How to Grow Spinach

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In climates where you can continue to grow vegetables through winter, a nice bunch of spinach can be just the ticket for a fresh veggie fix from the garden as the cold rages on around you. Here are some thoughts on growing it in your garden from autumn through winter and into spring in cooler temperate regions.

Steps

1. Make sure that you live in a temperate climate. If it is too cold during the winter months, there isn't a chance of growing spinach.[1] If it is too warm, the spinach will not grow. The optimal temperatures for germination of spinach seeds is 7ēC - 24ēC. Spinach seeds can be sown late summer and early autumn. Spinach can continue to be sown throughout the year to give a continuous supply provided the temperatures for germination are good.
2. Sow the spinach seeds. Plant the seeds in clumps about 20-30mm apart each way.
3. Cover the seeds to a depth of 1cm. Spinach grows quickly; it will only be 2 or so months from time of planting the seeds to harvest (slightly longer in colder weather).
4. Water the garden bed regularly. Or let the rain do the work if it's raining.
5. Thin the clumps out. When the seedlings are 5-7cm tall, select the strongest seedling and thin out the clumps by removing the weaker ones. If you are aiming to provide enough for an average family, aim to have about 12-15 plants growing.
6. Sow every three to four weeks if you want a continuous supply of spinach throughout the year.
7. Keep spinach well mulched. Spinach likes to be kept moist, so water it well and use the mulch to retain the moisture. Spinach also likes nitrogen, so feed it appropriately. The mulch will also help keep the leaves clean from dirt.
8. Harvest by cutting off the whole plant at ground level. Alternatively, individual leaves can be picked progressively. If you do this, leave four to five stalks in the middle and the plant will continue to produce for a few weeks longer. Although spinach is at its absolute best to eat as soon as possible after picking, it can be stored in the refrigerator crisper for up to one week.

Tips

• Spinach is a fairly hardy crop but it can suffer from damp-rot when germinating in a soggy winter. Avoid this by using seed punnets to germinate and then transferring the seedlings to the garden.
• Diseases that may impact spinach include downy mildew and brown or black leaf spotting.
• Be aware that raw spinach leaves shrink a lot when cooked, so pick quite a few for a decent meal! Also take note that there is already a lot of water in spinach leaves, so they do not usually require the addition of more water for cooking when steaming, stir-frying etc. and the water used to clean the leaves will be adequate.

Things You'll Need

• Spinach seeds
• Garden space, tilled soil

Sources and Citations

1. ? If you have a cool summer or a greenhouse, you can shift your spinach growing season.

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