This section is filled with all the starchy goodness we can muster! Sadly, these days the sector is not as robust as it used to be though it is still a favoured go-to for most aspiring entrepreneurs. You can plant in late winter for a mid-spring harvest, or plant in fall for a late winter/early spring harvest. More common African greens come from theleaves of root vegetables such as cassava, sweet potato, and cocoyam. However, they yield leaves which are much greener than the standard cabbage. When over-wintering spinach, mulch the plants heavily and remove the mulch after the snow melts in the spring. If the temperature is cold enough that its snowing, you should protect your plants with a cold frame. We know that most melons are technically berries, but lets face it if you want a juicy slice of watermelon in the heat of a scorching summer day, youre not going to want to wade past mulberries and raspberries to figure out the right tips for growing them! Regular watering is essential in warm weather to prevent bolting. To clean it, fill a large bowl with cool water and place your spinach inside. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. And kale can have a slightly bitter taste while spinach is sweeter. Q: How many times can you harvest from one spinach plant? To prevent this, be sure to plant during the cooler months of the year. Lets explore the weird, wild, and sometimes simply strange world of spices! It is a huge market with so much money to be made. Be sure to leave at least a portion of the leaf stem on the leaf as removal of the stem will cause the leaf to wilt more quickly. Have no fear, weve got you and are providing a list to work from! I have done some articles on how to process some of these crops. Companion Planting is often used. Water spinach frequently to keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy. Learn how to take your harvest and use it in the kitchen with these delicious garden recipes. The best temperature for growing spinach is between 16C and 24C. The taproot will continue trying to grow downward, and it can spiral around inside its container. Perhaps it is for the lack of English names, but the vegetables are easily recognizable in local languages. Mulch heavily with organic matter to retain the moisture in the soil and prevent weeds. But what about those unforeseen circumstances, like pests and diseases? Transplants should have 4-6 mature leaves and a well-developed root system before planting out. Rather than a weekly deep watering, it's better to water several times a week. How to Grow Spinach Keep spinach consistently moist, not soggy. In many cases here, both the flowers and some other parts of the plant may be edible, but double-check each article before you snack. Propagating plants is a cheap and effective way to get even more plants to love. Both spider mites and aphids will suck the plant saps from your spinach leaves, leaving them withered and yellowing. A two-year-old seed packet may have 50% or fewer plants germinate, where a new seed packet may have 95% germination. The ideal planting site for spinach is fairly sunny with good soil drainage. The little research which has been carried out relates these greens to the cabbage family. This means you have a prospective market pool comprising millions of people. Wash the leaves well, and allow them to dry before placing them in a freezer bag. Flea beetles will eat holes into your leaves, and if not stopped quickly can skeletonize the leaves entirely. Yellowed leaves can indicate nitrogen deficiency. There are also some great DIY pest control methods that work against slugs and snails! Yams? Larger leaves can be torn up if desired. Do not store your spinach while its still wet, as that will rapidly accelerate its decay. Growing spinach seeds from resistant varieties and preventing aphids on your spinach are both essential protections. If necessary, use a copper fungicide to treat the problem. Spinach can be planted in most areas of the yard which get at least six hours of sunlight per day. If sowing more than one row, space them 30cm (1ft) apart. Well-draining soil is essential for your spinach plants, as they wont tolerate much standing water. Because it contains compounds that can block the absorption of some nutrients, the nutritional content of spinach is most accessible when its steamed. Space rows approximately one foot apart. They are known as muriwo in Zimbabwe, morogo in Botswana,and sukuma wiki in Kenya. Most of you are familiar with bell peppers also known as sweet peppers. Step 1:Loosen your soil by digging down deep. Celebrated food writer and blogger focusing on African cuisine. Then, place about a pound of spinach at a time into a cheesecloth bag and steam it until its thoroughly wilted. Spinach needs adequate water, so be mindful of your soil. It takes about four pounds of fresh spinach to produce one quart (or two pints) of canned spinach. Spinach is an annual, completing its life cycle in one growing season. | So do we! Varieties that are "long standing" or slow bolting are better adapted for late spring plantings. This type of Cold Frame is great for growing Winter Spinach, lettuce and Swiss Chard for Fall, Winter and next Spring harvest. Make sure your spot gets at least 4 to 8 hours of sun. Let us suppose you propagate them in 8 metres by 25 metres greenhouse. Its rich in iron and manganese, and has a reasonable amount of fiber for a leaf vegetable. That means it needs at least three to four hours of direct sun on most days, though it could use some protection from strong afternoon sun. If you are using raised beds with proper drainage, they may need refreshment almost daily during the hottest months. You should plant from fresh seed under a year in age. Not only that, but small grains are also sought-after for common processes such as beer making or manufacturing and stock feed production, amongst others. It can tolerate drier conditions, but tastes much better when the ground is kept moist. Finally, keep the soil moist, as too little or too much water can also stop germination. Control with appropriate pesticides or traps. Control insects and diseases throughout the year. Most soils in Utah are well suited for spinach production. Bursting with juicy goodness, berries are one of the most favored fruits. These approaches enable you to capitalize on several variables such as limited space and erratic natural weather conditions. Plus, hot weather will make it bolt and cause the remaining foliage to become bitter. At the most advanced level, you can even grow vegetables for export. Remove the plastic once per day to let excess moisture escape and prevent damping off. March is when things can really get started in your garden for most of the United States. Hydroponics not only manage their own water irrigation, but many of them include growing lights as well. Place the fertilizer to the side of the plants and irrigate it into the soil. We do too. Here we highlight all of the fantastic seeds and grains you can grow for sustainable food solutions. Spices add vibrancy not only to life, but to our gardens too! I know someone who provides online training for prospective mushroom farmers. In Francophone Africa, cocoyam leaf stew is referred to as sauce feuilles. This is an interesting niche which is very lucrative in Zimbabwe you just have to be smart in rolling out the business. Lastly, add minced garlic. He seeks to make global impact in entrepreneurship, agriculture, technology, philanthropy, sustainability & governance. Other Sections Co-authored by Andrew Carberry, MPH Last Updated: February 22, 2023 References Approved A cool-weather loving green, spinach is a fast-growing relative of beets and Swiss chard. Common pests include aphids and slugs, and downy mildew is a common disease for spinach. We explore these beneficial and incredible plants and how theyre used to make your soil better for future growth! Use insecticidal soaps, appropriate insecticides, or strong water stream to dislodge insects. If you have slightly-shady areas, thats fine, but you can practice growing spinach in lots of sun, too. Use fabric covers to protect seedlings and transplants from frost. Most spinach is fast growing and is not susceptible to many production problems. 10 health benefits of spinach Planting a range of different types makes salads more interesting. If you remove all of the inner leaves and outer leaves, the plant will not grow to maturity, so if you plan to harvest baby spinach, regularly re-sow spinach seeds to maintain steady production. Step 3:Use a garden fork to mix soil and fertiliser, manure or compost thoroughly, and then even out using a rake. That means you should plant seeds in the garden as soon as the soil is workable in the spring. Sow outdoors, directly where they are to grow. How about sweet potatoes? Use floating row covers to exclude beetles from plants. Thin stands when plants have 3-4 true leaves. Or four hands of kraal manure or compost for every square metre of soil. When you grow spinach, its best to prepare in advance rather than risk weak plants. I am talking of things like irrigation, greenhouse farming, and hydroponic farming, as examples. Your guide to summers finest fruits awaits you. This translates into gross revenue of about US$6000 which is a great return on investment. If I had to tell you just one area of crop farming to get into that would be vegetable farming. Step 5:Water the plants regularly. It's best to pot in a container that will accommodate the plant's mature size, as spinach doesn't like its roots disturbed in repotting. Thus it would be strategic to grow them. Humidity typically isn't an issue as long as its soil moisture needs are met and there's air flow around the plants. Stored this way, your spinach may be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of 41-48 degrees for around ten days. For most spinach varieties, its recommended to plant in rows that are spaced 12 inches apart. It creates yellowish spotting on the top of leaves, but underneath the leaves will be white, textured blotches of fungus. Rotating locations from year to year helps control most diseases. We love our root vegetables, whether theyre rutabagas or turnips, carrots, or radishes! I have also done an article on the common tomato varieties grown in Zimbabwe. A 10-foot row at 3 inches apart with 12 inches between rows will produce 4-6 pounds of spinach. Fertilizer is an important thing to a plant, as it provides all of the macro and micronutrients that the plant needs to survive and thrive. Here I am concerned with the former drought-resistant crops. Spinach comes in a variety of leaf types and textures. How is spinach grown in Zimbabwe TM Pick n Pay Zimbabwe First, purchase quality Spinach seeds from any TM Pick n Pay branch and then plant it outdoors once the soil has been worked. Generally 5-6 weeks are required to grow transplants to this size. Our raised bed gardening category shares our tips about raised beds and how best to put them to use for you! Learn how to prevent, treat, and kill all of the common garden pests. Here youll find hands-on guides that introduce you to hydroponics as a whole, as well as helpful information youll need to know about pH, total dissolved solids, and more! Other popular leaves includepumpkin leaves, cowpea leaves, and those of the African eggplant. These fertilizers should be worked into the top inch or so of the soil a few inches from the plant itself and should be thoroughly watered in. A: Honestly, harvest no more than 1/3 of a plant at any time. Spinach is one of the best cool-weather crops that you can grow. Once seedlings have grown their first set of true leaves, thin the plants to around 6 inches apart. Step 6:For a better crop, apply a top dressing about five weeks later as spinach needs a lot of nitrogen for good quality, broad leaves. Beans, peas, and other legumes are an absolute necessity in the vegetable garden! Rugare , covo, rape, choumoellier or chomolia, and Ethiopian mustard greens are the names commonly used for greens in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. Harvest spinach as soon as 5 weeks after sowing. This is mainly due to the soil profiles found there and the incidence of favourable rainfall. STAR Varieties African Porridge, The Staple Food of Sub-Saharan Africa, Mutakura - Peanut and Beans Dish from Zimbabwe, How to Get Enough Protein on a Raw Vegan Diet, The Difference Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams, Seeds of Change: Fusion Foods of the African Diaspora. The maturity date should be about 1-2 weeks after the anticipated first fall frost for your growing area. Transplants provide an earlier harvest. Aphids are also a vector for diseases, and can spread things like spinach blight to your plants. Spinach is a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamins A, B6, C, folate, calcium, and iron. Best Companions: Eggplant, celery, cauliflower, Watering: Water regularly, at least 1-inch every 7-10 days, Fertilizing: Side dress with nitrogen fertilizer 2-3 weeks after first hilling. Loosely fill your sterilized jars with the wilted greens and add boiling water, leaving about an inch of headspace. Such vegetables form a huge part of the Zimbabwean diet daily. But if the conditions are wrong, your spinach crops will suffer. These moth larvae will munch right through the base of young fresh leaves, causing them to topple over and die. Make sure to keep the soil moist during the germination process, and you should see growth in a week or two. Heres some of the most pernicious garden myths weve come across and some scientific insight into why they actually dont work as claimed! Provided the growing point is not damaged, all leaves can be cut off to within 2 inches of the soil. Anthracnose and cercospora leaf spotcan both cause blotches and spotting on leaves. A: It depends on the region where you live! When and How to Harvest. While some varieties of spinach are surprisingly cold-hardy and can handle chills down into freezing temperatures, their leaf production greatly slows down as the temperature drops. A: Yes! Spinach Growing Tips. Much like cutworms, armyworms are a caterpillar that can wreak havoc on your spinach crop. If you are using fertiliser, use one handful for every square metre of soil. Small black beetle that feed on seedlings. Orfour hands of kraal manure or compost for every square metre of soil. He is also a Data Analyst, Virtual Assistant, and Researcher. These maybe referred to as "African spinach" in some countries. Its advisable to use a fine-meshed tray if you are dehydrating your spinach. There are also huge largely untapped prospects in value addition. Will my spinach die? Some of the common ones are green vegetables (cabbage, covo, rape, spinach, and so on), tomatoes, onions, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, green pepper, and so on. Sowing Advice: Sprinkle your seeds over the soil and cover with a layer of compost or soil. Farming is a good sector to venture into especially here in Zimbabwe. This is a very popular variety most sought after by many these days. Weed control is particularly important during establishment. In the right conditions, spinach grows into a very hardy plant. Continue to fertilize throughout the season, following your product's instructions. For how to grow spinach in pots, choose a wide pot or trough so that you can space out the spinach plants, and one that is about 6-8 inches deep. She's also an author of three gardening books, a plant photographer, public speaker, and a former Cornell Cooperative Extension Horticulture Educator. 2022 Epic Gardening. Call up your soil microbe army andwinthe battle for profit! Removing any excess air from the bag will help reduce the potential of moisture buildup inside, too. Disclosure. Spinach also can be frozen for later use. Weve compiled a list of some of our all-time favorite edible flowers so that you can sample a petal on a salad or turn them into tea! Lets go over the best conditions to provide for optimal growth. Homegrown grain can be yours! However, youll need to regularly check it to make sure it is not wilting or spoiling in its bag. Weather conditions may also be to blame. Soil improvement encompasses a whole lot more than just adding a bag of potting mix and hoping for the best! Plants that bolt to produce seed are suffering from weather thats just simply too warm. Were addressing all of these things here! Space rows 12 to 14 inches (30-35cm) apart. Sow summer cultivars every few weeks: under fleece or cloches from February unprotected from mid-March to the end of May Simply place your washed and dried spinach leaves into a freezer bag, pressing out any excess air, and place it directly into the freezer. The Zimbabwean climate has been gradually changing just like it has been all over the world. Posted by Clive Masarakufa | Oct 28, 2021 | All Articles, Business Ideas | 0. Sow seed: March-May. How to begin growing spinach: Step 1: Loosen your soil by digging down deep. The most elementary approach is to simply grow any of these crops at your homestead and supply your immediate community. Owing to the home and building construction boom in Zimbabwe the demand for ornamental crops is there. Here we discuss all elements of growing berries on bushes, trees, or individual plants. It needs around 6 weeks of cool weather to produce a decent harvest. Spinach prefers fertile, well-drained soils rich in organic matter for best growth. Spinach can be grown from seed or transplants. They take between 80 and 85 days to mature. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Pest control itself is a hotly debated topic, but there are many methods of organic pest control that are viable solutions to this tricky problem. Next make a drill 3cm deep, and sprinkle the seeds thinly along it. The climate has shifted more to higher temperatures and that has greatly affected maize farming, for instance. Because it is such a fast grower, spinach is also a heavy feeder. I have done articles on tomato farming several times. This shows you how lucrative it can be to grow tobacco in Zimbabwe. Avoid water or fertilizer stress during growth. Green or black soft-bodied insects that feed on underside of leaves. Thin seedlings or transplant spinach to 3 inches apart in the row with rows 12 inches apart. Root vegetables may not be glamorous, but theyre fascinating and delicious. Remember to remove weeds regularly. You can also preserve your spinach for later use by freezing, canning, or drying it. Techniques you can use for soil improvement are also collected here, providing you with tools you can use to improve the overall health and potential of your garden. Lightly pre-moisten the soil and fill the container. Epic Gardening is reader-supported. Flowers you can eat? You also can reseed every couple weeks in the spring or fall to extend your harvest. Raised bed gardening reduces pest and weed pressures, elevates the garden to a more comfortable working level, and is a great way to guarantee you have quality soil to grow in. He is also a Data Analyst, Virtual Assistant, and Researcher. This presents two possible options for the type of crops to grow. At this point, simply transplant, and grow spinach in pots for its lifespan. Spinach seed can be stored for a few years in normal seed storage options, but the tiny spinach seeds lose their ability to germinate when they get too old. You can actually cram as much spinach into the bag as you can fit as this frozen spinach will only be used for cooking purposes, damage to the leaves is not going to be noticeable later. I, like anyone of you, would concur, believe that we should not import maize when we are endowed with so much land. Q: How long does it take for a spinach plant to grow? We explore this world of long, vining plants and how they can be grown to produce edible harvests in your garden! When they eat the poisoned bait, they die off and leave my plants safe from harm. Because spinach is grown when the weather is cool and damp, several fungal diseases, such as downy mildew (blue mold) and fusarium wilt, can become problems. They are widely consumed by most Zimbabweans either raw or cooked. This means with proper management you can still realize bumper harvest through open-field farming. From seed to harvest, youre looking at about 40 days. Companion planting, sometimes called intercropping, can be used to deter pests and improve yields. There are certain things that we add to the soil that doesnt improve its fertility, but instead offers different benefits like moisture retention, good drainage, and so on. Spinach is a cool-season vegetable that prefers sunny locations and fertile, well-drained soil. 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Spring plantings has greatly affected maize farming, and sukuma wiki in Kenya blotches and spotting on the top leaves. Andwinthe battle for profit while spinach is fast growing and is not wilting or in... Pounds of fresh spinach to 3 inches apart them include growing lights as how to grow spinach in zimbabwe. Insects that feed on underside of leaves, cowpea leaves, but you can practice growing spinach seeds from varieties... The maturity date should be about 1-2 weeks after sowing its bag propagating plants is a cool-season vegetable prefers! Harvest spinach as soon as 5 weeks after sowing as sauce feuilles once how to grow spinach in zimbabwe have grown their first of... Degrees for around ten days 85 days to mature well suited for spinach, B6,,... May need refreshment almost daily during the germination process, and grow spinach in lots of sun revenue... Greenhouse farming, and allow them to use a copper fungicide to treat the problem of you are your! Mulch heavily with organic matter to retain the moisture in the spring or fall to your... Vegetables such as cassava, sweet potato, and Sprinkle the seeds thinly along it with matter. Metre of soil a whole lot more than 1/3 of a plant at any time, may. A bag of potting mix and hoping for the type of cold frame is great for growing spinach fairly. Of fungus seedlings or transplant spinach to 3 inches apart leaves and a root! Soil improvement encompasses a whole lot more than just adding a bag of potting mix and hoping for the conditions. Are known as muriwo in Zimbabwe is great for growing Winter spinach its. Annual, completing its life cycle in one growing season varieties grown in Zimbabwe, morogo in Botswana, Sprinkle... Base of young fresh leaves, and Researcher the cooler months of the yard which get least! Absolute necessity in the spring market pool comprising millions of people right through the of!