Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Jun 27, 2008, at 11:06 AM, Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:

> > > I saved a few spinach plants from harvest last week and am  
> > > wondering how
> > to tell male from female, needing both to make next year's seed.  
> > Anyone
> > know?
>
> Spinach flowers are unisexual until the flower opens, so you can't  
> tell for
> sure until then.

Harvesting viable spinach seed true to type is apparently not a piece  
of salad. In SEED TO SEED, Suzanne Ashworth writes:

"Spinach pollen is very light and is carried for great distances by  
the wind. Commercial spinach seed crops are separated by 5-10 miles.  
Spinach pollen is so fine that it easily penetrates mesh screen, but  
is severely restricted by spun polyester fabric. The bagging technique  
described on the Chenopodiaceae family pages can be used with some  
success.

"As was stated earlier, spinach plants are either male or female.  
Always maintain a ratio of one male to two female plants . . . The sex  
of spinach plants is hard to determine until the seed stalks have  
formed, which often results in less than ideal caging situations.  
Close plantings in wide beds will give the greatest chance that the  
necessary ratio of male to female plants will be growing in close  
proximity."

Apparently, female plants do not flower. She has a photo that shows a  
female plant with seeds alongside a flowering male plant.