SPINACH, SPINACH BEET & SWISS CHARD
SPINACH/CHARD
Sow: February to October
Plant: March to November
Harvest: January to December
January: Harvest overwintered crops. Remove leaves that are discoloured.
February: Keep harvesting. Make first sowings if temperatures aren’t too low.
March: Sow spinach or spinach beet in pots or trays with no added heat. Cover with polythene.
April: Plant out seedlings when 3cm/1¼in tall. Put plenty of compost in the trench. Spinach beet will crop for months. Spinach can be sown in situ. Keep harvesting. Allow 30cm/12in between rows if thinning to single plants (20cm/8in apart). Allow 15cm/6in between rows if growing baby leaves.
May: Sow spinach in situ. Spinach beet can be sown in pots and planted out or sown direct in drills for small leaves. Water well – if it’s too hot and dry, plants will bolt.
June: Continuous sowings can be made for use as baby leaves. Keep plants watered in dry weather so that they don’t run to seed.
July: Sow Swiss chard ‘Bright Lights’ in pots for a winter and spring crop.
August: Still time to sow chard. Sow spinach and spinach beet now to crop right through the winter.
September: Sow winter varieties of spinach. Keep them well watered. Plant out chard, 20cm/8in apart in rows 30cm/12in apart. Dig compost into the ground or follow on from a well-fed crop.
October: Still time to sow spinach for a winter crop, but get it into the ground as soon as you can.
November: Harvest carefully and don’t strip plants.
December: Buy seed. Harvest winter crops.
SPINACH/CHARD TROUBLES
Slugs: March to October
Caterpillars: July to October
Leaf spot: January to April and November to December
Damping off: February to April and September to November