Spinach

Salad & baby leaves are easy to grow and can be harvested in a short period, thus enabling them to fit into almost any rotation. They can be sown in relatively small pots and containers or between rows of slower growing species in the garden. Try sowing immediately after early crops i.e. first early potatoes, you should still have time to plant spring cabbage or sow an overwintering green manure once the leaves are harvested. Given the right conditions many species will regrow giving you a second crop if required. On top of this they are highly nutritious and add a new dimension to your diet. Go on, try some - we think you’ll like them. Create your own salad bag! Grow your own, with a little planning you can be harvesting fresh salad leaves everyday from your very own garden, allotment or even your patio. Know exactly how and where your leaves are grown. Instructions: Cut + rinse + eat! Simple! 

Sow thinly mid-March to May and again in August 2.5cm (1") deep in rows 30cm (1ft) apart. Thin seedlings to 23cm (9") apart. Good soil and plenty of watering are essential to restrict bolting. Downy mildew can be controlled with a suitable fungicide. Spinach blight has no cure (destroy all infected plants). Keeping the aphids which carry the virus under control will help.