Growing Baby Spinach

I was talking to Jesse about gardening and growing food and was inspired to try growing something in my apartment. I had a few ideas, but I settled on trying to grow some baby spinach. I have recently been making a lot of smoothies with baby spinach as a green ingredient, so I thought it would be a good one to attempt. Also, the internet told me it’s not too tough to grow.

Getting set up

To get myself started, I went over to the local garden store and picked up this packet of seeds:

The packet came with some fairly detailed growing instructions which I did my best to follow. I picked up some shallow containers and this seed starter mix as a medium. I am not sure what makes one medium meanignfully different from another or why this one is (or claims to be) “excellent” for “seed germination and growth of young seedlings”. I’d like to learn more about this.

I am not sure the best setup for watering and drainage, but I drilled some holes in the bottom of one of my containers and then nested it in another:

In the future, I’d like to figure out a nice system to do my watering and drainage. I will have to experiment a bit to see what works.

A few accumulated bits of gardening lingo in my own words:

• Medium: the material that the plants grow in – i.e. the soil (or whatever else).
• Sowing: Sowing seeds means planting them. I really like this word for some reason. I like that there is a special word for this.

December 13

I sowed my first set of seeds. Here is a picture:

A few notes:

• I tried for a bit over 2” of the seed mix, and put paper towels down on the bottom in hopes of keeping the soil from leaking out the holes.
• The packet suggested sowing the seeds about a 1/2” down which I tried to do; I planted them an inch or so apart. I’m not sure if I got the seeds deep enough, but we will see.

After covering the seeds, I watered them. I started by trying to bottom-water them, pouring about half my watering can into the container below and then letting it soak up through the holes for about 20-30 minutes. However, I am not sure how well this worked; it didn’t seem like the top of the soil got damp. To be sure things got thoroughly watered, I also thoroughly sprayed the top of the soil with a spray bottle. I’m not sure the best way to make sure that things are thoroughly and appropriately watered.

December 14

Checking in this morning. The soil still feels damp so I will not water. I stuck my finger in a few inches and it seems to be damp throughout which I think is the goal.

Maybe someday I will invest in a better way to tell if the soil is moist throughout. For now I’ll just stick with my fingers I guess.

Some more words:

Bolting: “Bolting occurs when a plant begins to flower and set seed too early” (source). The idea is that the plant is choosing to focus on seeding and reproduction rather than growing leaves. In the case of spinach this apparently means that the leaves become more bitter. According to the internet, plants “bolt as a response to stressful situations” like when it’s too hot or there is not enough water. Once bolting starts it is “irreversible”. Here is another link about bolting.

Succession planting: As described by this link:

Succession planting, or successive sowing as it’s also called by many gardeners, basically means to plant continuous rounds of seeds in the kitchen garden. I like to think of it as “never stop sowing”.

December 15

Still slightly damp on top, but I think it’s time for another watering. I don’t want to risk things drying out.

I am trying bottom-watering again, and did a full watering can in the bottom container (+ a bit of a second). Going to give it about 20 minutes. I may also spray the top again to be safe. The bottom-watering seemed to work better at getting things thoroughly moist throughout; I could see it on the top this time, so I think it’s just about the amount of water needed. This amount seemed to work well.

I am thinking about getting a moisture meter so I can test more confidently. The internet also suggests that testing weight is another approach (wet soil is heavier), which is an interesting idea.

Some people online seem to recommend using a humidity dome for seedlings. This creates a “mini greenhouse” for seedlings, trapping moisture and keeping the soil from drying out. They are good for just the very beginning (germination), then need to be removed so that light can get to the leaves.

Words:

Germination: the development of a plant from a seed or spore after a period of dormancy. Seems to be mostly used to describe the step of going from full seed to a seedling / first sprout.

Seedling: a young plant, especially one raised from seed and not from a cutting.

Imbition: a special type of diffusion that takes place when liquid is absorbed by solids-colloids causing an increase in volume. This is the name of the process by which seeds take up water; they swell in size until they break the seed coat. The seed “imbibes” water.

Radicle: the first part of a seedling to emerge from the seed, during the process of germination. Appearance of the radicle is sometimes considered the end of germination?

As an aside, it’s funny how many plant terms (sowing, seedling, germinate etc.) are deeply set metaphors in general speech; easy to forget they have plant meanings.

December 16

Quick check in this morning. Soil surface feels damp so no watering today. Still would like a better way to check moisture levels deeper in soil without disturbing seeds.

Some more terms and things:

Capillary action: the process of a liquid flowing in a narrow space without the assistance of external forces like gravity. Here is a link.

Why does capillary action happen? It seems to depend on the forces of “cohesion” (Water sticks to itself; it’s a polar molecule), and “adhesion” (whater sticks to other things). Here is what the source says:

Adhesion of water to the walls of a vessel will cause an upward force on the liquid at the edges and result in a meniscus which turns upward. The surface tension acts to hold the surface intact. Capillary action occurs when the adhesion to the walls is stronger than the cohesive forces between the liquid molecules. The height to which capillary action will take water in a uniform circular tube (picture to right) is limited by surface tension and, of course, gravity.

The image shows basically that there is more capillary action “climbing” when the tube is narrower, because the ratio of adhesion to cohesion is greater?

Here is more about adhesion and cohesion.

Cohesion is related to surface tension of water. I don’t fully understand though, and how these things give rise to capillary action.

Here is a guy talking about capillary action in different types of soils. It’s not the most clear, but he generally suggests that the amount of capillary action depends on the size of the “pores” and the volume of “pore space” in the soil. His suggestion is generally that small pores is associated with more capillary migration, but that’s not the only factor (e.g. clay has small pores, but they swell shut, limiting migration of water). He shows that there is more migration in a “silt textured” soil than in a sand or clay, because it “has a nice combination of large and small pores”.

There’s a lot more to learn about soil and soil pores. Related to the porosity of a material – or what percentage of the volume of a thing is void space.

In the context of soil, silt is a specific size of granular material, between a sand (larger granules) and a clay (smaller granules).

The internet notes also that there is a relation between the amount of capillary action and the rate of drainage (and the amount of aeration for roots?) in different types of soils. Roots need oxygen for respiration.

Loam is another good word. Mostly a mix of sand, silt and a small amount of clay. According to wiki:

Loam is considered ideal for gardening and agricultural uses because it retains nutrients well and retains water while still allowing excess water to drain away

December 17

The soil still feels damp to the touch, so not going to water. I guess that from what I know from yesterday, seed starting mix is meant to be good at water retention with less drainage.

Checking for dampness on the soil reminds me of debating whether brownies (or whatever) are done baking in the oven. Similar kind of ambiguity, and incidentally some of the same tricks – just stick a toothpick in there and see if it comes out clean. In one case you want clean (clean=brownies done), in other you don’t (clean=needs water). In my case, they kind of look similar too – damp brown mixture in a rectangular brownie-sized container.

In any case, I always have trouble with the brownie decision; the only way to get good at it is through lots of experience. In the plant case, the feedback arc seems quite long. How do you know if you made the right decision about how damp the soil was?

December 18

Watered this morning. A full watering can from the bottom; maybe too much. The water soaks up through very quickly and is visible on the top with that amount. I only let it sit for 10 minutes or so, then drained. I don’t want to over-water

December 19

Yesterday, I noticed the first tiny bit of green emerging from the soil! No watering today. Here is a pic of the first baby seedling emerging. Now standing up a bit more than yesterday even.

December 20

Watering today. 2/3rds of water can from below. It seems to soak through the soil very quickly, the top immediately becomes wet. I just leave it for 5-10 min then let it drain. The seedlings seem to be happy and continue emerging so I will continue this way. I see four seedlings poking out, with the early one especially standing tall.

I am curious when photosynthesis becomes possible. Does this seedling know how to do it yet? Some relevant words:

Dicot: a flowering plant with an embryo that bears two cotyledons (seed leaves).

Cotyledon: an embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first leaves to appear from a germinating seed.

On the seed that’s progressed the furthest, I can maybe see the separation of the two cotyledons.

I’m also interested in how they all have this curved shape as they are emerging. I guess this is just how it goes:

I am seeing mostly fourth from the left, the little curved bit poking out the top of the soil. Honestly I didn’t realize that the seed coat actually gets lifted out of the soil like this. I guess this is called epigeal germination, in contrast with hypogeal germination. Here is an image:

Epigeal germination: a botanical term indicating that the germination of a plant takes place above the ground.

Spinach does seem to be an example of this type of germination.

December 21

My few emergent seedlings continue to grow. They’ve now started to spread out their cotyledons, their dicot-ness showing.

The most ambitious first seedling has its seed casing stuck on one of its cotyledons. If it doesn’t fall in the next few days, maybe I will try to intervene and give it a hand.

I am a bit worried that we don’t see more seedlings emerging outside of these ambitious four. To each in its own time I suppose. The package said 5-10 days to emerge, so we still have a few more days in the expected window. We will see. In any case, it’s interesting that these few are so much quicker at the moment. I am curious if it’s genetics, or randomness, or something environmental. Impossible to know I guess.

I’ve been thinking about this seedling adventure as like a little slow-motion movie that I get to check in on each day. What’s going to happen next? Will more seedlings emerge? What will the emergent seedlings do next? What will be the next phase of their growth? Will they grow leaves? The drama. No spoilers.

December 22

Still just my four noble sprouts. Growing taller and leaves separating. No evidence of others, but I keep the faith. Water today.

December 23

Watered today again which may not have been necessary. We have two new seedling joiners, so the count is now six. All on one side of the container, which makes me wonder if there is some inconsistency with the moisture.

December 24

December 25

Merry x-mas to my seedlings. Still just the six. The early four seem to be stretching longer, extending stems and leaves. All are angling toward the window. I am wondering if they have enough access to light, or if a grow light would help them.

A random online source says:

Seedlings that are not receiving enough light will stretch and lean towards the light source.

While the seedlings are right by a window that gets decent light (especially indirect light), some more reading suggests that maybe they need even more. Some people on reddit suggest that spinach prefers 6-10 hours of light. This reference seems to be the source:

If you flip a spinach seed packet over and examine the growth requirements, you’ll find spinach does best when planted in full to partial sun. Full sun refers to six or more hours of direct sunlight per day, while partial sun generally means four to six hours.

So maybe the indirect light that these seedlings are getting is not enough.

This also links to a nice extended reference on growing spinach in containers.

This round of seedlings are my brave first explorers; a chance to see what works or not, and iterate from there. I guess we will see.

I am watering today. I also tried raising one of the sides of the container slightly to try to level things better for even water distribution.

December 27

I watered today and also got a grow light! Hopefully this will help the seedlings feel good enough to grow some leaves. I also picked up a moisture meter that I want to do some testing with. Mainly I’d like to try to understand if there is big difference in moisture across different parts of the container a while after watering. Maybe that can help diagnose the germination issues.

December 29

Watering today. Hard to tell if the new light is helping but I think it is. The emergent seedlings seem to be standing up straighter, not needing to bend so much toward the light. They all show the very early hints of new leaves growing which is the goal.

Maybe I will try to do some more careful analysis of the water retention later today once things have drained.

I did sadly lose one of my seedlings I think, so we are down to five. This was my own fault; I was trying to help it separate from its seed coat, and accidentally pulled off the tip. Lesson learned.

Words:

“True” leaves: the first leaves that the seedling grows outside of the cotyledon “seed” leaves that come pre-packaged. Some discussion here. True leaves “have the appearance and function that all future leaves will have, and they may look dramatically different than the cotyledons” source.

December 30

A couple of true leaves are coming in! Hard to say for sure, but I think the grow light has had a positive effect. I have been turning it on when I wake up and letting it run until the early evening or so. It would be good to get a timer plug for it.

January 2

I watered today. Leaves are coming in more seriously. They are starting to look like real baby spinach leaves in structure and shape. It will be interesting to watch them get larger. I am curious to understand more about the process by which true leaves grow on spinach plants. How and when do the plants decide to grow new leaves (vs invest in other types of growth)? How many leaves at a time? I am also curious in this dimension of what makes a leaf “taste good” to humans.

January 4

Water today. Things are still looking decent, leaves are growing in more. I am curious what happens next. Will more leaves grow in? How?

I am interested to learn more about the anatomy of a leaf as these “true” leaves grow in. Here is one diagram from the internet:

Here are some words and definitions from that source:

• Blade: broad part of a leaf.
• Apex: leaf tip.
• Margin: leaf edge boundary area. Margins can be smooth, jagged (toothed), lobed, or parted.
• Veins: vascular tissue bundles that support the leaf and transport nutrients.
• Midrib: central main vein arising from secondary veins.
• Base: area of the leaf that connects the blade to the petiole.
• Petiole: thin stalk that attaches the leaf to a stem.
• Stipules: leaf-like structures at the leaf base.

The same source also has this image of a leaf cross-section:

There’s different interesting things to learn about here, but I am particularly interested in the leaf vascular system today, made up of the xylem and phloem. What do these things do?

According to wiki, “the basic function of the xylem is to transport water upward from the roots to parts of the plants such as stems and leaves, but it also transports nutrients”. There is a lot to learn about how the xylem actually works, but maybe lets leave that for next time.

The other part of the vascular bundle is the phloem. The phloem “is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as photosynthates, in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant.”

January 7

Watered today. There is a very late bloomer! Also, second wave leaves are starting to emerge on my existing seedlings.

January 9

I have been somewhat delinquent on my updates here. Here is a pic of where things stand.

The early wave is starting to grow its second sets of leaves. I wonder if that means that the leaves will not get much larger than they are currently, since the plants are now investing in the next round of leaves. Or perhaps they are just diversifying. You can also see the late-bloomer there in the back, which has been pushing up quickly, shedding its seed shell.

Relatedly, I am wondering about when the leaves should be harvested. The internet suggests harvesting when leaves are 3-6 inches they are ready, which would still be a ways away. The longest leaves currently are around an inch, so I guess they will get larger.

January 11

Watered today.

There has been some white mold or fungus growing on the surface of the soil, which the internet suggests might be a signal that things have been too damp. I am still not exactly sure how to calibrate here, since I thought that consistent moisture is good for the spinach seedlings and germination. In any case, I was getting some odor from the container, so I decided to scrape off the top layer of soil and discard it to get rid of the fungus.

Another update is that there is another late bloomer. So that brings the total germination count to eight. I wonder what explains why some of these emerged so much later than the main crop. The early wave of seedlings is still doing well, building out its second wave of true leaves.

January 14

Watered today. Some of the surface fungus is returning, but plants look healthy and good overall. Some third wave leaves are starting on the main crop.

January 17

Watered today. I did another scrape off of surface mold / fungus. In doing so, I found another seedling which had started to emerge but seemingly got stuck before making it fully out. It now has some exposure to the light, so maybe it will be able to make something happen now.

The regular crop might be ready for harvesting its first leaves, nearly. I should read a bit about how to harvest. I think you can just harvest the outer mature leaves and allow it to continue to grow from the “inner cone”.

January 21

Watered today. On Monday I also did my first tiny harvest (with D)! Here are the first leaves before our taste test:

Apparently, spinach is “cut and come again”, so we just snipped off a few outer leaves from the largest plant, leaving the inner cone to keep growing.

D suggested we say a blessing before the first taste, which felt apt to mark the moment. I think blessings are a nice ritual reminder to pause and be mindful and appreciative of what we are doing. These leaves have a history.

There was honestly not too much to say about the flavor in my opinion, but the leaves were certainly edible. D says that she could definitely “tell that it was spinach” which is a fair summary.

But regardless of the taste, it does feel rewarding and meaningful to eat something that I grew and tended from seed. It’s amazing to think about how every fruit and vegetable we eat is grown like this by someone or something somewhere, most likely in some big industrial process on the other side of the world. According to wikipedia, 93% of world’s spinach is grown in China. I found and watched this video about industrial spinach growth and processing and this video about spinach farming. Here’s what some industrial spinach harvesters looks like, apparently:

The latter video emphasizes the precision and efficiency of industrial spinach harvesting thanks to “the use of advanced technology” which has “ushered in a new era of modern sustainable and highly productive agrigulture”, while reducing “the need for manual labor”.

As always, it’s both amazing and bizarre that we live in a world where our lives are so often supported by these giant and easy-to-ignore techno-commercial systems. Alienation strikes again: it’s so easy to be disconnected from the footprint of these systems that we are often-inadvertent participants in. It’s easy to forget that, yes, the handful of spinach in my morning smoothie is a “fruit of the earth”, that was grown in and harvested from soil somewhere in the world.

I was inspired to investigate where the baby spinach I usually eat comes from. I usually buy this product from Olivia’s Organics, which is seemingly headquartered in Chelsea, MA not too far from me. It says that this spinach is grown by American farmers, though I am not sure where exactly. Olivia’s says that they grow “Organic Produce that Follows Mother Nature’s Lead”:

Our organic produce is grown with sustainable farming practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Olivia’s Organics pledges to embrace the following organic and earth-friendly farming methods

I am curious what these phrases mean in practice (e.g. “promote ecological balance” or “conserve biodiversity”). Maybe I will try to learn more about where my food comes from. As with the practice of mending and making clothes, I appreciate how growing even a little bit of my own food makes me think more about the origin and creation of the objects in my life.

January 24

Watering this morning. I noticed that some of the cotyledon leaves are yellowing somewhat. From a little reading it seems that this is normal as the plants mature and rely more on true leaves.

I decided to harvest off the cotyledons to add to my morning smoothie (which also includes my store-bought spinach):