Starting Spinach From Seed

Baby Spinach

Spinach is a vitamin-rich, dark leafy green that produces large yields in the correct growing environment. It is excellent for salads, cooking, & smoothies.

Spinach is a cool weather crop. It is great for spring & fall harvests. Spinach can overwinter in many parts of the country under cold frames or heavyweight row covers. It can withstand some heat but is prone to yellowing & bolting, so I don't recommend growing it in the summer. If you chose to plant during the warmer months, be sure to sow heavily because germination rates drop by half during warm weather.

Because spinach develops a deep taproot you will want to loosen the soil at least 1' deep prior to planting. The soil should be rich in nitrogen & moist. Moisture via regular watering helps to keep the soil temperature down. If your growing environment tends to be warm, plant your spinach in the shade of taller crops to protect it from the suns heat.

When spinach plants have four true leaves, add compost tea or fish emulsion fertilizers. Because weeding can damage the spinach plants roots, apply a heavy layer of natural mulch to suppress weed growth.

Spinach is a vitamin-rich, dark leafy green. It is excellent for salads & cooking. It is full of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, & anti-cancer nutrients. You can blend it into smoothies, juice it, saute it, steam it, add it to soups & salads, use it in place of lettuce in sandwiches, add it to potatoes & casseroles. The possibilities are endless!

Outer leaves can be periodically harvested as baby green or when older as mature leaves. You can also harvest the whole plant by cutting it off at ground level.

Sow outside: 6 weeks before average last frost for a late spring/summer crop. In areas with a long, cool spring, make successive plantings every 10 days until mid-May.
Sow outside: In the late summer for a fall crop.
Sow outside: In the fall for very early spring crop.
Days to emerge: 5 - 10
Seed depth: 1/2"
Seed spacing: 1" for baby greens.
Seed spacing: 2" + for mature plants.
Row spacing: 18" - 24"
Thinning: 6"
Maturity: 30 - 50 days

Mature Spinach