Eating Garden

How to Grow Spinach

Spinacia oleracea

A fast, cool-season leaf crop that tastes best before warm, long days make it flower.

At a glance

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Sunlight

    Full sun

  • Water

    Thirsty

  • Growing in a pot

    Suitable for pots

  • Plant spacing

    2 to 4 in apart

More about this plant

Sow spinach in cool soil, thin the seedlings and keep moisture steady. Pick outer leaves early and sow small batches because spring heat ends the best harvest quickly.

  • Grows for one season.
  • Can grow in raised beds, the open ground.
  • Fine in a small space.
  • A good one to grow together with children.
  • Ready to pick quickly.

Optional local dates

Planting dates where you live

The growing guide above works anywhere. This section adds local frost dates when we have them.

Optional local dates

Get planting dates for where you live

Save a city or a U.S. ZIP so we can turn local frost records into useful dates. Every crop guide still works without this.

A U.S. ZIP uses official NOAA frost records. Other countries use weather-station records, or a climate reconstruction where stations are missing. Coordinates are used once and not stored. We save only a place label and climate summary in a private browser cookie. You can clear it anytime.

Helpful gardening guides

When to plant

Match these relative steps to your local seasons. Where frost applies, use the last freezing night in spring and the first in fall. In frost-free climates, follow trusted local seasonal guidance.

  • Sow outdoors 2 to 3 weeks before your last spring frostSow two to three weeks before the last spring frost, as soon as the soil can be worked.
  • Sow outdoors 8 to 10 weeks before your first fall frostSow a fall crop about two months before the first fall frost, after the strongest summer heat eases.
  • For a steady supply, sow a few more every 10 days.

What you need

  • How to start itFrom seed or a young plantYou can sow it straight into the ground, or start it indoors first.
  • How deep to plant0.5 in
    Planting depth: 0.5 in below the soil surface. Drawing is not to scale.
  • How far apart2 to 4 inLeave 12 to 18 in between rows.
    Leave 2 to 4 in between plants and 12 to 18 in between rows. View from above; drawing is not to scale.

Step by step

  1. Sow in cool weatherPlant about two to three weeks before the last spring frost, or again for fall after summer heat eases.
  2. Cover seed lightlySow half an inch deep and keep the soil gently moist while seed wakes up.
  3. Thin to three inchesGive leaves room for air and light. Eat the small thinnings.
  4. Keep growth steadyWater about an inch a week and more during dry weather or in sandy soil.
  5. Pick outer leavesHarvest usable leaves and leave the center to make more.
  6. Harvest when a stalk risesOnce bolting starts, pick the remaining leaves because warm weather will make them bitter.

Common mistakes

  • Planting too late in springWarm, long days make spinach flower quickly. Sow while weather is still cool.
  • Skipping thinningCrowded plants stay small and compete for water. Thin to about three inches.
  • Letting the bed dryWater stress slows leaf growth and can make the crop bitter.

Water

Thirsty

Give about one inch of water a week, and up to two inches in dry conditions. Keep moisture steady and check sandy soil more often.

  • Too dry
  • About right
  • Too wet
  • If it goes drySuffers quickly when dryLeaves stay small, taste bitter and may bolt sooner.
  • If it stays wetDislikes sitting wetSoggy soil can slow roots and increase leaf disease.

Looking after it

  • FeedingAn occasional feed helpsFollow a soil test. Fast, steady growth gives the best leaves, but extra fertilizer cannot fix hot weather.
  • ThinningThin seedlings to 3 in apartCrowded seedlings stay small. Pull the weaker ones and keep the strongest.
  • MulchA light mulch holds moisture, cools the soil and slows weeds.

Harvest

You will know it is ready when: Pick leaves as soon as they are large enough to eat and before a tall flower stalk forms.

Take the older outer leaves and leave the center growing, or cut the whole plant about two inches above the soil.

  • Keeping itKeeps 3 to 7 daysCool the leaves quickly after harvest and refrigerate them. Use within a few days for best quality; carefully cooled spinach may last about a week.

Is this right for you?

Cool weather below about 75F. Young plants tolerate light frost, but warm, long days make spinach bolt and turn bitter.

  • LightFull sun
  • ShadeCopes with a little shade
  • SeasonA cool season cropUsually grown in spring or fall.
  • FrostSurvives a light frost
  • HeatStruggles in heat

Soil

  • Soil pH6.5 to 8.0A cheap test kit from a garden centre will tell you yours.
  • Soil it likesLoam, Sandy
  • DrainageWants well drained ground
  • RichnessWants rich ground

Use fertile, well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Finished compost helps leaves grow quickly.

Use a soil test before adding fertilizer. Do not use fresh manure or weed-and-feed products.

The year at a glance

Measured from your first fall frost, because seasons differ from garden to garden. In frost-free climates, use trusted local seasonal guidance alongside these relative steps.

  1. Sow outdoors

    8 to 10 weeks before your first fall frost

  2. Sow outdoors

    2 to 3 weeks before your last spring frost

Questions people ask

Why did my spinach make a flower stalk?

Warm weather and long days cause bolting. Harvest the crop and sow again in cooler fall weather.

Can spinach handle frost?

Young plants can handle light frost around 32F. A cover gives extra protection in harder cold.

Can I harvest spinach more than once?

Yes. Pick outer leaves and leave the center, or cut above the growing point so new leaves can form.

How often should I sow spinach?

A small row every one to two weeks gives a steadier spring harvest until hot weather arrives.

Also filed under: Vegetables

Where this came from

Advice varies with your climate and variety. Check the sources behind each section.

Sources & review dates
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