Spinach!

I planted spinach multiple times this season. There were plants before Hurricane Florence, and her cousin Michael, but they literally evaporated sometime while we were busy preparing, recovering, and putting things right. I tried again. Nothing. It was too hot, too wet, too humid, too dry for weeks after the storms. One last go, I thought. What have I got to lose, I thought. Nothing, I thought. So, two week ago when the days were warmish and the nights outright cold I planted again. Then I covered my raised beds (Agribon 19) of lettuce and Swiss chard and assumed the worst. Yesterday I uncovered to check the lettuce and...behold! the spinach has germinated and seed leaves have emerged. I could only laugh. I think I've found the right formula. Warm-ish soil, days in the 60's, and cold nights under cover. Forget the planting guides. They were right before climate weirding but our epic storms have shown me anything goes.

Look closely. Radish to the left of me, lettuce to the right, here I am...

Also, Charles Dowding (No Dig guru) informs in his video on spinach that Spring plantings are forced to send up flowers when the days get longer and warm. explaining my Spring planting failures. In his climate, which is much cooler than ours, he over-winters seedlings which then produce when the days lengthen and the air warms. Now I understand my failures. These babies will probably not produce until months from now. I can wait.  We've got kale! :)