Steve, I used to grow spinach in both spring and fall, but now just in the fall. I direct sow seed mid-Sept to early Oct here in SC, harvest some individual leaves in Nov/Dec, it overwinters in the garden, puts on alot of growth in March, and I harvest the whole plant before it bolts in April sometime. I don;t direct sow spinach any earlier than Sept here, since the soil temp is much too warm for decent germination. Spinach seed prefers cooler temps to germinate than most veggies. I suppose you could grow transplants from seed in a cool spot inside and then plant out in mid-summer if shaded. I'm also thinking that the temp/daylength that these seedlings are exposed to indoors would affect they're growth/flowering after they're put in the garden. Dave

It has been established now that users of rotenone have developed Parkinson's Disease at a two hundred and fifty percent greater rate than the general population. I would be pissed if I bought vegetables that may be contaminated with this stuff. Rotenone is destructive to the liver as well as the nervous system in humans, and less than an ounce of it can kill a kid. Speaking of the N word, it's completely naive getting yourself in a situation where you feel you got to use this stuff, I'm with Kimmsr on this one, the purist approach follows a deeper philosophy and understanding of how nature really works. Better planning simply makes the whole job just that more pleasant with the organic approach. The purist approach has worked in our garden extremely well for over five years now, it is simply less work and more effective in every way. Part of the purist approach for me is low nitrogen, high nitrogen even when completely organic causes a lot of infestations becuase it temporarily weakens the plant. I bet everyone who is an advocate of organic pesticides is a high nitrogen advocate. I scarcely bother with nitrogen anymore, focusing on micronutrients and carbon. I've been very surprised how many fewer problems I've had since almost completely backing off on nitrogen fertilization. The university says it's the only major shortage of my soil. Bah humbug, I grow just about everything under the sun, fruit, vegetables, vines, bushes, trees... you name it and I live in Dallas, very tough weather. No infestations, no diseases, it's been a great learning experience defying conventional wisdom but totally fun. When I laid off the high nitrogen, I noticed, no more attacks. The purist approach for me never had anything to do with politics or an existential gaia angst, I'm a right winger, it just clicked in my head one day that organic gardening should be cheaper, easier, and superior in every way. I stopped trying to mimic conventional gardening by substituting an organic product for a synthetic one, I got out of this line of thinking. Proper irrigation helps enormously as well in preventing disease and attacks. Nothing has lead me to change this thinking as the results have whispered in my ear for quite some time, now.

Spinach is a tough choice for areas without a great deal of "spinach weather." To think, several generations grew up imagining that they would have forearms like Popeye or the obvious attractiveness of Olive Oil, despite her looks and that voice! All they would need to do is eat their spinach. Then, here is this leafy green that bolts without provocation, burns on a spring day and is generally useless outside of a few moments in its otherwise fragile existence. I try to remember to sow seed in late fall for an early spring crop. Apparently, one thing spinach can do is maintain a sort of cold weather hibernation. In other words, it is good at doing nothing for months on end. I will plant "perpetual spinach," today. It isn't really a spinach but related to chard. I'm late with this but have had plenty of greens for the kitchen, yes, including some spinach. The perpetual spinach will follow the bok choy, mustard greens and lettuce that was growing under plastic. I took the plastic film off yesterday. Now, it is time for a green that should be able to take some summer heat! It joins beet greens and 3 varieties of kale that are already in the garden. Take that, Popeye! Steve

jengc, I am NOT saying that epsom salt will not help. Anything that has calcium will help with bottom end rot. Although hydrated lime is probably preferred. I am merely suggesting that the addition of kelp meal is a near perfect amendment for the soil. The kelp (especially if it is harvested fresh, not the stuff that washes up on shore) contains all the micronutrients that plants need to be fully healthy. The bottom end rot is a single symptom of a single deficiency in the soil. All plants have certain elements that they need to have available to produce fully nutritious and healthy plants. If the soil does not contain these elements, the plants that grow there cannot either. Sometimes you will not be aware of these elements missing, because there is no glaring symptom (like the BER for tomatoes). Other times the plants will be more prone to insect pest attack, because the insects tend to be attracted to plants that are stressed. My suggestion of kelp meal is that adding this amendment to the soil will help promote the healthy growth of all your plants, because it contains the micronutrients that they all need. It should also help your BER problem as well. If you can't afford it, just get the remedy for BER, but if you have a little extra, kelp meal can go a long way to keeping ALL your plants happy and healthy. Happy, healthy plants produce more and have less pest problems than stressed plants. Just something to keep in mind.