Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Spinach
Chock-full of antioxidants and iron, spinach is a nutrient-rich addition to your fall or spring garden
Spinach is the ultimate cool-season crop; it bolts quickly once it encounters hot weather, which is anything above 75 degrees, or even if the days get too long. However, it’s great for spring, fall and even winter in mild climates. And there are some bolt-resistant varieties.
There are generally three types of spinach: the savoyed (crinkly) and semisavoyed types and the flat-leaf types. Baby spinach is flat-leaf spinach harvested just three or four weeks after the seedlings appear.
More: How to grow cool-season vegetables
There are generally three types of spinach: the savoyed (crinkly) and semisavoyed types and the flat-leaf types. Baby spinach is flat-leaf spinach harvested just three or four weeks after the seedlings appear.
More: How to grow cool-season vegetables
Planting and care: Soil — in the ground or in a pot, as shown here — should be well drained and well amended. Sow seeds a half inch deep and an inch apart. Thin to 3 to 4 inches apart when seedlings appear (the best and most nutritious way to thin is to pick off the leaves and eat them). Set transplants to this spacing as well. Keep the soil continuously most but not overly wet, and be sure to weed carefully around the plants. Aphids, cabbage worms and leaf miners are the most troublesome pests.
Harvest: Either pick off leaves as you need them or harvest the entire plant. If you need the entire plant but don’t want to pull it out, cut off all leaves about an inch above the soil; the plant will regrow.
More: How to Grow Cool-Season Vegetables
More: How to Grow Cool-Season Vegetables
Days to maturity: 40 to 150
Light requirement: Full sun to light shade, especially if afternoons will be somewhat hot
Water requirement: Provide consistent water but don’t overwater
Favorites: Bloomsdale Longstanding, Indian Summer, Marathon, Oriental Giant, Red Cardinal, Space, Tyee