After 10 years of tending my own vegetable garden, I was feeling pretty successful. Each season I harvested lots of tomatoes, peas, lettuce, peppers and even a few more challenging crops like potatoes, onions and melons. But despite repeated tries, never had I produced a single salad bowlful of spinach. Either I planted the seeds too early in spring – tempted by a warm spell – and the little sprouts froze before they reached an edible size. Or I planted too late and the leaves turned bitter as the temperatures heated up in late spring. I had just about given up trying spinach (which my kids willingly eat only if the leaves are small and fresh-picked) when I met a gardener who told me she plants spinach in the fall. With her advice, I now harvest spinach in fall and early spring. In the process, I’ve discovered a whole new growing season. Read More
