Spinach: Merged with - When do we get our spinach back

[mindelicious]

When is it coming back!! I am going through withdrawl!! I can't take it anymore!! I will travel.....if u have spinach and are in within 100 miles of kansas city I will travel and pay high prices just for some spinach!! I live in an aparment otherwise I would have a field of it. Please help me out!! I need it!!

[MagicalDaze]

Ha ha! I hear ya - I am SO with U on this! The meager selection of alternative greens available here are no substitute for the real thing! Bring back spinach!!

[RawNut]

I just read the article below on CNN but no one around here has been stocking it yet. I love Spinach too!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/09/29/tainted.spinach.ap/index.html

Craig

[Dimond]

Me too! Other greens either are boring or taste horrible.

I think it's because that one company handles every brand of spinach. That really should change. Having one company handle things can only cause more problems, not less. That's how I feel about most of these super large companies that run everything. It's impossible to do it 100% correct. And since they handle conventional and organic, makes you wonder how often conventional is "accidently" placed in organic packaging.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I heard that our local spinach is all right to sell, however I wonder if the fields were plowed under, and it might not be available until they grow some more.

I have some seeds around here - maybe I'll beat them to the punch.

[Doe]

If the spinach was plowed under in the fields it will not be back until more is grown. It is also not likely a farmer is going to want to plant more spinach after such a devastating loss to his income. He may plant something else.

This is the main reason I have nothing to do with the media. They are the instigators of totally unfounded fear and panic. By choosing what and where to blow something all out of proportion they are the cause of great catastrophes. Has beef been taken off the market? Yet how many cases of e-coli does beef cause every year? One person died and the entire spinach industry is brought to its knees due to the power of the media.

I love spinach too. The quickest way to get it might be to go buy seed and plant some. It's still to hot here for it to grow. We may be able to get one crop in the dead of winter.

Teri S

[Revvell]

*skips around the forum waving spinach in the air* I've got spiiiiinach; I've got spiiiiiiinach. :D


*giggles and skips out*

[mongomango]

If you'll grow spinach inside in pots, you'll be able to grow it all year round. You can use shallow, wide containers as greens don't have deep roots. You can either grow them as a cut and come again crop...where you cut the baby leaves at 3-4 inches, and then watch it regrow in a couple of weeks..or let them grow to full size...or do both. People have houseplants for decor, herbs on their kitchen window sills...but not many have their dinner growing this way. It's an easy and economical way to get greens. You know EXACTLY what goes on the plants as they're grown, and best of all, you harvest them and eat them so there's no lag time for distribution and vitamins are at their highest level. You can do just spinach, a mesclun (assorted greens) mix, or both. They don't need as much light as you think.

If you'll have 5 or 6 bowls going at once, you can eat them continuosly. Not all greens are suitable for cut and come again, so be sure before you buy the seeds.

And for spinach, kale, chard and the like, if you want to grow it full size, you can take the outer leaves off for fresh use and the plant will continue growing and replacing leaves.

As for light, I have found that they will start right up in regular indoor light, and then I move the plants to places where the sun will hit them for a portion of the day.

Here's a couple links that might be of use.

http://www.containerseeds.com/articles/mesclunarticle.html
http://www.westcoaster.ca/modules/AMS/article.php?storyid=9

[wyjoz]

If the spinach was plowed under in the fields it will not be back until more is grown. It is also not likely a farmer is going to want to plant more spinach after such a devastating loss to his income. He may plant something else.

This is the main reason I have nothing to do with the media.
Teri S

they claimed that there was no E.coli in the fields, only in the packaged spinach, SO WHY DID THE SPINACH FIELDS GET PLOWED UNDER????

I'm still searching for answers.

Yesterday I went to 3 stores and spoke to the produce people in front of shoppers !!!!!!! and asked them to please get the spinach back in the stores!!!!! I said forget politics, we want spinach and everyone laughed and said yea !

there is one store in 3 cities around here that has organic local spinach !

[Doe]

Mongomango, spinach is a cool weather crop. The nighttime temperatures have to be below a certain temp for it to grow. The only time we can grow it here is in the coldest part of our winter and that only because we are far enough north in FL. I suppose it might be able to be grown in an air conditioned situation. Just wouldn't be practical except maybe on a large scale commercial basis.

wyjoz, it is called mass paranoia.

Revvell, would you be willing to go into the resale bussiness?

Teri S

[MagicalDaze]

Suddenly it went from eliminating just the packaged stuff & the fresh from that one area of CA to removing even the fresh bundled stuff from local farmers in our own states.......grrrrr! I couldn't care less about the packaged stsuff - just give me the fresh bundles from our own farmers please!! I was eating 1.5 - 2 bundles daily. My smoothies & salads are really suffering - especially since no one in this area even sells collards. I wouldn't be able to grow enuff spinach myself to make a dent in my own demand :rolleyes: RANT RANT RANT!

[mongomango]

Ahh, I am in New York Doe, so that is probably why I can grow it.

[Rawkinlocs]

*skips around with Revvell* :p

I was so glad to see spinach in my local food co-op. They even had a sign up saying that it was grown organically from local farmers and was NOT affected by the E-Coli, etc.

I grabbed me a nice little bundle just yesterday along with a lot of other varities of greens.

[Doe]

There was a farmer several days ago driving around to the various parking lots here trying to sell his mustard greens. The stores wouldn't take them. How far is Florida from California? See, one child died after eating visibly bad spinach. Now thanks to the media we can't buy mustard greens in our stores on the other side of the country.

Teri S

[Revvell]

Revvell, would you be willing to go into the resale bussiness?

Teri S

Make an offer. :D

It'll be out again soon ~ no fears. This may open the way for others who've been trying to get into the stores yet, since the other company was pretty much in charge... Now that they've had problems, the grocers will have a bit of fear around this company.

We've got farmers' markets here ~ they and we, are not dependent on the big companies ~ plus, we've got some hydroponic farmers as well.

Revvell

[Revvell]

How far is Florida from California?
Teri S

MMmmm, 'bout 3000 miles or so methinks.

[Goldenrod]

I'm in Michigan and Meijer's had some today. I held out hoping that I could get organic at the whole food stores or co-op, but they didn't have any. The spinach at Meijer was from Colorado.

[Revvell]

The spinach at Meijer was from Colorado.

Which may be the distribution point, not necessarily the processing/baggin point.

Revvell

[jaurequi]

I've been substituting chard for spinach in my green smoothies and I cannot tell the difference in taste at all. Same texture, as well.

Best,

[rawbeliever]

Thanks, mango, for the info on indoor growing. I've been considering that myself. Although I did get some spinach from a small grocery that gets it's produce from local farmers. *Phew* Although, I'd gotten so used to substituting dandelion greens and lambsquarters, I'd forgotten how good spinach is.

[luckitri]

Here in AZ they have always sold a spinach that is flat leaf - not rippled curly leaves like you get in NY area. After more than a quarter century I have gotten used to it. I suspect it grows in warmer temperature as well. On the news this week they were mentioning that local farmers are discussing if they will even bother to plant spinach. Did they ever even find out the source of the contamination? I have seen nothing conclusive. Another disturbing bit of news this week is about the Environmental Protection Agency. The current administration is closing down their libraries, unemploying the librarians and boxing the old cases in boxes and the monies have not been available to digitize the old cases. To compound the offense, most of the engineers and scientists that remember the old cases and histories are soon due to retire so there won't even be employees around that know the history and can recall it for current purpose. So the advances made are going to be locked in warehouses with no employees to retrieve and with luck they will have a big fire and then who cares if the NAFTA and CAFTA produce are grown with sewer water - we will no longer have any records to prove that we should not also do it here!

[vgloveforlife]

Yay-The farmers market yesterday had spinach! It's been awhile since I had spinach so it was a nice change.

[eatyourbroccoli]

I miss him :( :( :(

http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/fs/food/images/spinach.jpg

[girlsmiley]

I saw on the NBC news last night that spinach should be back on the shelves today.

Although, I haven't been to the store yet today to see if the stores here in Holland, MI are stocked again.

[eatyourbroccoli]

ahhh im so excited!!!

[LightLover]

!!!!

----
LL
___


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A fabulous article in the New York Times - yes, The New York Times! - traces the spinach contamination to grain-fed cattle!! :eek: :D :mad: That's right, it turns out that this particular form of E. coli only survives in the stomach of grain-fed cattle; cattle that are fed their natural diet of hay, grass, and other foliage don't have this problem. Apparently, this E. coli from the feces of grain-fed cattle can contaminate ground water and thereby the plants at neighboring farms.

Here is a link to this excellent article....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/opinion/21planck.html?ex=1159070400&en=4531a2aa062cea79&ei=5087%0A

You'll have to sign up for the New York Times online but it is free and only takes one minute!

With thanks to Courtney for this tip!


Update: We were evacuated due to the nearby forest fire but we're back home and catching up. For those awaiting DVDs a new batch is being printed up now and we apologize for the delay!


Jinjee
http://www.TheGardenDiet.com

[eatyourbroccoli]

:( no spinach today at my local store

i just got kale and chard instead :)

[Veganforlife]

A fabulous article in the New York Times - yes, The New York Times! - traces the spinach contamination to grain-fed cattle!! That's right, it turns out that this particular form of E. coli only survives in the stomach of grain-fed cattle; cattle that are fed their natural diet of hay, grass, and other foliage don't have this problem. Apparently, this E. coli from the feces of grain-fed cattle can contaminate ground water and thereby the plants at neighboring farms.

Here is a link to this excellent article....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/opinion/21planck.html?ex=1159070400&en=4531a2aa062cea79&ei=5087%0A

You'll have to sign up for the New York Times online but it is free and only takes one minute!

Jinjee
http://www.TheGardenDiet.com

[Goldsplinter]

Copy and paste it. Much quicker.

[luckitri]

No spinach in Phoenix area yet - well I didn't go to all the stores - but my store said they have no idea when it will be back. I miss spinach also. I bought flowering kale (?) - it is purple with green tips that look like the kale that I recognize.

[Lady Green Jeans]

Joining the happy spinach dance. Henry's market had nice bunched spinach yesterday--conventional only. Will be cleaning it tonight for a salad and hurray I can have SMOOTHIES again.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Colorado has been selling local spinach. Picked up the most gorgeous looking savoy spinach I've seen. It was like Whole Foods quality but in a Kroger store.

Of course there was a big sign in front of it saying it's safe to eat.

[wyjoz]

Doing a Spinach Waltz got it in Ashland, Oregon ! What life ! Joz

[wyjoz]

If you can get Sorrel; it tastes almost like spinach and grows a lot better. Got my seeds from Seeds of Change .

[honeybee joy]

I got some spinach today at the Whole Foods in Overland Park, KS. Off of Metcalf and 91st street. Go get some! Yay!