Spinach, suggestions for which variety, please

[daisybelle]

I want to try growing spinach in my Aerogarden 360 and I've read that it's difficult to germinate.  I watched a YouTube video where a man put seeds in a damp paper towel and was able to germinate and transplant.

Since I've never done this before, does anyone have suggestions for me as which variety to grow.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

[LoveSalads]

I have 2 gardens of bloomsdale longstanding spinach growing because another member mike , success and pictures. You can read here     aerogardenaddicts.com/post/62677/thread

[LoveSalads]

This is what the bloomsdale longstanding spinach looks like at  30-35 days. I have harvested 2 huge salads from this and about to take 2 more.


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20240117_122806 

[scarfguy]

What temperature is your spinach room, LoveSalads?

Spinach loves cold weather and does best at 50-60 degrees.   My rooms are always hot, winter or summer. 

So I've never tried spinach.

[LoveSalads]

Jan 17, 2024 12:57:00 GMT -5 scarfguy said:

What temperature is your spinach room, LoveSalads ?

Spinach loves cold weather and does best at 50-60 degrees.   My rooms are always hot, winter or summer. 

So I've never tried spinach.

68-71 all winter. I have reduced the lighting from salad hours 16-17 to 9.5 hours as per reading up on spinach. I had 1 plant go to seed quickly. I think that might have been caused from my harvest next to it leaving the light on 24x 7 ooops.  Seems to be growing pretty well and is very tasty for a salad.

[lynnee]

That's enough spinach to avoid buying it at the grocery store, LoveSalads! Yours is the most successful AG spinach garden that I've seen yet.

Park, Johnny's, Territorial, Burpee, Baker Creek, and others have the Bloomsdale Longstanding variety, I see.

parkseed.com/bloomsdale-long-standing-spinach-seeds/p/05294/

[Clovis Sangrail]

All that spinach looks nummy. 

I love a spinach salad (Bacon, 'shrooms and honey mustard, please, nd maybe some roasted pine nuts), and I love cooked spinach, too, as long as it hasn't been boiled until it's gray.

I have a new Harvest Elite Slim coming, and now I know what's going into it. (May give some New Zealand spinach a try just for the hell of it.)

[slw]

Jan 17, 2024 13:09:20 GMT -5 LoveSalads said:

 I have reduced the lighting from salad hours 16-17 to 9.5 hours as per reading up on spinach. I had 1 plant go to seed quickly. I think that might have been caused from my harvest next to it leaving the light on 24x 7 ooops. 

Agree.  I found this information on the Gardenary website...  "Maneuver your light source to be six inches above your seed tray once the spinach seedlings have their first set of leaves, and leave the lights on for 14 to 16 hours a day. You can then reduce to eight to ten hours per day once the plants have matured. Seedlings like having their light source close by, but anything closer than six inches can burn them. Make sure to raise your light source as plants grow."

Hopefully managing the light will help the bolting issue.  My little spinach plants are just now starting to put on "real" leaves; 7 days in the pods after sprouting in a paper towel.

This variety is Heirloom Noble.  This is my first attempt with them so I don't know how they will turn out yet