Growing spinach is really pretty easy. Spinach, kale, collards, and mustard greens are all cool-season crops. Turnip greens are a root vegetable and are harvested from the primary vegetable, turnips. Collard greens tolerate heat as well as cold and so do well in the south.

Leafy greens like rich, well-drained soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Unless otherwise noted, work two inches (5 cm) of compost into the soil before planting. Add a nitrogen-rich fertilizer to the soil, as well as enough lime to reach the proper pH.

Most leafy greens can be directly seeded into the garden, but you may also start them indoors and transplant the seedlings after about a month. Many leafy greens have shallow roots, so hoe carefully. Keep soil consistently moist.

After you have worked one to two inches of compost into the soil, sow seeds 1/2 inch deep (1.25 cm) and one inch (2.5 cm) apart, with 12 to 18 inches (30-45 cm) between rows. Thin to four to six inches (10-15 cm) apart. Keep the greens watered well, because, as mentioned before, they need constant moisture.

One of the things you want to guard against is bolting.  When a plant ‘bolts’ it sends up a flower stalk which then goes to seed. When that happens, the leaves of the plant lose their good taste and become bitter tasting. Since spinach is quick to bolt, it must be planted early in the spring.

Fall crops are sometimes easier to manage.  They should be planted eight to ten weeks before the first hard frost. Spinach is very cold hardy.  Young spinach plants can survive in temperatures as low as 15 to 20 degrees. Planted in the fall, spinach will survive the winter weather and come up in the spring.

Spinach is wonderfully nutritious.  It is low in saturated fat, a good source of niacin and zinc, and a very good source of dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper and manganese.  Growing your own spinach increases nutritional valye, as there is not a great time lapse between harvest and preparation. 

Get out there and grow your own great vegetables.  Keep these tips in mind and growing spinach will be a breeze.

B. Haley is an Affiliate Marketer with profitable websites ranging from Mobile Alabama Business Directory to Contemporary Floor Lamp to Vegetable Garden Planning.