Learn how to plant, grow, and harvest home-grown spinach.
Denny Schrock
Spinach is a fast-growing and easy-to-grow garden staple.
Best grown in spring or fall, spinach can provide three seasons of fresh leaves with a little care.
Credit:Denny Schrock
This guide explains the basics to get you started.
Where to Plant Spinach
Spinachgrows equally well in containersor garden beds.
Choose a site with good drainage and a neutral soil pH.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
To keep the leaves clean, avoid dusty areas, like near a highway or gravel parking area.
This rapid-growing plant prefers full sun but will do fine in some shade, especially during late afternoon.
Leave room for asuccession planting, or underplant spinach elsewhere in your garden as the days warm up.
To direct sow spinach seeds in the garden:
Thin the young spinach by removing alternate plants.
Use the thinned out seedlings in the kitchen, if you like.
Choose slow-bolting or heat-resistant varieties for early planting to provide a spring and early summer harvest.
Choosing bolt-resistant varieties (sometimes called heat-resistant) can extend harvests in the spring.
As the summer sun increases the soil temperature, spinach seeds germinate poorly.
In autumn, spinach is a stellar performer and often continues growing and producing leaves well into winter.
Once established, it can handle temperatures down to the low twenties.
Spinach grown in colder weather is sweeterthe leaves develop sugars to protect from freezing.
Spinach Care Tips
Spinach is easy to grow when its basic needs are met.
With adequate soil moisture and a little mulch, it will continue producing tasty leaves for a long time.
Spinach is a cut-and-come-again crop that benefits from succession planting.
During warmer months, spinach enjoys morning sun and afternoon shade or dappled light provided by nearby taller plants.
Soil and Water
Spinach lovesloose, loamy soilthat is well drained.
Adding compost or aged manure before planting can help improve your soil if needed.
Spinach prefers soil with aneutral pH of 6.5-7.0.
Provide evenly moist soil, aiming for 1-2 inches of water per week in most soil types.
Mulching around the plants will help conserve soil moisture and cool the soil.
If it hasnt rained recently, stick your finger a few inches deep in the soil under the plant.
If it feels dry deeper than the first knuckle, go ahead and water.
Plant bolt-resistant varieties in warmer months.
Mulching the roots and covering spinach with acold framecan extend the lower temperature range quite a bit farther.
Spinach protected this way in northern gardens can hang on into December.
Fertilizer
Compost worked into the bedbefore planting time is all spinach needs in most garden soils.
Potting and Repotting
Spinach is an excellent container plant.
Fill a container with high-quality potting mix amended with compost.
The plants don’t need a lot of root spacea container 12 inches deep is sufficient.
Select a container that is wide enough to support the number of plants you need.
No repotting is needed with this annual vegetable.
Pests and Problems
Aphids can be a problem in spinach patches.
Wash them off with a strong stream from a hose, or squish them with your fingers.
Be sure to check the undersides of leaves if you seesymptoms of aphid damage.
Set the jar in a sunny spot and wait for the roots to appear.
When they do, transplant the new plants to the garden.
This drought-resistant spinach is slow to bolt and a good choice for hot, dry conditions.
It grows 8 inches tall.
Norfolk
Spinacia oleraceaNorfolk is an heirloom variety and an excellent autumn performer.
Its long, narrow, deeply savoyed leaves are prized for their excellent taste, especially after frost.
It grows 10 inches tall and 2 inches wide on semi-upright plants.
Kolibri
Spinacia oleraceaKolibri is a fast grower, which is ideal for cut-and-come-again harvests.
The semi-savoy leaves are less crinkled than other varieties for easier washing.
It is highly resistant to downy mildew and grows 8 inches tall with a 12-inch spread.
It has a slightly sweet flavor and is bolt-resistant.
Its extra-thick leaves are perfect for blanching and freezing.
Spinach naturally contains oxalic acid, which blocks the absorption of iron and calcium.
It breaks down when the spinach is cooked, making the iron and calcium easily absorbable.
Store spinach in the refrigerator for up to a week.
