Grow Tasty and Nutritious Spinach

Melinda’s Garden Moments is heard Mon.-Fri. at 7:45 and 10:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on 97.9 WHAV.

Melinda’s Garden Moments is heard Mon.-Fri. at 7:45 and 10:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on 97.9 WHAV.

Add some tasty nutritious spinach to your garden and containers.

This popular green contains vitamin A and C as well as iron, calcium and 13 compounds that function as antioxidants and cancer fighting agents.

Start your plants from seeds and in just six to eight weeks you can begin harvesting fresh spinach. Cut individual outer leaves when three inches tall and allow the inner leaves to continue to grow for later harvests. Or cut the whole head when six inches tall and wait several weeks for regrowth and a second harvest.

Use immediately for the best flavor.  And store extra in the refrigerator for up to 10 to 14 days.

Select from one of three types of spinach. The curly leafed savoy, flat leafed or the slightly curly semi-savoy. The flat leafed types generally have the mildest flavor and their smallest leaves are sold as baby spinach.

A bit more information: Spinach is not only good for your body, but it is also helping scientists discover a way to incorporate a plant’s ability to harness the power of sunlight into powering electronic devices like laptops and cell phones.

For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com.