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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Spinach from transplants

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  • From: Pam Twin Oaks <pam AT twinoaks.org>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Spinach from transplants
  • Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:38:51 -0400

Allan asked:
Pam - What fertilizer mix do you use on your spinach seedlings in
speedlings? -Allan in WV

No quick answer, Allan. It doesn't come from a bag! It's screened home
made compost, which has matured over the winter in built-up
greenhouse beds growing lettuce. We screen compost in August,
September, October, into beds with cinder-block frames, grow lettuce
in the winter, then dig the compost out as we need it for seedlings in
the spring. It's a system that sort of evolved, and works well for us.

Marty and others with germination problems: The optimum soil
temperature range for spinach seed germination is 45-75F. 85F is
quoted as the max in Knott's Vegetable Growers Handbook and Nancy
Bubels' Seed Starters Handbook. The story has another twist: Bubel has
a table of "Percentage of Normal Vegetable Seedlings Produced at
Different Temperatures" which gives 96% normal at 41F, 91% at 50F, 82%
at 59F, then a plummet to 52% at 68F, and a measly 28% at 77F. So,
don't expect most seeds to germinate at temperatures above 65F or so!

For fall spinach we follow the advice of Alison and Paul Weidiger and
sprout the seeds in the fridge for a week before sowing outdoors. This
works great! Unfortunately the grasshoppers or something ate off most
of the seedlings this year!

Pam, Twin Oaks, Louisa, VA, zone 7




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