108 Subtropical Vegetable-Gardening 



The following fertilizer ingredients should be used: 

 ammonia, 3-4 per cent ; available phosphoric acid, 7 per 

 cent ; potash, 5 per cent. Use 800 to 1200 pounds to the 

 acre, and apply in the row. The plowing need not be 

 deep, and a top-dressing of chemical fertilizer after the 

 plants have been started will be found advantageous. 

 The rows should be made 2 feet apart, or less, and a seed 

 dropped about every inch and covered with about an 

 inch of soil. September or October is the best time for 

 sowing. The plants are thinned out to 6 to 12 inches in 

 the row according to the variety. A wheel-hoe or some 

 other shallow-running cultivator is used to stir up the 

 soil. The main work will be to keep the weeds down and 

 the soil moist. If the ground becomes very dry, the 

 plant runs to seed. Like lettuce, it must be kept continu- 

 ously in active growth. 



Marketing may be done in the ordinary vegetable crate, 

 or in ventilated barrels, but the product must be thoroughly 

 dry before it is packed. The plants should be cut so as 

 to leave less than an inch of root, the dirt shaken off well, 

 all dried or otherwise worthless leaves removed, and 

 packed tightly. With the increased facilities for transpor- 

 tation, it may be possible to supply many of the southern 

 markets. In a garden it is usual to pick the outer leaves 

 of the spinach as they mature. 



There are not many varieties of spinach to choose from ; 

 the one known as Round Leaved is quite common ; the 

 Improved Curled American Savoy is also grown exten- 

 sively. Prickly Seeded spinach is also sold for winter 

 growth. 



In raising spinach seed, the barren or staminate plants 



