Spinach Growing Guide

Spinach is a versatile, nutrient-rich leafy green that is easy to grow in your home garden as well as in pots. These compact plants require very little space and grow very quickly from seed to harvest. You can grow spinach as a cut-and-come-again crop for baby leaves or let it grow bigger for larger leaves. It can be grown all year round if you choose the right varieties.

In this spinach growing guide, you'll learn all the tips and tricks to plant, grow, and harvest nutritious spinach in your home garden.

About Spinach

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a hardy annual plant in the Amaranthaceae family. This leafy green vegetable is native to Persia and has become a staple in cuisines around the world.

Spinach produces plentiful and repeated crops of tender, tasty leaves that are medium to dark green in color and grow 6 to 12 inches tall. The leaves are rich in iron, calcium, vitamins A, C, and K, and antioxidants. They taste delicious when used raw in salads and smoothies.

Spinach is a fast-growing vegetable and can be harvested multiple times in a single season. It grows best when planted in the fall or spring. Grow spinach alongside carrots, radishes, or strawberries for better pest control and soil health.

Different Varieties of Spinach Plants

There are four main types of spinach suited for different climates and growing conditions.

Savoy Spinach has dark green and curly leaves. It is cold-hardy and resistant to frost. For example, "Bloomsdale." Winter Bloomsdale is a fall variety that resists mosaic viruses.

Semi-savoy Spinach has slightly crinkled leaves that are easier to clean than the savoy type. This spinach variety is disease-resistant and grows well in fall and spring. Examples include "Melody," "Tyee," and "Remington."

Smooth or Flat-leaf Spinach has spade-shaped, tender leaves that are easy to clean. This heirloom variety is often used in commercial farming. It is popular for salads and freezing. Popular varieties include "Nordic IV" and "Giant Nobel."

Baby-leaf Spinach is harvested early for small, tender leaves and is best for fresh salads. It grows well both in containers and gardens and matures quickly. Examples include "Baby's Leaf" and "Catalina."

If you live in warmer climates, spinach has many heat-tolerant varieties. For example, Malabar Spinach (Basella alba), New Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides), Tree Spinach (Chenopodium giganteum), and Red Mountain Spinach (Atriplex hortensis var. rubra).

If you're growing spinach in the colder climate, consider overwintering spinach varieties. For example, "Cold Resistant Savoy," "Bloomsdale Long Standing," and "Tyee." These hardy types can survive through winter and provide an early spring harvest.

Spinach Growing Requirements

After choosing a spinach variety according to your space and climate, the next step is to select the plantation site in your garden and prepare it for planting this green leafy veg.

Plantation Site

Spinach loves sunlight but prefers cooler temperatures. The ideal planting site for spinach is in full sun to partial shade. Choose a location that receives about 4 to 5 hours of sunlight daily.

However, if you're growing spinach in late spring or summer, protect the plants from intense midday heat to delay bolting. This means you can enjoy the fresh, tender leaves for an extra week or two.

Spinach plants are sensitive to strong winds. You can protect them by planting near hedges or using row covers. If you've limited space in your garden, spinach grows well in pots, containers, and raised beds.

Soil Requirements and Preparation

The key to growing spinach is well-prepared soil. Spinach prefers organically rich, loamy, and well-draining soil. It grows well in slightly acidic to neutral soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0.

After determining your soil condition, the next step is to prepare it for growing spinach. Loosen the soil to a depth of 6-8 inches with a garden fork or tiller. Mix in buckets of organic matter, such as well-rotted manure or compost, to improve soil structure and nutrients. If your garden has heavy clay soil, it is a good idea to grow spinach in raised beds.

Spacing Requirements

Sow seeds ½ to 1 inch deep in rows spaced 12 to 18 inches apart. Once the seedlings reach 2-3 inches tall and grow their first true leaves, thin the plants to 3 to 6 inches apart. There is no need to provide any support structures for spinach plants. They grow well on their own.

When to Plant Spinach

Spinach is a cool-weather plant that grows best in spring or fall when temperatures are mild (ideally 60-70°F). This hardy vegetable requires 6 weeks of cool weather from seedling to harvest. Spinach grows best in USDA zones 2-9. Avoid planting spinach in freezing or warm temperatures, as this can cause the spinach to bolt or flower prematurely.

For spring planting, sow seeds 4-6 weeks before the last expected frost as soon as the ground warms to 40°F.

For fall planting, start seeds 6-8 weeks before the frost when the soil is 70°F or cooler.

You can grow spinach throughout the winter if you live in an area with mild winters. Protect young plants with thick mulch or a cold frame. Then, remove the protection when the soil temperature reaches 40°F in spring.

Spinach doesn't grow well in hot weather and will produce small yellow-green flowers on spikes before going to seed. If you want spinach in summer, try heat-tolerant varieties like Malabar Spinach or New Zealand Spinach.

How to Plant Spinach Seeds

Spinach grows quickly and is great for filling small gaps in your vegetable garden, flower beds, or patio containers. It grows best when planted directly into the ground rather than starting indoors since seedlings are difficult to transplant.

Sow seeds thinly in a shallow, moist drill every 2 inches and cover with 1/2 inch of soil. If you're sowing seeds in rows, they should be 12-18 inches apart, and seeds should be 1 inch apart. You can also sprinkle seeds over a wide row or bed. After sowing seeds, water gently and thoroughly to settle the soil. Avoid waterlogging, which can rot the seeds.

Plant small batches of seeds every 2-3 weeks during the growing season for continuous harvest. Successional sowing allows you to get multiple harvests from each sowing as a cut-and-come-again salad.

You can plant spinach under taller plants like sunflowers, cucumbers, tomatoes, or corn to provide cooling shade in warm weather.

How to Grow Spinach in Containers

Container gardening is a simple and effective way to grow spinach in small spaces. If you have a limited garden space, poor soil, or want to grow plants on a balcony, deck, or patio, you can grow spinach in containers. It grows quickly and can be harvested just like garden-grown spinach. Moreover, planting spinach in containers helps prevent pests from munching on crops.

You can use buckets, wooden window boxes, plastic pots, clay pots, or fabric planters. Choose a container at least 10 to 12 inches deep and wide. Just make sure the container has drainage holes to let out extra water from rain or watering.

Fill your containers with potting soil enriched with compost. Then, sow seeds as you would in the ground. Place the container where plants can get morning sunlight and shade in the afternoon.

Keep in mind that container plants dry out faster than those in the ground, so you'll need to water them more often.

Caring for Spinach Plant

Once your spinach seeds sprout (usually after 5-10 days), follow these simple tips to grow a heavy crop of succulent leaves.

Watering

Spinach grows best in moist soil, so keep it evenly moist, especially during dry weather. Young plants and seedlings are more likely to dry out, so check them often and water them regularly. This leafy green crop generally needs about 1 to 1.5 inches of water weekly. Instead of watering deeply once a week, it's better to water smaller amounts several times weekly to keep the soil consistently moist.

Be careful not to overwater; soggy soil can cause wilting or yellowing leaves. However, if spinach doesn't get enough water, it can become stressed and bolt. Once spinach bolts, the leaves turn bitter and can't be eaten.

The best practice for watering spinach is through drip irrigation. This irrigation method delivers water directly to the soil around the roots, keeping the plants hydrated without wetting the leaves. This helps prevent diseases like mildew and saves water by avoiding waste.

Fertilizing

Spinach is a heavy feeder because it is a fast-growing green. When planting, use a nitrogen-rich fertilizer (30-10-10) to promote healthy foliage growth. Continue applying a balanced fertilizer every 2-3 weeks during the growing season. Using fertilizer injectors, you can add this water-soluble fertilizer to the drip irrigation system. Soy meal and fish emulsions are also good organic fertilizers for spinach. Avoid over-feeding, which can result in bitter-tasting leaves.

Thinning

Once the seedlings are 7.5 cm (3 inches) long enough to handle, thin them 3-6 inches apart. Remove the smaller and weaker ones. This prevents overcrowding and promotes healthy growth. If you're growing just baby salad leaves instead of mature plants, thinning isn't usually required.

Flowering

At some point, spinach plants will grow a tall flower stalk and stop producing leaves. This process, called bolting, happens faster in hot, dry weather. To delay bolting, keep the soil moist by watering regularly and avoid growing spinach in hot conditions.

If you're growing spinach in containers, move the pots out of the hot midday sun and water often, as the soil in containers dries out quickly. Once a spinach plant starts to flower, it won't produce more leaves, so it's best to remove it.

Overwintering

In warmer climates, you can plant spinach in the fall and harvest it through winter. If the soil freezes before the plants are fully grown, cover them with mulch, like hay, to protect them. Once temperatures rise in the spring, remove the mulch, and the plants should start growing again, giving you an early harvest.

Pruning

Pruning spinach is easy—just keep harvesting the leaves throughout the growing season. This helps the plant stay healthy and continue producing new leaves. However, you must remove any plant to protect nearby plants if they become affected or diseased.

How to Harvest Spinach

Spinach is usually ready to harvest 6 to 10 weeks after sowing. Baby spinach can be picked as early as 30 days, while mature leaves take 38 to 50 days. Harvesting can be done in two ways: by picking individual leaves or cutting the whole plant.

You can start picking spinach leaves when they're large enough to eat, generally around 4-6 inches long. Use scissors or garden shears to snip the outer leaves first, leaving the smaller inner leaves to continue growing.

If you want a large harvest, cut the entire spinach plant just above the base of the stem. Plants with strong roots may grow back and provide a second crop.

Don't wait too long—harvest spinach before it bolts, as the leaves turn bitter once the plant starts flowering.

How to Use and Store Spinach

Spinach can be eaten fresh and raw in salads, cooked in stir-fries, blended into smoothies, or frozen for later use. Note that fresh spinach leaves can be used for up to a week. However, proper storage can extend their shelf life.

For short-term storage, wash leaves thoroughly and pat dry with a paper towel to absorb moisture. Then, place the leaves in a plastic bag and put them in the fridge for up to a week.

If you want to store spinach long-term, freezing is a good idea. Blanch the leaves in water for 2 minutes, then plunge them into ice. Drain and freeze in airtight containers or freezer bags. Frozen spinach is best used within three to six months.

Common Pest and Diseases in Spinach

Spinach is relatively hardy but susceptible to some pests and diseases. Here's how to identify and control them:

Leaf Miners: Larvae that burrow into leaves, leaving unsightly, blister-like trails. How to control them? Remove affected leaves, use row cover to prevent infestations, till the soil early in the season to disrupt larvae, and rotate crops each year.

Aphids: Tiny bugs that suck sap from leaves. How to control them? Spray plants with insecticidal soap, plant companion plants, or introduce ladybugs to your garden to deter aphids.

Downy Mildew: Yellow, angular spots on the tops of leaves that turn brown. The undersides of leaves develop a purple, white, or gray growth. Leaves may look distorted or fall off. How to prevent it? Remove old plant debris, grow disease-resistant varieties, and water at the base of plants using drip irrigation.

Fusarium Wilt: This disease causes leaf wilting and stunted growth. To prevent it, rotate crops and avoid planting spinach in the same spot yearly.

The Bottom Line

Whether you want to plant spinach in your backyard, raised beds, or containers, we hope this growing guide has been helpful to you. Choose either savoy spinach, semi-savoy, flat-leaf, or baby-leaf variety, select the best location, prepare the soil, sow the seeds, provide the proper care through fertilizing, watering, and mulching, and enjoy a bountiful harvest of fresh, nutrient-packed greens throughout the growing season.