6. Fruit, Leaf and Root Vegetable Guidelines
A) Spinach – Surface Composting Technique
Spinach has the highest level of anti-oxidants of all vegetables, with high levels of vitamins A, B, C and K, and is rich in iron amongst other essential minerals. This leafy vegetable is not only an essential part of healthy nutrition, but is surprisingly easy to grow and manage.
Spinach can be planted from spring until autumn, with optimal growing temperatures of 13-20°C, taking note that it does not do well in temperatures over 27°C.
Layout - 37.5cm Triple Rows
Final plant spacing is 20cm between plants in triple 37.5cm rows. Split the 75cm row in half, planting at 0; 37.5 and 75cm, then repeat the series of triple rows from the next 75cm permanent peg. This 75cm gap is a walkway to allow for easy access to harvest the leaves. If you have a small home garden then use the 37.5cm spacing throughout to make best use of your space.
Lay Strings for Planting Band
Place a top string or measuring rope from one 75cm permanent peg to its adjoining peg on the opposite side. Next place temporary pegs 10cm down from the permanent pegs and place another string there to establish the surface composting band. Make sure both the ropes are taut and straight by lifting and dropping them.
Remove God’s Blanket
Move God’s Blanket downslope of the 10cm planting band, to ensure none of it gets buried. If you bury the blanket which has not yet decomposed, it can cause the soil to go through a negative nitrogen period and reduce crop yield.
Soil Fracturing
Push the fork 30cm deep and pull it backwards a little, until you see the soil loosen or fracture. Remove any stones or rocks that you feel with the fork, but don’t be tempted to lift or turn the soil, you should be merely fracturing it. Keep on repeating this every 10cm along the row line.
Correcting Acidic Soils
To correct acidic soils and allow for readily available plant nutrients evenly sprinkle 1 tablespoon of woodash/bonemeal or 1 teaspoon of lime, every 60cm on the planting line.
Surface Composting
Place compost on top of the 10cm wide band, 5cm deep evenly across the line. It is not necessary to work the compost in to the soil. Spinach is a medium feeder but due to the fact that it will be in the ground for 6-8 months it is essential to feed it well from the start. This system of surface composting is following exactly what the Lord of all Creation has shown us since the beginning of all time, where He designed for plants to feed from the top. Repeat this process again for each 37.5cm row but leave a 75cm wide access walkway after every triple row to allow for easy harvesting.
Furrowing and Planting Seed
In the middle of the compost band press down with a hoe edge to establish an accurate and even 2cm planting furrow. Plant the spinach seed 2cm deep and at 10cm intervals, which is approximately one hand width apart. Cover the seeds by pinching the compost closed and gently firming up the compost. Thin down to 20cm apart after germination, using the thinned plants for relish or salad. Don’t put the blanket on top of the band until after germination has taken place, whereafter the blanket can be brought up against the plant bases. Ensure the blanket is at 100% cover and 2.5cm thick to suppress weed growth and conserve moisture.
Planting Seedlings
It is always better to plant Spinach seedlings into the garden compared to seeds. When planting seedlings, put the 2.5cm thick blanket on top of the surface compost before planting. Use a dibble stick with a depth marker on it, twisting the dibble stick through the blanket and pressing it into the centre of the 10cm wide surface compost band to the required depth, every 20cm across the row.
You must ensure the seedling roots are not bent into a J shape which will adversely affect the plants growth, so make sure the dibble stick hole depth is sufficient, but not too deep either. If the hole is too deep, it will cause there to be an air space under the roots which is also not desirable. To ensure you don’t have that, hold the seedling in place and press with the dibble stick or your fingers at an angle, pressing the compost gently around the seedling roots. This ensures the seedling roots have no bend and ensures that there are no airspaces around the root zone.
Triple rows give good canopy closure and also allow for easy harvesting from either side.
Top Dressing
If the Spinach shows any signs of yellowing or is pale, top dress with urea or manure tea. When applying diluted manure tea, apply 350ml to each plant base. When applying Urea, push a small hole 3cm deep, three finger widths away, on the upslope side of each plant. Place a teaspoon of Urea in each hole and cover it with soil. Repeat the applications after every second harvest of leaves.
Harvest
When harvesting, break off the two largest spinach leaves, allowing the other leaves to fill out. The plants will continue to produce leaves for long periods of time. Keep removing any older yellow leaves to encourage new leaf growth. We have had up to 8 harvests from a crop in the model Farming God's Way garden.
B) Spinach - Manure/Low Volume Compost Technique
Spinach has the highest level of anti-oxidants of all vegetables, with high levels of vitamins A, B, C and K, and is rich in iron amongst other essential minerals. This leafy vegetable is not only an essential part of healthy nutrition, but is surprisingly easy to grow and manage.
Spinach can be planted from spring until autumn, with optimal growing temperatures of 13-20°C, noting that it does not do well in temperatures over 27°C.
Layout - 37.5cm Triple Rows
Final plant spacing is 20cm between plants in triple 37.5cm rows. Split the 75cm row in half, planting at 0; 37.5 and 75cm, then repeat the series of triple rows from the next 75cm permanent peg. This 75cm gap is a walkway to allow for easy access to harvest the leaves. If you have a small home garden then use the 37.5cm spacing throughout to make best use of your space.
Placing String
Place a top string or measuring rope from one 75cm permanent peg to its adjoining 75cm permanent peg on the opposite side. Make sure the rope is taut and straight by lifting and dropping it.
Remove God’s Blanket
Move God’s Blanket 20cm downslope from the planting string to expose the soil. Don’t move it too far as it will interfere with the next 37.5cm row.
Soil Fracturing
Push the fork 30cm deep and pull it backwards a little, until you see the soil loosen or fracture. Remove any stones or rocks that you feel with the fork, but don’t be tempted to lift or turn the soil; you should be merely fracturing it. Keep on repeating this every 10cm along the row line.
Digging Furrows
Dig a furrow 10cm deep, moving the soil downslope of the planting string, taking care to neatly heap the soil for reuse later. Repeat this process again every 37.5cm but leave an access walkway after every triple row to allow for easy harvesting.
Correcting Acidic Soils
To correct acidic soils and allow for readily available plant nutrients we need to apply woodash, bonemeal or lime. Evenly sprinkle 1 tablespoon of woodash/bonemeal or 1 teaspoon of lime every 60cm on the planting line.
Manure/Compost
Evenly spread 500ml of manure/compost every 60cm, or shoulder width, into the furrow. Although spinach is a medium feeder they are in the ground for 6-8 months and so it is best to feed them well from the beginning.
Seed Depth and Soil Separation Layer
Take a skimming of soil from the heap and cover the inputs with at least 3cm of soil to establish an accurate final planting depth of 2cm and also to ensure a good separation layer between the seed and manure. If you don’t separate seed from manure you will get poor germination because of seed burn. This is obviously not the case with high quality compost.
Planting Seed
Plant the spinach seed 2cm deep and at 10cm intervals which is approximately one hand width apart and cover with fine loose soil, ensuring an even or preferably slightly raised furrow surface for good germination.
Thin down to 20cm intervals after germination, using the thinned plants for relish/salads.
Leave the blanket off the furrow until after germination has taken place and then you can bring the blanket up close to the plant stems. Ensure the blanket is at 100% cover and 2.5cm thick to suppress weed growth and conserve moisture.
Planting Seedlings
Cover all the inputs in the furrow with soil from the downslope heap until the soil surface is level again. Replace the 2.5cm thick blanket on top of the covered furrow. Use a dibble stick with a depth marker on it, twisting the dibble stick through the blanket and pressing it into the centre of the furrow to the required depth, every 20cm across the row.
You must ensure the seedling roots are not bent into a J shape which will adversely affect the plants growth, so make sure the hole depth is sufficient but not too deep either. If the hole is too deep, it will cause there to be an air space under the roots which is also not desirable. To ensure you don’t have that, hold the seedling in place and press with the dibble stick or your fingers at an angle pressing the soil gently around the seedling roots. This ensures the seedling roots have no bend and ensures that there are no airspaces around the root zone.
Triple rows give good canopy closure and also allow for easy harvesting from either side.
Top Dressing
If the Spinach shows any signs of yellowing or is pale, top dress with urea or manure tea. When applying diluted manure tea, apply 350ml to each plant base. When applying Urea, push a small hole 3cm deep, three finger widths away, on the upslope side of each plant. Place a teaspoon of Urea in each hole and cover it with soil. Repeat the applications after every second harvest of leaves.
Harvest
When harvesting, break off the two largest spinach leaves, allowing the other leaves to fill out. The plants will continue to produce leaves for long periods of time. Also keep removing any older yellow leaves to encourage new leaf growth. We have had up to 8 harvests from a crop in the model Farming God's Way garden.
