Sensitive spinach may have mucky Michigan future
Editor’s note: This article is from the archives of the MSU Crop Advisory Team
Alerts. Check the label of any pesticide referenced to ensure your use is
included.
Editor’s note: This article is reprinted from Issue>Action>Impact Vol. 1, No.3, Summer 2007.
Spinach may be good for you, but Michigan State University (MSU)
researchers have determined that it may not be the healthiest crop for
some Michigan farmers.
Daryl Warncke, MSU professor of crop and soil sciences, and MSU
Extension regional vegetable educator Jim Breinling initiated a Project
GREEEN study in 2005 aimed at increasing spinach production in Michigan
to meet market demand. Breinling was approached by a local food
processor that had the demand for frozen spinach but not the supply—not
enough growers were producing the green leafy veggie.
Fewer than 100 acres of spinach were grown in Michigan in 2003. Chase
Farms, an Oceana County frozen food processor, estimated a market
potential of up to 10 million pounds per year. This would have
skyrocketed Michigan spinach production up to 1,000 acres and put more
than $500,000 into growers’ pockets annually.
“It started in the field,” Breinling said. “The processor asked about
the possibility of growing more spinach in Michigan, and we collaborated
to find growers and answer some important questions about the crop’s
fertility and viability.”
On the surface, spinach appeared to be ideal for Michigan. It is a
short-season crop that’s in the field only 45 to 50 days. In most cases,
Breinling said, growers can plant a second crop, such as snap beans, in
the same field so it is a good economic choice for farmers who make the
commitment.
Warncke and Breinling capitalized on their individual expertise—Warncke
conducted soil management studies, and Breinling assisted Oceana County
growers who were willing to plant a spinach crop but needed technical
expertise to become familiar with the new crop.
“My focus was on soil fertility and nutrient management because of my
expertise in balancing the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium needs of
vegetables,” Warncke said. “We determined the nutrient management needs
for spinach.”
Breinling said six growers agreed to try spinach in their fields. The
first growing season went well, but the second year the crop did not
thrive. The issue? Water. Mason and Oceana counties’ sandy-loamy soils
are not the right environment for water-needy spinach.
“You have to learn about where a new crop is best suited,” Breinling
said. “Economically, growers were not getting the yields and quality
they needed.”
However, the project was not over, Breinling said. Now more familiar
with spinach’s need for a continuous water supply, the research team
decided to plant a crop in the muck soils of Newaygo and Washtenaw
counties. Muck soils naturally have a higher water table and the
research showed a weekly need for an inch to an inch and a half of
moisture in spinach.
“We introduced Chase Farms to two muck farmers in the Grant area and one
in southeast Michigan; they have had much more success,”
Breinling said. “Combined, the three farmers grew more than 250 acres of
spinach this year. It’s not thousands of acres, but there is a market
and demand for the product, and it works for these individuals and the
processor.”
Breinling said this is a common result of Extension field work.
“We knew that we could do it, it was just a matter of matching the right
resources with the crop,” he said. “That’s what Extension is
about—bringing resources together to make a project work.”
While the spinach fares much better in muck, growers continue to
experience another challenge—weeds. No foreign material can be harvested
with spinach leaves, making weeds of any kind unwelcome invaders in the
field.
“Weed control in spinach is a challenge. Most growers don’t have the
labor for hand weeding and spinach is very sensitive to chemical
herbicides,” Warncke said. “One of the lessons learned is that we don’t
have a suitable herbicide for spinach.”
So while 1,000 acres of spinach may not be in Michigan’s immediate
future, Warncke and Breinling agreed that the industry is better off
because of the research.
“One crop doesn’t make Michigan’s agriculture industry,” Breinling said.
“That is what makes us the No. 2 state in crop diversity—the little
pieces that make up the whole picture.”