Allotments 4 All

Anyone know any true spinach varieties that give a decent crop. All my attempts over the years  end up with them bolting or producing a measly crop hardly worth eating.
I grow perpetual spinach which is actually not a spinach but a form of Swiss Chard which produces lots of leaves nearly all the year round but I hanker for those delicate leaves one sees in bags in the supermarket.

In a word ... no ... I, like you. find it a dreadful crop that germinates very poorly in the ground, bolts if it's transplanted, bolts at the slightest hint of heat, bolts at dry conditions or it stays tiny and gets attacked by slugs/other pests if grown in colder conditions.

I have no idea how they do it commercially.  But you're right, it's a delicious thing even if it turns to nothing when you cook it! and if there's a top tip for success then I'd be as happy as you to hear it.

Problems here too, so for now I make do with baby beetroot leaves.

try samish i love it  mr fothergills do it i think

Usually suffer with the rest of you, so its (one) of this years challenges. Kind of like this article
http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetable/spinach.php
so this is the basis for attempting with Samish(Suttons) and Gigante d'Inverno(Suttons).
The gist seems to be start in warm, grow in cool shade,( North side of broadbeans )and water consistantly. Pick early from well spaced plants in double row, and keep fingers crossed. Sowing wk 7(20/02), with view to pick from week 15-(27/04) Here's hoping , will report. Also intend to "sprout" some seed in a sharp sand mix for 1 row, sowing once visibly live, rather than disturbing as seedlings. If it were easy, you could all do it!!!

That's an interesting and in-depth article, but ultimately it just confirms my suspicions that true spinach is a fussy and temperamental crop that requires far more molly-coddling than I'm prepared to give it!  Chard it is!

I did try prickly-seeded "winter" spinach about 30 years ago, but though it was significantly easier to grow the flavour wasn't significantly better than beet/chard leaves that were even easier (wild beet from the seashore is by far the best of these).

I'd be interested to know if the "winter" type has been improved since...?

I find the New Zealand type much nicer than beet/chard (especially for salads) but it does mean picking a lot of 5cm leaves off a trailing plant. Early in the season you can pick whole 'branches' 30-40cm long (any stems that don't snap need chopping into 5mm lengths), but later on the stems get more fibrous and the woody seeds develop in the axils and need removing too.

Incidentally the wild forms of NZ spinach - known as tetragons in France - are much nicer (but even smaller leaves) - they are particularly plentiful in the Canary Islands and have enhanced many holiday meals.

On the same lines chickweed is possibly even more delicious but again, the stringy stems need chopping up. It is easy to gather but be very vigilant that other weeds haven't crept into the bunch - especially the poisonous small spurges - which can spoil your whole month.

Cheers.

I sowed a packet of franchi in sept.  It was an old packet so not expecting much.  Had two lovely rows  which I have been grazing on. 

Hi George I have the same problem with Spinach, doesn't matter how or when I grow it I never get a decent crop 
I still try every year though  lol 

Just been looking.  It was called America.  Have grown it several times does bolt and go bitter it it gets too hot.