Tips For Growing Spinach From YouTube Videos

    Even though I have been successfully growing spinach (Bayam) at my HDB flat, I am curious of what I am doing is correct and if there are any more tips to better grow spinach. So I search through YouTube videos and found a few videos that provides useful tips on growing spinach.So here it is:

• Interesting facts is that spinach contains vitamin A, Vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, iron, folates and protein. 
• It is a quick crop as it takes a maximum of 6 weeks to be ready for harvest. 
• Spinach needs to be harvested before flowering. 
• You can harvest spinach anytime and once wrapped with kitchen towel, it can be keep in fridge for 2 weeks.

• Spinach is a easy to grow vegetable but requires full sun to grow well. 
• Her method of sowing the seeds is interesting. She prepared the soil, sow the seeds around the soil, scratch the seeds in, firm it down and water them. 

• Germinate better in cooler temperature, 18 - 21 degrees. 
• Seed priming can be soaked overnight in water or compost liquid, before planting. 
• Leaves need good airflow and leaves be able to dry off. 
• Spinach requires more nitrogen and if leaves becomes yellow, can add more fertilizer to add more nitrogen. 

• Spinach likes sandy loamy soil with lots of organic matter. Take a bunch of soil and squeeze it. If it forms a ball and breaks up easy, then is sandy loamy soil.
• Can add up to 30% compost to soil for spinach.
• Spinach prefers moist soil and depth about 4 inches(10.12cm).
• Plant seeds in 3-4 seeds clumps with every 3-4 inches apart or sow in rows of 3-5 seeds per inch and rows within 4 inches apart. Do not plant the seeds too deep into the soil, just cover the seeds will do. 
• Successing planning to provide continuous supply of spinach by starting a new bed of spinach every 3 weeks. 
• Spinach requires 6-8 hours of sunlight or artifical light to grow well. Spinach prefer morning lights and shade in the afternoon sun. 
• Can harvest every week as long as the plant is producing.

    Other tips:

• When harvesting spinach leaves, do leave a bit of leave stem so to prevent any disease from spreading to the stem. 
• To counter powdering mildew, use half a litre of milk to 1 litre of water and spray on the plants.
• Spinach prefers soil acidity between pH 6.0 - 6.7. 
• Grow from seeds is better than use seedling.