Healthy Spinach from Your Garden Bed

There's hardly a person who doesn't know spinach at least from their plate or as the miraculous food of Popeye the Sailor, whose muscles miraculously grew after eating a can of spinach. It's clear that spinach is very healthy. However, many people were put off from consuming it by a poorly prepared portion of spinach in the school cafeteria and never returned to it. That's a real shame, because well-prepared spinach can not only taste excellent, but is truly healthy. While it's not such a huge iron reserve that muscles would grow on you like Popeye the Sailor, consuming spinach is still very beneficial for the organism. The healthiest is, of course, fresh spinach from your own garden. Growing it isn't complicated, so almost anyone can cultivate it.

The Homeland of Spinach

Spinach (lat. Spinacea oleracea) is an annual plant from the amaranth family (lat. Amaranthaceae). Its original homeland is probably Persia. Not only here, but throughout the entire Middle East, spinach quickly gained great popularity thanks to its distinctive taste and nutritional value. The cultivation of spinach then spread through Syria and Arabia to North Africa. The Spanish were responsible for its spread to Europe approximately in the 14th century. This was much later than in the Middle East.

Spinach

Leaf spinach is a dioecious plant, so there are male plants that quickly develop a flower stalk and female plants that bloom much later. Monoecious varieties have also been bred, which have both sexes and female growth type, so they bloom later and it's possible to pick leaves from them for a longer period. The vegetation period of spinach is very short, only 7 to 8 weeks are enough, which is why it's often used as a pre-crop or subsequent crop.

Popular Spinach Varieties

Very popular spinach varieties include Matador and Carambole. Matador is a semi-late spinach variety that is suitable for both spring and autumn sowing. Plants of this spinach variety are medium-sized and have a wide rosette. The leaves have a spade-like shape, the surface is glossy and evenly blistered. Matador spinach is suitable for one-time harvest. Carambole is a hybrid variety of cultivated spinach, also suitable for both spring and autumn sowing. The leaf colour is rather dark compared to other varieties, the rosette is widely open. The advantage of this variety is high resistance to freezing and mildew. Spinach can also be grown in organic quality, which is offered, for example, by the Tarpy variety.

Sowing and Harvesting Spinach

Leaf spinach is a cool-season vegetable, so it doesn't thrive in high temperatures and long summer days. In high temperatures, plants quickly bolt to flower. The leaves of flowering plants become tough and lose their characteristic taste. The most suitable period for sowing is therefore spring and autumn. In spring, sow spinach directly into the bed in rows spaced approximately 10 – 20 cm apart at a depth of about 4 cm. The most suitable time is March and April. Spinach grows very quickly, you can harvest it approximately 45 – 65 days after sowing the seeds. Autumn sowing is slightly different because some varieties are intended for overwintering. Autumn spinach cultivation is sown in mid-August. Sowing in a shaded location is more suitable, because the soil will dry out more slowly and temperatures in the shade won't be as high as in direct sunlight. Non-woven fabric can be used as protection against excessive water evaporation and harsh sun. Leaf spinach sown in August can still be harvested in autumn. Overwintering varieties are sown in the first half of September and harvested early in spring. Spinach is sufficiently frost-resistant, so overwintering in our conditions doesn't pose major difficulties.

Sowing Tip

You can speed up the seed germination process by leaving soaked seeds in the refrigerator for 24 hours before sowing. After removing the seeds from the refrigerator, you must immediately place them in the soil, otherwise you would interrupt the germination process and the spinach would no longer germinate.

Growing Spinach

Growing leaf spinach is not complicated. Spinach will reward you with a rich harvest of leaves in well-fertilised loamy-sandy soil that retains water well. Proper soil fertilisation is necessary because spinach produces a large amount of leaves in a short time, using a large amount of nutrients for their growth. Additional fertilisation during the growing season is also beneficial for abundant leaf growth. Regularly weed the rows with mature spinach plants so that weeds don't unnecessarily take away water and nutrients from the plants. Carry out weeding and hoeing very carefully, because leaf spinach roots grow just below the soil surface. Water spinach plants regularly.

Vitamins and Minerals Hidden in Spinach, or What is Leafy Spinach Good For..

It is said that spinach leaves are a huge source of iron, but unfortunately this claim has been disproved as an error caused by a misplaced decimal point, and spinach contains approximately the same amount of iron as other types of vegetables. However, the average iron content does not detract from the fact that spinach is very nutritious and beneficial for the human body. 100 g of spinach has only 22 kcal, which is especially appreciated by people on a diet. This amount of spinach, however, covers two-thirds of the daily dose of vitamin A, almost the entire daily dose of folic acid, half the daily dose of vitamin C, and also almost a quarter of the daily dose of magnesium or iron. Beta-carotene contained in spinach is a significant antioxidant that protects the body against free radicals and rids it of heavy metals. It acts as prevention against cancer and other lifestyle diseases. Women in particular will appreciate the beta-carotene content because it helps fight wrinkles and contributes to maintaining a youthful appearance. Vitamin A contained in spinach is beneficial for human eyesight and for protecting mucous membranes. From the B vitamin group, spinach contains the most vitamin B8, which is important for healthy hair, skin and nails. Vitamin B3 supports healthy sleep, heart and vascular system. Folic acid (vitamin B9) is also abundantly represented, which is especially recommended for pregnant women for healthy fetal development. Minerals in spinach include potassium, calcium, which are important for healthy teeth, bones and nerves. Iron supports blood formation and tissue oxygenation. Also magnesium, copper and sodium. Spinach is therefore very beneficial for the human body. There are so many beneficial substances in it that it is better to consume it in smaller doses and more frequently than sporadically and in large quantities, because not all beneficial substances would be fully absorbed.

Spinach for the Sweet Tooth

The use of spinach in the kitchen is very wide. In its raw state, it is added to salads and appetizers. Heat-treated, it is served as a side dish to potato dumplings. Spinach soup is also excellent, as are omelettes filled with spinach, spinach rolls, spinach baked with pasta or spinach pizza. You can even prepare a bundt cake from spinach. Baby spinach is excellent for salads.

Recipe for Potato Dumplings Filled with Spinach and Smoked Meat

Ingredients for dough

• 500 g cooked potatoes (preferably from the previous day)
• 200 g plain flour
• 1 egg
• salt

Ingredients for spinach filling

• 250 g spinach
• 200 g smoked meat
• 1 onion
• 1 teaspoon lard
• 3 cloves of garlic
• salt

Preparation Instructions

Mash or grate the potatoes into small pieces, add flour, egg and salt. Process everything into a dough, divide it in half and roll each half into a log, then cut into equal-sized rounds. Blanch the spinach leaves with boiling water and let them dry, then chop them. Sauté the chopped onion in lard until golden, then add the spinach, smoked meat, crushed garlic and salt. Mix everything well. Fill the prepared potato rounds with this mixture and shape them into cones or balls. Place them in boiling water and cook until the dumplings float to the surface.

Enjoy your meal! :)