What kind of fertilizer does spinach prefer?
Many people encounter problems when growing spinach: the leaves turn yellow, the growth is weak, the taste is bitter, the growth rate is slow, and the harvested spinach is old and hard, with low yield. In fact, spinach is a kind of green leafy vegetable that loves fertilizer and grows quickly. Selecting the right fertilizer and applying it at the right stages is the key to high yield. A seasoned farmer, based on years of vegetable-growing experience, concludes that spinach does not discriminate between expensive fertilizers; it only prefers the right type of fertilizer. Focus on the three core fertilizers: base fertilizer, seedling promotion fertilizer, and leaf development fertilizer. The resulting spinach is green and fresh, with thick leaves and no bitter taste, and each harvest is more vigorous than the previous one.
First of all, spinach prefers well-rotted organic fertilizer as the base fertilizer, which is the key to achieving high yields in vegetable cultivation. The root system of spinach is shallow and its growth period is short. It has a strong preference for loose, fertile and rich in organic matter soil. Many vegetable gardens have compacted and barren soil, and only apply chemical fertilizers. As a result, the spinach grown in these gardens has poor taste and is prone to yellowing leaves and premature aging.
When preparing the soil for sowing, priority should be given to applying well-decomposed cow and sheep manure, farmyard manure, and fermented cake fertilizer. These organic fertilizers have moderate and long-lasting fertility, do not cause root burn or seedling damage, and can effectively improve compacted soil, increase soil aeration, and enable the spinach roots to take root firmly and absorb nutrients quickly. Adequate base fertilizer can continuously supply nutrients, ensuring that the seedlings emerge neatly and grow uniformly, and fundamentally avoiding weak and yellowing seedlings that stop growing. Remember to use completely decomposed fertilizers. Raw manure is not only prone to causing root damage but also can breed underground pests, leading to rotten roots and dead seedlings in spinach.
Secondly, during the seedling stage of spinach, it prefers to be fertilized with a small amount of quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer to promote growth. From the time the spinach seedlings emerge until the fourth true leaf stage, this is the critical period for leaf growth, and it requires the highest amount of nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen fertilizer can rapidly promote leaf growth, enabling the young seedlings to expand their leaves quickly and turn green in color.
Many novice farmers make the mistake of not fertilizing during the seedling stage or applying excessive fertilizer all at once, which leads to excessive growth of the spinach plants, weak stems, and eventual lodging and aging in the later stages. The correct approach for experienced farmers is as follows: After the spinach seedlings have emerged for ten days, apply diluted urea water fertilizer or high-nitrogen water-soluble fertilizer in small amounts and in multiple sessions. Apply the fertilizer with water and sprinkle it evenly. This not only allows for quick fertilization and promoting seedling growth, but also avoids fertilizer damage, ensuring that the young plants grow stably with lush leaves and uniform and neat growth.
Finally, for the healthy growth of spinach, the application of potassium fertilizer and lime ash is essential for promoting seedling growth and improving quality. Many people only apply nitrogen fertilizer and neglect potassium fertilizer, which results in thin and soft spinach leaves, a bitter taste, poor disease resistance, and easy lodging and yellowing of leaves in the face of wind and rain. Potassium fertilizer is the key nutrient for enhancing the greenness, thickness, and tenderness of spinach.
After spinach enters the vigorous growth stage, appropriately reduce the amount of pure nitrogen fertilizer and supplement with potassium sulfate. At the same time, apply a layer of wood ash. Wood ash is a natural potassium fertilizer. It can not only strengthen the stems and leaves, make the spinach leaves dark green and taste sweet, but also kill bacteria and pests, prevent root rot diseases, effectively reduce yellow and rotten leaves problems. Spinach fertilized with potassium fertilizer and wood ash is more resistant to low temperatures, less prone to diseases, less likely to age, and has a longer harvest period.
The old farmer emphasized that when fertilizing for growing spinach, one must adhere to the core principle: the base fertilizer nourishes the soil with organic matter, the nitrogen fertilizer promotes leaf growth during the seedling stage, and the potassium fertilizer improves quality during the vigorous growth period. Throughout the process, no excessive or forceful application should be made, and the principle of "thin and frequent fertilization, with organic fertilizer as the main source and chemical fertilizer as the supplementary" should be followed.
At the same time, avoid two fatal mistakes: one is to avoid using raw manure and concentrated fertilizers, as they can easily burn the roots and kill the plants; the other is to avoid applying nitrogen fertilizer alone for a long time, as it will cause the spinach to grow excessively, become aged, have a bitter taste and deteriorate in quality.
By mastering this old farmer's fertilization technique, whether it is for vegetable gardens, potted plants or large-scale field cultivation, spinach can grow vigorously, be green and tender, free from pests and diseases, with thick and fresh leaves, taste sweet and without any residue. It can be continuously harvested and yields high yields without stopping, easily achieving a bumper harvest of spinach throughout the year.
