Early Planting of Spinach [View all]

[NJCher]

I ran across a sidebar in a gardening book which tells about how to plant spinach early, so I decided to do it.

snip

Spinach can be sown in winter, even on frozen soil, as long as you cover the seeds with some thawed soil. It's easiest to sow in a pallet collar or other kind of grow box because you can regulate the temperature with a lid. How to:

Scrape off any snow on the ground. pour on a 3/4-1 1/4 inch layer of compost in soil. Make rows and lay down spinach seeds 4 inches apart. Cover with soil and then with a layer of snow. instead of watering. The sun will eventually melt the snow.

Cover with a transparent lid, for example, an old window or a frame with an attached plastic sheet. The seed will be fine even if the soil freezes. Once spring arrives, the seeds will germinate and you can count on an early harvest.

Here's where I planted mine and how I covered it:

Below are two elevated raised beds that get excellent sun. They had to be weeded of daisies and compost applied:





I thought about this plastic cover, but opted for another:



This is the one I went with because it's easier to access. It is nothing more than a plastic storage bin turned upside down.



I planted my spinach and other lettuce seeds on Jan. 20. I'll be checking for seedlings in the next few days. I'll post back when they come up.