Spinach originated in ancient Persia, and reached the Mediterranean region by the 9th century. By the Middle Ages, spinach was known in England both for its medicinal properties and for salad greens. Catherine de Medici, the beautiful queen from Florence, loved this vegetable and required it to be served at every meal; ever since, dishes served with spinach have been known as “Florentine.” Viroflay spinach in particular is a gourmet French heirloom developed before 1866.

Below are a few ideas you could experiment with in your kitchen:

• Spinach can be eaten raw or cooked.
• The dark green leaves of fresh spinach will add color to a lettuce salad.
• Spinach can be pan-steamed in the water it is rinsed with.
• Stir-fry spinach with garlic or bacon grease.
• Bake spinach with alternating layers of pasta and cheese.
• Add spinach to mushroom soup or cream soup.
• Add spinach to omelets and quiche.

Leave one seedling to grow per plant pod and these will sprout within 5-9 days and will be ready to harvest in 5-6 weeks. Spinach grows best at temperatures of 17°-30°.

Begin harvesting the spinach leaves as soon as they grow big enough for eating. If only individual leaves are being harvested, take the larger ones on the outside of the plant. Otherwise, harvest the entire plant by cutting it off at ground level; new leaves will grow. If the plant bolts and sends up a flower stalk, the leaves will be much stronger in flavor but can still be used.

Keep the soil moist but not too wet, since an imbalance in the water supply can cause bolting. If the temperature rises above 27°, provide some sort of shade. Because pulling weeds can disturb the roots of spinach, apply a layer of mulch