[a.c.t.32]

Question from a not-very-knowledgeable gardener - For the past several years we have had great luck growing spinach from seeds. This year, the plants are straggly, small, with some yellow leaves. I think overall, temp. and watering/rainfall is comparable to past summers. Do you know what could be causing this?

[greeneyes]

Spinach likes nitrogen rich soil. The best spinach I grew this year was planted in mushroom compost. You might want to test the soil, add some mushroom compost, or plant some in a bag of mushroom compost.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Sounds to me like you don't have enough nitrogen. Easily available sources: nice well-rotted compost, coffee grounds, fresh green grass clippings, human urine diluted with water about 1:10 ratio. (Yes, it's true.) Keep in mind that any nitrogen has to be diluted considerably: if it's too concentrated, it will burn your roots.

Another idea: A 50-lb bag of ammonium sulfate costs $6-$10, which means that each lb is just $0.16. To achieve a formulation of liquid 5-0-0, dilute this with compost tea (basically free from your yard, contains some N, P, K and traces of other micronutrients), it would only cost you far less than a nickel for each 16 oz of the equivalent liquid 5-0-0.

(I'm using the 50-lb bag only for illustration purposes. For most of us, a sack that big would last forever! But my point is, it's N and it's cheap, drastically cheaper than other recommended sources such as fish emulsion.)

Starbucks packages used coffee grounds for giveaway. My neighbor found a local small coffee place which was happy to save their grounds in his container. He would pick it up every day or two and leave a clean container.

I'm going to post in another minute about another N source: MDF dust. It's something I want to get some discussion on, so I'm putting it in a separate post.

Get back to us and let us know how the spinach turns out!

[Sarajevo]

Try adding 3% rock phosphate to your soil.