Kitchen Garden Forum

We buy a lot of mixed leaves in bags from supermarkets when we can't grow our own, but I want to grow the baby leaf spinach that are in so many salad mixes, can anyone recommend a variety that is good / easy to grow.

Compo

Spinach Bordeaux From dobies very sweet and tender,

Is this variety cut and come again or a once only crop?

Compo

Hi

No one was able to tell me last time if this is cut and come again, so now I have planted it out, can anyone help with the answer please

Compo

Yippee Rain!!

Hi Compo, following your previous post and the response, I sowed some Red Bordeaux in an unheated greenhouse. I haven't done the 'cut and come again' harvesting which I believe is where you cut everything off when it's still very small. I've been picking off the outer leaves to eat as salad along with rocket etc. Even when they're fairly big they're still tender and very tasty. More leaves are growing in the middle as you'd expect.
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Granny

OK Thanks Granny how big do the plants get??

Compo

Don't know yet. I've only been picking leaves for a couple of weeks and the plants are about 6" tall - until I've picked the biggest leaves off, of course. I'm expecting to keep them at this sort of size but will see if things change.
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Granny

Hi Compo and Granny,
I generally get to growing Perpetual Spinach as baby leaves. I allow the plants to grow and my spacings are 12" down the row and when they get up to about 6-8" I cut them straight across and they then tend to put up very small leaves and the plants grow enormous and you end up with a continuous row which you simply cut straight across at about 11/2" off the ground to the amount you want. The only thing is that you have to keep cutting whether you want it or not. I always have somebody that will make use of it even I cannot. If that fails it goes on the compost.
JB.

Hi Johnboy,
If you left the perpetual spinach to carry on growing after a few heavy cuts, would it then be ok for cooking or do the leaves start to get bitter once they get to full size? I wondered if the cutting back made a difference.
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Granny

Hi Granny,
No they are the opposite beautifully tender and as Perpetual Spinach is actually a Beet it has less Oxalic Acid and is nowhere near as earthy.
I had simply masses of it last year.
JB.

Johnboy:can you clarify what '11/2"' means. interesting post

I'll give that a go then, Johnboy. Sounds like an easy way to get small leaves.
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Granny

Hi Dewwex,
I think perhaps I will write it 1.5" (one and a half inches) in future as 11/2 is rather confusing. Have received your PM and will reply later.
JB.

I had my first harvest of baby spinach leaves this morning. The variety was matador, they were 29p from Lidl. I sowed them in modules a few weeks ago, then planted out and they've been doing really well. I'm very fond of perpetual spinach, but these were lovely. I pulled off the leaves that were big enough and left enough on each plant to carry on growing - thought about cut & come again but didn't want to risk it. I'd be interested to know if this works for all varieties.