in partial sun light. The partial sun ones were doing better than the full sun ones, so we got some screen and made some little elevated shades for the others. They looked good for a week or 2 and now all of them are dying, even the shaded ones. We water when it doesn't rain but the edges are all dying and have halted growth.

We're in region 7/8 (Alabama) and spinach is zoned for us.

Any advice would be great.

[F9thRet]

What kind of soil do you have? PH, Nitrates, Iron, etc.

I'll do my best to help if I can.

Stephen

[Liberty1980]

I've got no clue about pH. I know it's a rich dark soil w/ minimal pebbles. we grow within the vicinity: potatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, pumpkins...

This is our first year with lettuce and spinach, so they're planted where last year's tomatoes and peppers were. Part of them (the naturally shaded portion) are planted where last year's cucumbers were.

[Jabber]

Spinach is a cool weather veggie. It may be too warm for it, even if it is shaded. Here on the West Coast we plant ours in the fall when we get cool daytime temps and before any chance of frost.
It sounds like it is just your timing.
You might try planting it in pots that you can keep cool if you want summer spinach.
Hope this helps you.

[Liberty1980]

Spinach is a cool weather veggie. It may be too warm for it, even if it is shaded. Here on the West Coast we plant ours in the fall when we get cool daytime temps and before any chance of frost.
It sounds like it is just your timing.
You might try planting it in pots that you can keep cool if you want summer spinach.
Hope this helps you.
That might be the issue. I know the tabs said we could plant them in spring or in October. Maybe it's just too hot here during the daytime for them. Our highs are in the mid 80's with full sunlight nearly all day long.

Thank you. ;)

[mdk190]

It is more then likely is weather or the PH content of your soil. I hope your lettuce works out for you. I planted Hops about two weeks ago and sadly I think they didn't make it. The rest of my flower garden is doing lovely though. I wish you luck in your endeavor.

[Jabber]

Yup, sounds a tad too warm for them. If you got some growing in the ground already maybe you could dig 'em up and transplant them indoors for this season.

[johnrocks]

We used to grow Spinach and lettuce here in the Fall and Winter with our Turnips,mustard Greens and such, it's too hot here in Louisiana right now for lettuce and spinach,imho.

[Liberty1980]

It is more then likely is weather or the PH content of your soil. I hope your lettuce works out for you. I planted Hops about two weeks ago and sadly I think they didn't make it. The rest of my flower garden is doing lovely though. I wish you luck in your endeavor.
It's really cool to see the lettuce naturally curl and make heads. Our 3 year old is loving watching everything grow from a small seed.

Sorry to hear about your hops.

[mdk190]

It's really cool to see the lettuce naturally curl and make heads. Our 3 year old is loving watching everything grow from a small seed.

It really is a good feeling to see the fruits of our toil turn into a fresh plate of salad or vase filled with flowers. Gardening is one my favorite things do. Anytime you wish to exchange tips send me a PM and I will prattle on and on. :)

[Liberty1980]

It really is a good feeling to see the fruits of our toil turn into a fresh plate of salad or vase filled with flowers. Gardening is one my favorite things do. Anytime you wish to exchange tips send me a PM and I will prattle on and on. :)
It's amazing to see what all one seed can do. Kinda helps put things in perspective when you begin to think "But I'm only one person, what can I do?"

Thanks for the pm invite. That door swings both ways. ;)