Fertilization Methods and Key Technical Points for Overwintering Spinach
Winter temperatures are very low, so when growing overwintering spinach, we need to focus on doing the fertilization work well. Improper fertilization has a huge impact on spinach growth, failing to meet the nutrients spinach needs to grow, which leads to reduced yield and quality. So how should you fertilize when growing overwintering spinach? Today, the editor will give you a brief introduction. Let's take a look below!
1. Apply sufficient base fertilizer
When growing overwintering spinach, the first fertilizer we need to apply is base fertilizer. Because winter temperatures are low, the growing period of overwintering spinach is very long. Without sufficient nutrients, the spinach may suffer from fertilizer deficiency during overwintering due to a lack of nutrients. This prevents overwintering spinach from overwintering safely and reduces yield; in severe cases, it can cause spinach to die in large numbers. Therefore, we must be sure to apply sufficient base fertilizer. The base fertilizer should mainly be decomposed farmyard manure. After fertilizing, do a good job of land preparation and bed making.
2. Apply less nitrogen fertilizer
The fertilization standard for spinach before overwintering is to ensure that the spinach can grow at least 5 leaves before overwintering. This is because spinach plants with 5 leaves have the strongest cold resistance; too many or too few leaves can easily cause the spinach plants to suffer freeze damage. Therefore, if the sowing time is appropriate, sufficient fertilizer must be applied, and care must be taken to control the amount of nitrogen fertilizer. Do not apply too much, to avoid excessive vegetative growth of spinach. This causes a reduction in dry matter and nutrient accumulation in the spinach plants and leads to freeze damage. If the sowing time is too late or the soil fertility is low, then some nitrogen fertilizer can be appropriately applied as a top dressing to ensure the seedlings overwinter at a suitable stage.
3. Fertilize after green-up
After overwintering spinach enters the green-up stage, the most important part of fertilization work is to grasp the timing of top dressing, carried out together with watering. This is because after spinach greens up, if top dressing is done too early, the soil temperature will drop, affecting the recovery and growth of the spinach seedlings. Top dressing should not be done too late either, as this will likewise affect spinach growth. Therefore, the green-up fertilizer for overwintering spinach should be applied separately in March and April, because at this time the outside temperature is gradually rising, which is beneficial to the growth and development of spinach.
4. Fertilize after overwintering
Fertilization after overwintering should be carried out before spinach begins bolting and flowering. Fertilizing during this period can effectively extend the time before spinach bolts and flowers, achieving the goal of increasing yield. However, note that spinach is relatively sensitive to ammoniacal nitrogen fertilizer. And the growing season of spinach happens to be during the transition between seasons, when soil temperature is not high and soil digestibility is relatively poor, so it is best to use little or no ammoniacal nitrogen fertilizer, with nitrate nitrogen fertilizer as the main type.
The above is a brief introduction to how to fertilize overwintering spinach. That's all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can help everyone!