How to Grow Spinach

Last Updated: February 22, 2023 References Approved

A cool-weather loving green, spinach is a fast-growing relative of beets and Swiss chard. You can plant spinach in either spring or fall, or both if you want to produce a biannual harvest! Spinach tastes delicious raw or cooked and is absolutely packed with iron, calcium, antioxidants, and essential vitamins like A, B, and C. Follow the steps below to learn how to plant your very own spinach crop.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Choosing a Variety

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Grow spinach in USDA Hardiness Zones three through nine. Spinach is extremely cold-hardy and fares well in these mild to cold climate zones. This cold-weather crop prefers temperatures between 35 and 75℉ (1 and 23°C).^{[1]
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Choose savoyed and semi-savoyed varieties to plant in the fall. Savoyed varieties are characterized by their dark green crinkly leaves. They are best for planting in the fall because they become especially crisp in cold weather.

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Choose smooth-leafed spinach for a faster growing time. Smooth-leafed spinach grows upright and produces leaves lighter in color than those produced by savoy spinach. It grows quickly and easily and is the perfect addition to any summer salad.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Preparing Your Planting Area

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Choose an area with full sun. Though spinach prefers a mild climate and will not do well in extremely hot temperatures, it does like full sun. Spinach will produce in partial shade, though the yield may not be as impressive, nor the plants as productive.
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Make sure that your soil drains well. Spinach likes a moderately moist habitat, but will not do well in soil that floods regularly or does not drain well. If you cannot find an adequate plot in your garden you can make a raised vegetable garden bed or plant your spinach in a container.
- If building a raised vegetable bed, use cedar wood planks if possible. Cedar resists rot when exposed to water.
- Because spinach is a small plant that does not grow extremely deep roots, you will not need a large growing space if you are only growing spinach.
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Test the pH of the soil. Spinach prefers a slightly acidic soil with a pH between 6.5 and 7.0. You can add limestone to the soil to adjust the pH level manually.
- Evaluate the soil's calcium and magnesium levels in order to determine what type of limestone to add to your soil. If the soil is low in magnesium, add dolomitic limestone. If it is high in magnesium, add calcitic limestone.
- Add the limestone two to three months before planting when possible to allow the soil to absorb it. After the limestone is incorporated, check the pH again.^{[2]
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Fertilize the soil well. Spinach likes soil rich in organic matter such as manure, alfalfa meal, soybean meal, cottonseed meal, blood meal, or any other high-nitrogen fertilizer. Be sure to mix a few cubic feet of organic material into the soil to ensure adequate richness.
- Make sure to remove any rocks or hard clumps of soil before adding the organic fertilizer. You can use a bow rake to check for and remove any unwanted objects.
- Pull any weeds or voluntary plants that are growing in the planting area. These may compete with your spinach plants and crowd them and/or transfer disease to them.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Planting Your Spinach

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Decide when to plant your spinach. Spinach is a cold-hardy crop with wide range of possible planting dates:
- Spring harvest: Plant your spinach four to six weeks before the last spring frost. This early crop can "bolt" (grow leggy and bloom), so harvest before you reach 14 hours of sunlight a day for best results. Some cultivars are less likely to bolt than others.^{[3]
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- Fall harvest: Plant six to eight weeks before the first fall frost for a more reliable fall crop.
- Overwinter: Plant spinach in autumn for a small late autumn harvest, followed by a dormant winter period with an early harvest next year. See below for more instructions.
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Sow seeds ½" (1cm) deep and two inches (5cm) apart. Make sure the rows are spaced at least eight inches (20cm) apart if planting in rows. Doing so allows the seeds to mature without having to compete for space. Make sure to buy fresh seeds for planting each year, as they do not stay viable for long.
- If you are transplanting seedlings, space spinach plants about 12 to 18 inches (30.5 to 45.7 cm) apart. This allows the seedlings to grow and expand their roots without competing with each other for space.
- You can either purchase seedlings at your local nursery or garden supply store or start them indoors in peat pots. However, it is recommended that you grow spinach from seed if possible as seedlings are difficult to transplant and the roots can be damaged in the process.^{[4]
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Cover the seeds with soil and pat lightly. The soil does not need to be compacted over the seeds; in fact it should be rather light and fluffy. Just be sure that the seeds are not exposed to the air and are entirely covered by soil.
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Spread mulch over the planting area. Cover the soil of the planting area with a few inches of hay, straw, leaf, or grass mulch to prevent weeds from sprouting. Pulling unwanted weeds may harm the fragile spinach roots, so mulch is a good alternative for weed control.
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Water the planting area thoroughly. Make sure to use a watering can or a light shower setting on your hose. A strong setting can disrupt the newly planted seeds or even wash them away.
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Adapt to hot weather. If you live in a particularly hot climate, consider using cold frames or heavy row covers to keep the soil cool during hot summer days. Also be sure to sow extra seeds and water twice daily if growing in hot weather.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Caring for Your Spinach Plants

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Thin your plants. As your spinach plants grow into seedlings, thin them lightly to prevent the plants from competing for space. You want the plants to be spaced far enough apart that the leaves of neighboring plants barely touch, if at all. Remove plants several times during growth to keep this balance, saving the tender young leaves for eating.
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Keep your planting area moist. You want the spinach to grow in soil that is continually moist but not overly drenched. Depending on the climate, you should water your spinach crop on average once or twice per week.
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Cover the soil with a shade cloth if temperatures climb above 80℉ (26°C). Again, spinach does not do well in hot weather. If temperatures begin to climb, you can cover the soil with a shade cloth to lower the temperature of the soil and keep the plants cool.
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Fertilize your plants only when necessary. If your spinach plants are growing slowly, you may want to add more nitrogen-based fertilizer. As mentioned above, spinach likes soil rich in organic matter such as well-rotted manure, alfalfa meal, soybean meal, cottonseed meal, and blood meal. Add the fertilizer according to label recommendations and water thoroughly.
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Harvest your spinach. As soon as the leaves grow big enough to eat (usually about three or four inches in length and two or three inches wide), you can harvest your spinach leaves. It generally takes about six to eight weeks from planting to harvest.
- In the springtime, make sure to harvest spinach leaves before they begin to bolt. Once the plants bolt, the leaves become bitter.
- Harvest the spinach by carefully removing the outer leaves. Either pinch at the base of the petiole with your fingers or use gardening shears to snip the base of the petiole.
- Alternately, you can harvest the spinach by pulling the entire plant out of the ground. Because spinach does not have very firm roots, it is easy to pull a plant out of the ground entirely.
- Removing the outer leaves is preferred to uprooting the entire plant as doing so allows the inner leaves to grow larger, ultimately producing more mature spinach than if the plant is entirely uprooted.
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Overwinter your spinach. Spinach is a cold-hardy crop that farmers often maintain over the winter for an early crop next year. During winter, protect your spinach plants in a "low tunnel" of row cover over a simple PVC frame, with ventilation to prevent overheating on sunny days. The spinach plants will be semi-dormant during the darker months, requiring infrequent watering and no fertilization. Once longer daylight hours trigger growth in late winter, provide water-soluble fertilizer and care for the growing spinach as you would at other times of year.^{[5]
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- Some varieties are more cold tolerant than others. Check the seed catalog or contact the seed supplier for more information.^{[7]
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Expert Q&A
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Question

Can I pull off the leaves then start again with the same roots?

Andrew Carberry, MPH
Food Systems Expert
Andrew Carberry is a Food Systems Expert and the Senior Program Associate at the Wallace Centere at Winrock International in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has worked in food systems since 2008 and has experience working on farm-to-school projects, food safety programs, and working with local and state coalitions in Arkansas. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and holds a Masters degree in public health and nutrition from the University of Tennessee.

Andrew Carberry, MPH

Food Systems Expert

Expert Answer

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You can harvest the outer leaves and let the inner leaves mature. If you harvest all the leaves at once, the plant will die.
Question

How far down should I plant spinach?

Andrew Carberry, MPH
Food Systems Expert
Andrew Carberry is a Food Systems Expert and the Senior Program Associate at the Wallace Centere at Winrock International in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has worked in food systems since 2008 and has experience working on farm-to-school projects, food safety programs, and working with local and state coalitions in Arkansas. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and holds a Masters degree in public health and nutrition from the University of Tennessee.

Andrew Carberry, MPH

Food Systems Expert

Expert Answer

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The optimal depth for planting spinach seeds is from between 1/2 an inch to an inch deep in the soil.
Question

What do spinach plants look like when they have grown past harvesting?

Amy Harrison

Top Answerer

Their leaves will begin to turn yellow. You want to harvest your spinach before then. Spinach can be chopped once at the base and it may begin to sprout again for another harvest, if you're lucky.

Warnings

Heat and long days will kill your crop. Do not try to grow spinach in the hot summer months.

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Be wary of flea beetles, spider mites, and aphids. These may feed on spinach leaves.

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Downy mildew and white rust are two diseases that may plague your spinach plants.^{[8]
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