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Spinach and Lettuce – Planting, Harvesting, Pests and Diseases

Planting in Garden: Plant spinach and lettuce seeds directly into the garden as soon as the soil can be worked. Neither like acid soils. Both are cold weather crops, so tolerate frost and bolt in the heat. For spinach, make a small furrow in the ground about three quarters of an inch deep and sprinkle the spinach seeds into it. Cover with soil. When they surface through the soil, thin plants down to four inches apart, in rows 12 inches apart. Less space is needed in deep beds. Plant lettuce in the same way leaving a bit more space between the plants if done in rows. For both, keep the soil moist in hot weather to prevent bolting. Spinach can also be grown in pots or in a more sprinkled seed patch. Harvest: Pluck spinach and lettuce leaves as needed. For a large harvest, you can clip whole plants with clippers. The leaves will grow back over and over until the weather turns hot and the plants bolts (goes to seed). Pests and Disease: Spinach can develop mold in hot, wet climates. Lettuce can develop lettuce rot. Always rotate lettuce crop to avoid this.

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