This year my farm is beginning an adaptation project for spinach. We’ve been growing individual varieties of spinach for the last eight seasons here in Corbett, OR, and we’ve had a lot of challenges. We suspect one of the main issues is the heavy symphylan populations that our farm deals with. Symphylans are a soil-dwelling arthropod that can cause severe crop damage in our region, as they eat the tender growth tips of many germinating plant roots. At times we have a decent harvest, other times our spinach will germinate and then not grow much beyond the seedling stage; at other times we can’t see any germination at all. There are also very few known solutions for symphylan infestations, and larger commercial growers have been known to abandon infested fields. Our hope is that the landrace adaptation methods can help to develop our own genetically diverse spinach variety that can coexist with the symphylans, and thrive in our specific context.
Beyond the main goal of developing symphylan resistance, we’d like to prioritize flavor, yield, bolt-resistance, dual-season use (spring and fall), and overall performance in our cool and damp conditions. Through direct seeding, providing no supplemental fertility, and minimal weeding and watering, we are also selecting for traits that grow well under the simplest and least labor-intensive methods. Our hope is that over time we can share our seeds and contribute to a community supply of food crop seeds adapted to the Portland, OR region.
The plan is to direct seed 1600 spinach seeds in spring (around 4/15), and 1600 seeds in the fall (around 8/1). We’ve selected seed from varieties that have performed better for us, varieties popular among our local farmer community and the greater Pacific Northwest, and the mix provided by Going to Seed.
spinach mix - Going to Seed
Abundant Bloomsdale - Adaptive Seeds
Bloomsdale Savoy - Territorial Seeds
Winter Bloomsdale - Uprising Seeds
Merlo Nero - Wild Garden Seed
Beaujolais - Uprising Seeds
Crimson Veined - Peace Seedlings
Old Dominion - Peace Seedlings
Giant Winter - Adaptive Seeds
Monnopa - Siskiyou Seeds
Steadfast - Adaptive Seeds
Verdil - Adaptive Seeds
Red Tabby F1 - Territorial Seeds
