How to grow spinach with the Jang seeder

Jang settings for spinach

Set the Jang to the F24 roller with 14 x 9 sprockets (front x rear) and the brush medium-high, and seed 6 rows on a 30″ bed.

Roller	F24
Sprockets (front x rear)	14 x 9
Brush	Medium-high
Rows per 30″ bed	6
In-row spacing	1/2″
Seed per 100′ bed	190 g (+/-)
Cultivars	Space, Red Kitten, Gazelle, Flamingo
Days to maturity	55 days
Harvest window	28 days
Harvest size	3-4″ leaf
Yield per 100′ bed	60 lb (3 cuttings)

Bed figures are for a 100′ x 30″ bed. From the Paperpot Co. Growers Notes, developed with farmers Erich Schultz (Steadfast Farm) and Seth Davis. Adjust for your climate and conditions.

Bed preparation

• Broadfork the bed to aerate and loosen the soil.
• Smooth and shape the bed with a bed prep rake, removing any debris.
• If the previous crop was fertilized, spinach will do fine without reapplying. If not, either layer on 1″ of compost (enough to mostly cover the native soil) or sprinkle on alfalfa meal and/or pelleted chicken manure.
• If you layer compost, don’t tilth it in, so surface weed seed stays smothered. If you add amendments, tilth the top 1″ to mix them in.
• Irrigate for 10 to 14 days* to germinate weed seed in the top layer of soil, then flame weed once the weed cotyledons are up.

Seeding

• Set up the Jang: F24 roller, 14 x 9 sprockets (front x rear), brush medium-high.
• JP1: seed 6 evenly spaced rows across the bed.
• JP5: fill only hoppers 1, 3 and 5, then seed the bed in two passes for 6 evenly spaced rows.
• Raising the brush keeps the larger, irregular spinach seed from jamming. Check the drop at the bench before going to the bed.

Bed layout

Irrigation

• Water with overhead irrigation or four lines of drip.
• Frequent, shallow waterings help prevent bolting.
• Spinach is a cool-season crop. If you push it into warm weather, water through hot days and use shade cloth.

Cultivation

• 14 days after seeding, cultivate with a flex tine weeder (2 passes per bed).
• Repeat 7 days later.

Harvest

• Harvest at a 3-4″ leaf with no more than 1″ of stem.
• Upright varieties can be cut with the Quick Cut Greens Harvester. Otherwise, gather a handful and cut with a harvest knife at least 1″ above the soil so you don’t cut the growing point.
• Keep the blades sharp and out of the dirt.

Washing and packing

• Agitate by hand (or with a bubbler) for no more than 1 minute. Spinach gets waterlogged if it sits longer.
• A produce-safe sanitizer such as SaniDate 5.0 in the wash water kills pathogens and helps shelf life.
• Spin dry, bag and store at 35°F. Sell within 3 days of harvest.

Spinach with the Jang: FAQ

Other crops

arugula · baby kale · baby lettuce · baby spicy greens · baby brassica greens · carrots · radishes · salad turnips · snap peas. All settings in one place: the Jang seeding chart and the growers notes hub.