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Unable to garden for a week or so, I visited the lottie just now to find that the spinach is going to seed, if i cut off the offending lot will it be ok?  What should i do?

Is it real spinach or leaf beet? Leaf Beet (Perpetual Spinach) will give you another flush even if you cut it all off!
;D

In fact there are two types, one has a long stem and the other i believe to be ordinary spinach???????? :-[

Quote from: tilts on May 09, 2006, 18:36:02
Unable to garden for a week or so, I visited the lottie just now to find that the spinach is going to seed, if i cut off the offending lot will it be ok?  What should i do?

Mine (sown September) is doing the same thing (Bordeaux spinach). I'll be pulling up the whole plant and harvesting the leaves for the last spring spinach, then sowing more in September as it overwinters so well. I don't grow it in summer as it sulks and bolts and needs watering, and there are plenty of other green leaves to enjoy 8)

The long stem stuff sounds like it might be Chard or Spinach beet...
:-\

Spinach (chard, whatever) always goes to seed in its second season and I am picking mine like mad as it reaches skywards. Soon I'll dig it up and have a lot more space for the next crop.

Just to add, I am always loath to pull up a plant, even when it starts to bolt, so when my chard bolted, I cut the entire plant cleanly across the crown leaving a short stump - sure enough, lots of little fresh new leaves on about half of the plants.  Half did just die.    Also, the young leaves on the flowering stem on chard I think area almost the best you will get from the plant.  Young, sweet, delicate and tender!

I also don't bother to grow spinach through the summer as I cannot provide water for it so it bolts almost as soon as it germinates.  Overwinters great on the plot though.  Chard on the other hand seems to soldier on for me.

I planted my perpetual spinach June 2005 and it has done very well to last so long, but today when I went to the lottie I noticed that it too was starting to go to seed.  I have only tried ordinary spinach once but because of the dry summer we had that year (they like plenty of watering), it went to seed straight away, so I have ever since just grown perpetual and it has been great. I will just dig it up and re-seed in another location. busy_lizzie