Growing spinach is easy and promising even for beginners. We reveal what you should consider when growing spinach in terms of timing, location and procedure. We also provide tips on care and overwintering.
Anyone who grows fresh spinach (Spinacia oleracea) in their own garden is not only doing something good for their he alth, but is also rewarded with good yields thanks to the easy-care cultivation. The annual leafy vegetable from the foxtail family (Amaranthaceae) is a typical no-till vegetable. In this article you can find out which varieties there are, how spinach is grown and how to care for it properly.
Growing spinach: How to do it
When is spinach best grown? Where is the ideal location for spinach? And what is the best way to go about sowing? We answer these questions in the following section.
When is spinach grown?
Spinach can be grown at different times of the year, spring and autumn are typical. In principle, however, year-round outdoor cultivation is also feasible if the spinach is cultivated in a sheltered location throughout the winter. Choosing the right variety is crucial to successful cultivation. Which variety is the right one depends on the climatic conditions of the respective season. For example, if you want to sow and harvest spinach in summer, you should use particularly bolt-resistant varieties. This means that these strains will not flower as quickly in the warm summer temperatures. However, they are more sensitive to cold.
You can find out more about the different types of spinach here.
Hint: Originally, spinach had either male or female plants. However, thanks to new breeds, there are now spinach varieties that have both male and female flowers. This change can have a positive effect on successful pollination and cultivar stability.
If you would like to harvest your first spinach before the start of summer, sow it from the end of February until April. Since cold snaps are still common in the garden at this time, it is advisable to take the young plants with youcover with fleece. Since spinach generally only tolerates light frosts, a protective layer of brushwood, fleece or even snow is also essential for winter spinach. The following table shows how far harvest follows sowing.
| Sowing | Harvest | |
|---|---|---|
| Spring Spinach | late February - early April | May - June |
| Summer Spinach | April - end of June | June - August |
| Autumn Spinach | July - September | September - December |
| Winter Spinach | late September - early October | April |
Tip: Thanks to its deep roots, spinach is also perfect as a green manure for loosening the soil. During the winter he can already prepare the soil for the next planting season.
The ideal location for spinach
Spinach likes sunny to partially shaded locations. Depending on the variety, however, the ideal location for the leafy vegetables varies. For example, summer spinach should be in light shade, while winter spinach prefers a sunny location. Since spinach develops taproots up to 1.20 meters deep, loose soil is important. The substrate should also be rich in humus, well drained and have a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. You can achieve a humus-rich vegetable bed, for example, through well thought-out humus management and the regular use of primarily organic fertilizers. Our Plantura organic soil activator can be worked into the soil before sowing. It ensures more soil fertility and increases the humus content.
Where to grow spinach?
- Sunny to semi-shady location
- Loose, well-drained soil
- Soil rich in humus and nutrients
- Ideal pH: 6.5 - 7.5
Tip: Good neighbors for planting spinach in a mixed culture are strawberries (Fragaria), radishes (Raphanussativus var. sativus), Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes), Leek ( Allium porrum) or tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum). Spinach does not go well with beetroot (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris var. conditiva).
How to grow spinach outdoors
Spinach is sown directly outdoors.There it is sown in rows, otherwise the spinach hardly has a chance against weeds. Important maintenance measures such as hoeing can also be carried out much more easily between the rows. Before you start sowing, loosen the soil a little and free it from weeds. In order to give the spinach the best conditions for growth, prepare the soil optimally. Spinach needs loose, well-drained soil with a good water supply. To achieve this, you can thin soil that is too heavy with our Plantura organic vegetable soil or sand. Too light, sandy soils are upgraded with Plantura organic vegetable soil. In order to provide the plant with enough nutrients right from the start, it is advisable to fertilize the soil before sowing. To do this, work Plantura organic universal fertilizer with organic long-term effect or compost into the soil. If the soil is too acidic for growing spinach, the pH can be adjusted with liming or alternative fertilizers such as eggshell or wood ash.
The seed is then pressed 2 to 3 centimeters deep into the soil at a planting distance of 8 to 12 centimeters. The distance between the rows is 20 to 30 centimeters. Spinach germinates and grows at very low temperatures, but should be covered with fleece if there is a risk of frost. After sowing, pat down the soil and water carefully. The spinach can finally be harvested after six to eight weeks.
Tip: If you want to continuously harvest fresh spinach in your garden, it pays to reseed the spinach at regular intervals.
Summary of growing spinach:
- Soil preparation: promote humic, loose soil, e.g. with soil activator
- Loosen excessively heavy, loamy soil with Plantura organic tomato and vegetable soil or sand
- Enrich the soil with nutrients, for example 70 - 150 g/m² Plantura organic universal fertilizer or compost
- If necessary, increase the pH value by liming or fertilizing with wood ash or egg shells
- Place seeds 2 - 3 cm deep
- Planting distance: 8 - 12 cm
- Row spacing: 20 - 30 cm
- Ideal germination temperature: 10 - 20 °C
- Cover with fleece if there is a risk of frost
- Harvest after 6 - 8 weeks
How to grow spinach in a pot
Even if you don't have a suitable bed area, you can grow spinach yourself, because the versatile leafy vegetable can also be grown in a pot in the smallest of spacesgrow on the balcony or terrace. It should be noted that the container has a minimum depth of 30 to 40 centimeters so that the spinach can form its deep roots.
Tip: To be able to grow well in pots, spinach needs a good, adapted substrate. Our Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil has everything your spinach needs to grow: it is permeable, ensures a good water supply and has the ideal pH value for spinach above 6.5.
Caring for the spinach
Spinach is one of the moderately consuming plants. In order to cover the nutrient requirements of the plant, you should apply a primarily organic fertilizer or your own compost. Our Plantura organic universal fertilizer is ideal for this because it is completely animal-free and provides your plants with all the important nutrients throughout the gardening season. On the other hand, you should avoid excessive nitrogen fertilization due to the nitrate accumulation in the leaves.
Spinach is a frugal plant, but regular watering is necessary. The soil should be moist, but the plant does not tolerate waterlogging. It is best to water more often in small amounts. Regular raking and weed removal have also proven useful in cultivation, as excessive weed growth prevents the spinach from asserting itself and its growth is thus inhibited.
Caring for spinach at a glance:
- Predominantly organic fertilization with Plantura organic universal fertilizer or compost
- Water regularly
- Removing weeds and raking
Tip: If you are growing spinach in summer, it is best to water early in the morning or late in the afternoon. In this way, the amount of evaporation is reduced and you save water.
Winter spinach
If you want to harvest spinach very early in the new year, you can sow the spinach in the previous year - in September to October. The plant then overwinters outdoors. The little plants survive the cold best when they have already developed two to four leaves. When there are frosts outside, it is important to cover the spinach. Kahlfrost means it freezes without an insulating layer of snow. This can quickly lead to cold damage, especially in young plants.
Diseases and Pests in Spinach
Spinach is easy to grow, but downy mildew can sometimes cause problems.In the meantime, however, there are enough new varieties that have good to very good resistance to the fungal disease. Regular ventilation should be ensured, especially when growing in a polytunnel. Outdoors, it is advisable to water the plants as close to the roots as possible so that downy mildew has less surface area to attack, because the fungus depends on leaf wetness. If the plants are already infected, unfortunately there is not much to save. Then it is advisable to chop off the culture and dispose of it in the residual waste. This drastic measure is appropriate because there is a risk that the fungus will survive in the compost and its spores will spread throughout the garden. The leaf spot disease known from cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) also occurs occasionally. Pests rarely visit spinach, but the black bean aphid (Aphis fabae) can give spinach a hard time. On the other hand, in early summer, the plants can be covered with a net until harvest.
If the spinach has been grown properly, it will soon be time to harvest the leafy greens. You can read all about harvesting, storing and using spinach here.