Hi Marilyn,
MB>I've found spinach to be one of the trickiest veggies in the
MB>world to grow. Do you have some secrets?
  Yes, keep it cool. Kinda hard in Florida, though. :-) You can plant
  spinach outdoors whenever the ground can be worked up north, at either
  end of the growing season. Fall-planted spinach starts growing the
  first warmer days after the soil thaws, even before the soil dries
  enough to be workable. In a mild winter like we just had, it would
  have grown enough to be harvestable - but the last few days of deep-
  freeze would have wiped it out. :-(
  Peas are another "cool & moist" lover, but don't require as rich a
  soil as spinach. Fall plantings are more risky for northerners, as
  some of the newer hybrids (like Green Arrow) require stable and
  warmer temps than the older, tougher cultivars. Seedlings will take a
  lot of frost, but blooms may be injured. However, peas will zip past
  their prime so fast in hot weather that I'd rather chance frost, which
  plants will survive. That way I have another chance at more flowers.
  But once the soil is too warm, the plants yellow and die in a matter
  of days. Mulches help, but not entirely.
                     ...Sandra...
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