372 VEGETABLE FORCING 



SPINACH 



There is some inclination among the greenhouse 

 growers of the United States to commercialize the forcing 

 of spinach. For example, Waid calls attention, in the 

 Market Growers' Journal, to a Grand Rapids grower who 

 has been producing spinach under glass for several years 

 and who has found the crop as profitable at 10 cents a 

 pound as lettuce. A bed at Grand Rapids, 15 by 150 

 feet in area, yields in a single crop from 1,500 to 2,000 

 pounds of spinach, which is sold for $1.25 to $1.50 a 

 bushel of 15 pounds. The weight of the crop from a 

 given area is about the same as for lettuce. 



A number of varieties have been suggested for forcing. 

 The vigorous, broad-leafed sorts seem to be most popu- 

 lar. Victoria and New Zealand are recommended, and 

 the latter variety is of special merit. Spinach seed germi- 

 nates very slowly, and time and space may be saved by 

 soaking the seed before it is sown. An excellent plan is 

 to mix it with moist sand and place it in a covered dish 

 which is kept over warm pipes for a week or 10 days, 

 when the seeds will start to sprout and should then be 

 sown. It is important to note in this connection that 

 spinach is easily transplanted. There is no reason why 

 the plants cannot be started in flats or beds in the same 

 manner as lettuce and then set in the beds where the crop 

 is to mature. The best planting distances have not been 

 determined, but it is probable that the rows should be 8 

 to 10 inches apart. 



Spinach requires the same cultural treatment as lettuce. 

 High temperatures should be avoided. The beds should 

 be kept moist, and the surface cultivated when necessary. 

 There should be no shortage in plant food at any time. 

 Applications of nitrate of soda will prove beneficial un- 

 less the soil is well supplied with nitrogen. Rapid growth 

 is essential to high quality. 



