Spinach Seed Selection Tips and Seedling Raising Methods Explained in Detail

Spinach is rich in nutrients and can be eaten in many ways, making it deeply loved by people. Vegetables are grown in many regions, and before growing vegetables the first step is selecting seeds. So how do you select spinach seeds? What seedling raising methods are there? Let's find out below.

How do you select spinach seeds?

When choosing seeds, besides paying attention to selecting a suitable variety, you should also pay attention to the source of the seeds. It is best to use seeds harvested from seed plants that were sown in autumn and overwintered in the previous year. Through selection year after year, the cold resistance of the plants can be continuously improved, allowing them to overwinter safely, and the bolting rate in the second year will be low.

If seeds from spring-sown seed production are used for sowing year after year, the cold resistance of the offspring will gradually decline and the bolting period will gradually advance, thus affecting the yield and quality of overwintering spinach. Finally, to add one more point: spinach is a dioecious crop, and its fertilization process must rely on wind pollination to blow the pollen from the stamens of male plants onto the stigmas of female plants before the female plants can set seed, so extra care must be taken when saving spinach seeds.

Seedling raising methods for spinach seeds

1. Sun-drying the seeds

Spinach seeds can be placed in the sun to dry for 5-6 hours. During the drying process, pathogens attached to the seed surface can be killed, which can reduce the occurrence of spinach diseases.

2. Soaking the seeds

While sun-drying the spinach seeds, you can prepare the seed-soaking solution. The seed-soaking solution is a mixture of hydrogen oxide and water, with a ratio of hydrogen oxide to water of 1:4. After preparing the seed-soaking solution, slowly pour the sun-dried spinach seeds into the solution while stirring, so that the spinach seeds are evenly coated with the seed-soaking solution, which helps the spinach seeds absorb the seed-soaking solution. The soaking time is related to temperature. Generally, when the air temperature is below 20 degrees, the soaking time should be about 2 hours. When the air temperature during soaking is between 20-30 degrees, the soaking time can be appropriately reduced by half an hour, that is, one and a half hours.

3. Key points for germination

After removing the spinach seeds from the seed-soaking solution, they cannot be germinated immediately. Instead, the seeds should be rinsed several times in clean water. After washing off the solution attached to the seed surface, place them in moist gauze for germination. The germination temperature should not be too high. The best air temperature for germination is 15-20 degrees, and they should be placed in a ventilated and humid place for germination. To make the spinach seeds sprout faster, spray water on the spinach seeds in the morning and evening. Generally, after 3-5 days the spinach seeds will successively show white tips.

4. Planting method

After the spinach seeds show white tips, planting should begin immediately. The best growing temperature for spinach seeds is 15-20 degrees. When the temperature rises, the germination rate of the seeds will decrease accordingly. To avoid burning the spinach sprouts, be sure to water the bottom soil thoroughly before planting spinach. Before the spinach emerges, it can also be covered with straw, wheat straw and other mulch to reduce soil moisture evaporation while preventing direct sunlight from raising the soil temperature. When more than half of the spinach has emerged, the mulch can be removed.

The above is an introduction to spinach seed selection and seedling raising methods. In order to effectively improve the emergence rate of spinach, everyone must clearly master these methods and techniques. Do you have anything else to add about spinach?

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