How To Grow Spinach

There are so many great reasons to grow spinach! This nutritional powerhouse is a versatile green, perfect on salads, in sandwiches, or cooked in a variety of ways—and it’s a plant that does as well in container gardens as vegetable beds if you don’t have a lot of garden space.

How To Plant Spinach

Start: This is a cool-season crop, which means it grows best in early spring and fall. Sow seeds six weeks before the last frost. Plant them half an inch deep in rows 14 to 18 inches apart. Once seedlings have germinated, thin them so they stand between 3 and 5 inches apart.

Water: Spinach likes a lot of water. Keep soil moist or use a soaker hose for watering.

Soil: Soil rich in organic matter is best for spinach, especially if it’s nice and soft. pH 6.5 to 7.

Light: Full sun to part shade.

Fertilize: Use an all-purpose balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer to promote lush leaf growth.

Harvest: When it comes to harvesting, anything goes! Pick baby greens or wait for the plants to mature for larger spinach greens. Just make sure to harvest before spinach plants bolt, which typically happens faster when days have more than 14 hours of sunlight and daytime temperatures exceed 75 degrees.

Notes: If you live in a warm climate, you can grow spinach in shady spots or in between rows of taller vegetables to help keep them cooler through the summer heat.

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