Timing Is Everything – Wilted Spinach

There are some vegetables I don’t grow in my garden. It’s not for lack of trying or because I won’t eat the result. Rather, I just can’t get them to grow. I try for a few years. Nothing. Modify my technique. Failure. Finally, I give up. I figure I don’t have the right soil, or maybe the sunlight is not quite right. But then a few years later, I will see someone else successfully growing that vegetable, so I’ll do a little research, and try again. More often than not, failure.

On rare occasions, this latter attempt is successful. Maybe I’m paying more attention to the growing requirements of that crop, or the variety I’m trying is more amenable to the conditions in my garden. Perhaps I’m more mature and patient now, or perhaps it’s just luck. Whatever it may be, this spring is the first time I have ever had any success with spinach.

Some 25 years ago as an inexperienced gardener, I watched others grow spinach in abundance in a plot at my wife’s office. When I took over that spot I figured I would have no trouble; after all, it was the same piece of land, and I knew Long Island’s sandy soil was perfect for crops like spinach. But in the hot summer sun, the few plants that germinated wilted and withered. After several attempts, I gave up.

A few years later, something prompted me to try again. This time I did some simple research and learned that spinach is a cool weather crop. It explained my previous problems and gave me hope for an abundant harvest. I planted in early spring and germination was better. Then I waited for it to grow to harvestable abundance. I waited some more. And more. Never more than a handful of leaves. Knowing that cooking spinach wilts it to a fraction of its size when raw, I never had enough for a full side dish. I could only harvest enough to add a paltry few leaves to an already existing salad. Again, I gave up, concluding that growing spinach was not worth the valuable garden real estate.

Last year, I was at it again. Some advice from a fellow gardener prompted me to try sowing seeds as the days grew shorter in late summer. After successful germination, I was hopeful. But as the weather cooled into fall, there I was again in the same situation; too few leaves for a meaningful harvest, despite the cold weather. Frustrated, I vowed I would never again attempt spinach in my garden. I let my poor spinach sit there, and as fall turned to winter, I ignored it, never cleaning it up as I did with the rest of the garden.

As the sun grew stronger and crocuses and grape hyacinths bloomed in front of our house this spring, I looked where the pitiful spinach was left last year in the garden. And there I noticed a few small leaves. And over time, those leaves grew. And new ones were added every week. My spinach was growing beautifully; each plant with full, dark green leaves. The spring rains, cool temperatures, abundant sunlight, and most importantly the head start it got last fall gave me my first ever real crop of spinach. I had discovered the secret – planting in the fall, and harvesting the following spring – and it is delicious.

Once again, I have learned from my garden. I learned that I need to be patient, and that I should not give up on crops so easily. I know that I need to do my research, and watch closely, observe, and see what works in my particular plot. I learn from my mistakes, modifying year after year. And most importantly, I have learned that in the garden, when you want to grow the best, most abundant, and delicious crops, timing is everything.

Wilted Spinach

When I was young, I barely gave spinach a thought. Yes, it enhanced a salad from time to time, but that hardly earned it a regular spot on the weekly shopping list. If I wanted spanakopita (Greek spinach pie), I would never toil with fresh; frozen spinach is the way to go. And wilted, cooked greens – in my immaturity, I wasn’t overly interested.

In recent years, I discovered barely wilted spinach. My wife and I love it and it has become a regular side dish; part of our normal rotation. Healthy and delicious, I can now make the best wilted spinach with fresh-picked leaves from the garden every spring.

Serves 2, 10 minutes

6 cups fresh spinach

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and slivered

Juice of ½ lemon

¼ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper

1. Wash spinach in at least three changes of cold, fresh water (it can be sandy). Shake off excess water, but do not dry. The excess water is essential for cooking. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil over a medium-high heat and add slivered garlic. Cook, stirring often until just starting to turn golden.
3. Add spinach. Stir and quickly cook until spinach just wilts and turns dark green, less than 2 minutes. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine. Serve hot.

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