Growing Next Year's Spinach Seeds

Every summer, I choose one or two vegetables to go to seed for the purpose of "growing" my own seeds. I usually collect enough seeds off of one plant for 2 or 3 years for that vegetable. Two summers ago I let kale go to seed. Last summer, it was beets and radish. This year, so far it's spinach.

When my vegetables begin to bolt, I pick the two most healthy looking specimens and transplant them to a spot where I can nurture them to the seed stage. I look for a spot in the garden that gets plenty of sun and reliable watering. Then I let nature do the rest.

Some plants will set seeds the first year. Others are biennials and don't set seeds until year two. So, I choose a spot for seed-setting that won't need to be disturbed to plant something else.

My spinach plants in pots on the deck were bolting.  I chose the best two plants and moved them into the recovering strawberry bed. (TThis was last years potato bed. This year, I moved some new strawberry plants into the bed and am waiting for them to send out runners.)

Afterward, I plucked all of the leaves off of the other spinach plants, pulled up the roots, stirred up the soil with some fertilizer, and reseeded those pots. I should have more spinach for salads in late July.

I have limited spare space to devote to setting seeds, so I only choose one or two types of seeds to produce each year. As soon as a crop is done in my beds each spring and summer, I move another one in -- maximizing my garden space.

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