Spinach

I really like growing Spinach.  It is easy to grow, comes up fast, and you can eat it almost as fast as it appears.  My young daughters have learned that they can pick and eat as much Spinach as they desire from the garden whenever it is in there, and they love it.  As a mother, I smile wide as I see my 1 year old walk up to me with a leafy smile and a fist full of green spinach.

Spinach grow best if you plant it early in the season and harvest before the heat gets to it.  Harvest really early for the sweetest baby spinach leafs.  My favorite!



Here the Spinach is young and is the BEST time to harvest in my opinion.  We ate spinach at every meal for a whole week when the leaves were so small and tender.  However, we could not eat all of it because it was growing too fast.

Our Favorite ways to prepare fresh spinach is eating it is scrambled eggs, and making Green Smoothies.

 

Click here for Recipe- (link coming soon)

 

Soon the Spinach was growing so big that we had to do a large harvest.  We got many, many bowls full and gave it away to friends and neighbors and anyone who would take it.  I like to eat and share it fresh.



 



We washed the spinach in the sink using the colander.  I had to actually wash each leaf individually to make sure I got all the dirt off.  It was dirty because the dirt would splash on it when I would water it.



Ok, so I am glad I washed every leaf before giving it away.  It looks like I am not the only thing that thinks these greens are pretty tasty.  And even though this little guy might gross you out, I'm kind of glad that my spinach isn't totally sprayed down with chemicals that would prevent anything from living that came near it. 


Here it is washed and spun in the salad spinner.  Now I will set it out so it dries and then bag it up.  It usual stays fresh for about a week in my refrigerator.  Put it in a bowl or bag but leave it open so the greens don't wilt as fast.