Cultivation

Open-field spinach

Spinacia oleracea L.

Growing spinach in open fields is based on its cold hardiness and sensitivity to long daylight hours, which trigger early bolting.

In the reference 79 varieties crop Spinach, where this is mentioned in the description.

Spinach is a cool-season crop whose seedlings can withstand frosts down to –8°C, which allows sowing to begin immediately after the snow melts. At temperatures above +18°C and with increasing day length, the plant rapidly enters the bolting phase, forming flower stalks and losing the nutritional value of the leaves.

Agronomic practices include direct seeding into the soil at a depth of up to 3 cm at 20–30 day intervals to ensure continuous production. The crop requires neutral soil acidity (pH 6.0–7.5), constant moisture to prevent drying out, and strict control of nitrogen fertilizers due to the risk of nitrate accumulation.

Due to its short growing season of 30–55 days, spinach is often used as an early-maturing predecessor or as an intercrop in rotation. The transplanting method is not used for this crop due to the poor tolerance of the root system to transplanting.

General information about the subject — on the page Open field.

Sources8

Varieties of Spinach mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.