How to fertilize spinach and what are the precautions

Spinach is a vegetable much loved by people. Spinach is a crop that fears wetness; when soil moisture exceeds 20%, wet damage occurs, causing root rot and death. Depending on the production season, the fertilizer techniques for spring spinach, summer spinach, autumn spinach and winter spinach are not the same. So how do you fertilize spinach? What precautions are there?

I. How to fertilize spinach

1. Base fertilizer

Spring spinach is sown early, so the land can be prepared and fertilized the previous year, applying 4000-5000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer per mu, deep plowing 20-25 cm, raking level and making beds; sowing can be done when the soil thaws to a depth of 7-10 cm in early spring.

For summer spinach, it is best to choose neutral clay soil, and a mixture of compost and chemical fertilizer can be broadcast as base fertilizer. Apply 3000-4000 kg of compost, 30-35 kg of superphosphate, 20-25 kg of ammonium sulfate and 10-15 kg of potassium sulfate per mu, deep plow the soil 20-25 cm, rake level and make beds.

For autumn spinach, apply 4000-5000 kg of organic fertilizer and 25-30 kg of superphosphate per mu, deep plow the soil 20-25 cm, and make raised beds or flat beds.

For overwintering spinach, 5000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer and 25-30 kg of superphosphate can be broadcast per mu, deep plowing the soil 20-25 cm so that soil and fertilizer are fully mixed, loosening the soil, promoting seedling emergence and root development; sufficient base fertilizer and strong seedling growth are the key to vegetables overwintering safely.

2. Topdressing

In the middle and late growth stages of spring spinach, the uptake of fertilizer and water increases, and 15-20 kg of ammonium sulfate can be applied per mu along with irrigation water. Because spring spinach has a short growing period, sufficient nitrogen fertilizer can make the leaves grow vigorously and delay the bolting period.

Summer spinach is sown in the hot season; after 2-3 true leaves appear, topdress 1-2 times with quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer, applying 10-15 kg of ammonium sulfate per mu.

For autumn spinach, after the seedlings emerge and grow to 4-5 true leaves, topdress 2-3 times in stages with quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer. Apply 20-25 kg of ammonium sulfate or 10-12 kg of urea per mu along with irrigation water to promote thicker leaf growth, increase yield and improve quality.

Overwintering spinach needs a long period of dormancy in winter, so attention must be paid to fertilizing. Before overwintering, when the spinach seedlings are about 10 cm tall, apply 1 overwintering fertilizer according to growth conditions, applying 10-15 kg of ammonium sulfate. In the spring of the following year, topdress in time, applying 20-25 kg of ammonium sulfate and spraying the leaves 2-3 times with a 800-1000 times dilution of “Phosphorus-Potassium Power”. This increases leaf nutrition and promotes plant growth. After spinach enters the vigorous growth period, topdress in time, applying 10-15 kg of ammonium sulfate per mu together with watering.

Precautions: Spinach has a relatively short growing period, so it is best to use quick-acting fertilizers for base fertilizer and topdressing. Apply ammonium nitrogen with caution; spinach is relatively sensitive to ammonium nitrogen, and the production season of overwintering spinach is exactly the transition period between autumn-winter and winter-spring, when soil temperature is low and soil nitrification is very weak, so ammonium nitrogen fertilizer applied will not quickly convert to nitrate nitrogen. Therefore, it is best to use nitrate nitrogen fertilizer.

3. Foliar fertilization with medium and trace elements

Some soils have problems with deficiencies of trace elements such as iron, zinc, manganese and boron, resulting in yellow leaves, small leaves, susceptibility to soft rot and poor growth. During the growing period, trace element fertilizers can be supplemented 2-3 times. According to local soil conditions, foliar fertilization can be carried out with 800-1000 times “Hefeng Boron”, 3000-5000 times “Hefeng Zinc”, 1500-2000 times “Hefeng Iron”, etc. When frost damage, drought and saline-alkali soil occur, spraying with a 1000-1200 times solution of “Sea Greening” can improve the stress resistance of spinach and promote its growth.

II. Precautions for fertilizing spinach

1. Fertilization must be carried out before spinach bolts and flowers

Because fertilizing before spinach bolts and flowers can extend the time until spinach bolts and flowers, which helps increase the yield and quality of spinach.

2. Use ammonium nitrogen fertilizer with caution

Spinach is sensitive to ammonium nitrogen fertilizer. The production season of overwintering spinach is exactly the transition period between autumn-winter and winter-spring; at this time soil temperature is low and soil nitrification is very weak, so it is best to use less ammonium nitrogen fertilizer and appropriately use more nitrate nitrogen fertilizer.

That is all for today on how to fertilize spinach and the precautions for fertilizing spinach. We hope the editor's article is helpful to everyone. Spinach is also very rich in nutritional value, so you can try growing it. The fertilizing tips the editor has taught you will certainly help you achieve a high yield of spinach.