Spinach

I like eating baby spinach and lightly cooked bigger leaves. I always fail miserably growing it though, usually jetting off to seed soon after sowing!

Can anyone give me a recommended variety for taste and not being liable to bolting?

I also toyed with the idea of using it as a green manure once I was finished with it. To get spinach year round would I need to plant different varieties?

 Everyone has something they just can't grow and spinach is one of my constant failures.

That's enough questions for now.

Can anyone give me a recommended variety for taste and not being liable to bolting?

Charles Dowding recommends "Medania" - I'm pretty sure that's what I've grown in the past, but I'd need to check my old gardening records. I do recall that I usually only sow spinach after the summer solstice, so that the shortening days discourage bolting.

This year I'm also trying out Malabar spinach, which is not spinach at all but a climbing vine from India with spinach-like leaves. Being tropical, it loves heat so I'm going to sow it late spring, just before last frosts, for growing over summer.

I got mine from Seedaholic, but they're limiting their opening hours at the moment - the same variety is available from other suppliers, e.g.

https://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/item_179...pinach_red

Mikado is supposed to be bolt resistant, growing it for the first time this year. Last year I sowed spinach in modules in February and it bolted in May or so. In summer I switch to chard, not a fan of it cooked but the baby leaves are nice in salads. Then in August I start to sow spinach again for a late summer/autumn/winter/early spring harvest.

I grow Medania some years a I get a good crop other times it just bolts and I haven't done anything different.

From some rather old records (2009):

* Bloomsdale sown in March (in modules) bolted like mad

* Matador sown outdoors in April did well - harvested 4 bags in May from half a square meter.

Looks like I didn't get around to sowing the Medania after all!

Edit: I guess I'm going to try and fit in a quick crop of "Matador" this spring before planting out my squash and courgettes, since I have the seeds and some bare ground!

I usually grow perpetual spinach without to problem. I definitely don’t put it down to any talent or experience on my part.

I usually grow perpetual spinach without to problem. I definitely don’t put it down to any talent or experience on my part.

That will do for me. £1.30 a packet delivered, can't be bad. I'll give it a go.  Strangely it is listed as a chard, but who cares, if it looks like spinach and tastes like spinach plus it doesn't bolt, jobs a good un!

I usually grow perpetual spinach without to problem. I definitely don’t put it down to any talent or experience on my part.

That will do for me. £1.30 a packet delivered, can't be bad. I'll give it a go.  Strangely it is listed as a chard, but who cares, if it looks like spinach and tastes like spinach plus it doesn't bolt, jobs a good un!

It's descended from the same wild plant as chard (and beetroot) - it tastes a bit earthier and, well, chard-like than true spinach and the leaves won't be quite as tender, but it's a lot easier to grow.

Hello Folks

Is there a case for growing both perpetual spinach and chard or one or the other?

Danny I grow spinach, perpetual spinach and an assortment of chard called Bright lights. I've noticed the red chard doesn't get as much slug damage as the others.