Spinach, a super–cold-hardy leafy green, is a popular crop that thrives in fall and even winter in some areas. It can also be planted in very early spring. Learn more about planting, growing, and harvesting nutritious spinach in your home garden.
About Spinach
Spinach has similar cool-season growing conditions and requirements as lettuce, but it is more versatile in both its nutrition and its ability to be eaten raw or cooked. It is higher in iron, calcium, and vitamins than most cultivated greens and is one of the best sources of vitamins A, B, and C.
Spinach tolerates full sun to light shade; prepare soil about a week before planting by mixing in compost. Alternatively, prepare the soil in late summer or early fall, when spinach can also be sown where winters are mild.
When to Plant Spinach
Spinach requires 6 weeks of cool weather from seeding to harvest; this generally spring or fall, though many gardeners have better luck in the fall.
Although seeds can be started indoors, it is not recommended, as seedlings are difficult to transplant.
Many gardeners can grow spinach throughout the winter if they protect the young plants with a cold frame or thick mulch, then remove the protection when soil temperature in your area reaches 40ºF in spring. Remove the mulch to harvest some spinach, then replace the mulch.
If planting in the early spring, sow seeds as soon as the ground warms to 40°F. (Cover the soil with black plastic to speed its warming.)
To distract leaf miners, sow spinach seeds and radish seeds in alternate rows. Leaf miner damage to radish tops does not affect their root growth.
Common spinach cannot grow in midsummer as it’s not cool enough. (For a summer harvest, try New Zealand Spinach or Malabar Spinach, two similar leafy greens that are more heat tolerant.)
How to Plant Spinach
Sow seeds 1/2 of an inch deep every 2 inches and cover with 1/2 inch of soil.
Plant in rows 12 to 18 inches apart or sprinkle over a wide row or bed.
Sow every couple of weeks during early spring for a continuous harvest.
Growing
Water spinach to keep soil constantly moist.
Use row covers to maintain cool soil and deter pests.
When seedlings sprout to about 2 inches, thin them to 3-4 inches apart. You can eat the thinnings.
Beyond thinning, no cultivation is necessary. Roots are shallow and easily damaged.
When plants reach one-third of their growth, side-dress with a high-nitrogen fertilizer, as needed. Nutrient deficiencies may appear as yellow or pale leaves, stunted or distorted growth, a purpling or bronzing of leaves, leaves dropping early, or other symptoms.
In early spring and late fall: Spinach can tolerate the cold; it can survive a frost and temps down to 15ºF (-9°C). (See local frost dates) Young spinach is more tender; cover if cold temps are in the forecast.
Types
There are four main types of spinach suited for spring and fall plantings.
Baby-leaf style spinach is tender, with small-size leaves. The variety ‘Baby’s Leaf’ is good for containers; ‘Catalina’ is heat-tolerant and resistant to downy mildew.
Savoy spinach has curly, crinkled, dark-green leaves, e.g. ‘Bloomsdale.’ The ‘Winter Bloomsdale’ variety is a crinkled-leaf, fall variety, tolerant to mosaic viruses.
Semi-Savoy has slightly crinkled leaves and can be difficult to seed. ‘Melody’ is resistant to cucumber mosaic virus and downy mildew; mildew-resistant ‘Remington’ will grow in spring, summer, or fall; ‘Tyee’ can be planted in spring or fall, and is resistant to downy mildew.
Smooth- or flat-leaf (also called plain leaf) varieties have spade-shape leaves. ‘Giant Nobel’ is a plain leaf variety and an heirloom that is slow to bolt; ‘Nordic IV’ is bolt-resistant.
Malabar Spinach (Basella alba), a vine, and New Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides), a perennial, are two heat-tolerant leafy greens that resemble common spinach; both are heat-tolerant. Grow them in the summer, when common spinach can’t take the heat.
Harvesting
Harvest a few outer leaves from each plant (so that inner leaves can develop) when leaves reach the desired size, or harvest the entire plant, cutting the stem at the base.
Don’t wait too long to harvest or wait for larger leaves. Bitterness will set in quickly after maturity. Be aware of day length and heat: Increasing daylight (about 14 hours or longer) and warmer seasonal temperatures can cause spinach to bolt (develop a large stalk with narrower leaves and buds/flowers/seeds), which makes the leaf taste bitter.
If spinach starts to bolt, pull the plant and use the leaves. Or try to slow the bolting: Pinch off the flower/seed heads, keep the soil moist, and provide shade.
Harvesting spinach. Photo by Deyan Georgiev/Shutterstock.
How to Store Spinach
Fresh spinach leaves are good for up to a week. Too much moisture hastens its demise. So store fresh spinach unwashed and don’t wash until ready to use. Pat dry with a paper towel and put in a freezer bag with the towel to absorb moisture.
Given its short shelf life, spinach is perfect for freezing. Wash, trim off ends and yellowing leaves, blanch, and pack into freezer bags. See how to freeze spinach.
Gardening Products
Wit and Wisdom
Phenology, the study of signs, suggests planting spinach when crocuses are blooming.
Similarly, in areas where lilacs grow, old-time farmers say to plant spinach when lilacs are in first leaf.
Scatter spinach or lettuce seeds around emerging bulb foliage to make wise use of your garden space, and have a leafy green crop at the ready to cover the bare spots left by deadheaded spring flowers.
Misshapen/yellow leaves; sticky “honeydew” (excrement); sooty, black mold
Grow companion plants; knock off with water spray; apply insecticidal soap; put banana or orange peels around plants; wipe leaves with a 1 to 2 percent solution of dish soap (no additives) and water every 2 to 3 days for 2 weeks; add native plants to invite beneficial insects
Downy mildew
Fungus
Yellow, angular spots on upper leaf surfaces that turn brown; white/purple/gray cottony growth on leaf undersides only; distorted leaves; defoliation
Remove plant debris; choose resistant varieties; ensure good air circulation; avoid overhead watering
Leaf miners
Insect
Meandering blisters in leaves caused by tunneling larvae
Remove infested leaves, weed diligently; use row covers; till soil early in season; rotate crops
Leaf spot (Cercospora)
Fungus
Many small brown spots with red-purple halos on leaves that enlarge and turn gray; centers of spots eventually fall out, leaving the halos
Destroy infected plants; weed; avoid overhead watering; ensure good air circulation; rotate crops
Varies with plant, but may include stunting, mottled green/yellow/white pattern or ringed spots on leaves; distorted leaf growth
Destroy infected plants; choose resistant varieties and certified virus-free seed; use row covers; disinfect tools; weed; control aphids; use mulch
White rust
Fungus
Chalk-white blisters mainly on leaf undersides; small, yellow-green spots or blisters, sometimes in circular arrangement, on upper leaf surfaces; possible distortion or galls; stems may also be infected
Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
I've come across "page not found" when accessing in various vegetable articles for "health benefits of going green".
At 82, need all the health I can get. Thanks
Tom
I use some baby spinach, salads only as it has barely any flavor. I prefer full-grown old fashioned regular spinach, which has a full earthy flavor and best for cooking and soups. It is now hard to find in the markets, which is a shame. It is a true dark green leafy vegetable giving great nutrition. I have been able to get it in one supermarket chain. Please tell me where I can get this to plant in my garden.
Hi Patti, Here is a great source for spinach. This company carries the original and heirloom spinach seeds so I think you’ll find a variety to suit you!
I have harvested and enjoyed all the spinach I planted (first time grower), do I leave the empty spinach stalk in the ground for next year? Or do I pull it all out and plant new seeds next year?
