When do you plant spinach

There are a number of options for growing spinach. You could grow it indoors or outdoors, in pots on a terrace or courtyard, among other crops in the vegetable patch, or in raised beds. Below, we take you through all the options. The curly leafed savoy, flat leafed, or the slightly curly semi-savoy.

The flat leafed types generally have the mildest flavor and their smallest leaves are sold as baby spinach,' explains gardening expert Melinda Myers. There are both winter cultivars and summer cultivars of spinach, which are sown and harvested at different times.

Choose a variety of each to sow and you can enjoy the leaves all through the year. When growing spinach, the trick lies in making it last as long as possible, especially in the spring, when lengthening days shorten its life,' explain experts at Bonnie Plants. See: Small vegetable garden ideas — from layout designs to the best crops to grow. The best time for growing spinach is during the cool weather of spring and fall as it is a cool weather crop. Summer spinach cultivars: Plant summer varieties of spinach every few weeks from early until late spring.

Winter spinach cultivars: Sow hardy winter cultivars from mid summer to early autumn. The experts at Bonnie Plants provide the following advice for growing spinach twice a year: plant it about four to six weeks before the last frost in the spring, and again six to eight weeks before the first frost in the fall.

By sowing seeds every three to four weeks you can enjoy a constant supply through the growing season. See: Planning a kitchen garden - from designing a layout to picking plants. First decide on where you want to grow your spinach crops, as some of the smaller varieties are particularly well suited to containers, for instance. For success in growing spinach, before sowing the seeds enrich the soil by digging in garden compost and a general fertilizer.

This will both help the spinach to grow well, and also prevent the leaves tasting bitter. Palco matures in 38 days and is adaptable as both a cool-season or warm-season crop. It is a flat-leaf spinach that may be harvested as baby greens or enjoyed after attaining its full size.

It is both bolt and mildew resistant. Red Tabby is a red-veined smooth-leafed spinach with angular leaves in an upright growing habit. It matures in a month and is downy mildew resistant.

Renegade has fleshy, round, smooth, dark green leaves and sweet, tender stems. Space is a slightly savoyed spinach with medium green leaves that are highly resistant to downy mildew and mature in just 25 days. It is versatile — grow it in all seasons. Spinach comes in a wide variety of shapes, textures growing habits and even colors. Spinach is a thirsty crop that enjoys up to 1. Water under the foliage, right at ground level, to avoid wetting the leaves, which invites plant diseases.

A 2-inch layer of organic mulch such as shredded leaves, pine bark or straw will help keep the soil cool and moist between waterings. Organic mulch around spinach plants will keep the soil moist between waterings. But it can help to add some organic nitrogen-based fertilizer — like alfalfa, soybean meal or blood meal — at planting time. Adding compost before planting will also help the plants along, and balancing the pH will ensure the nutrients in the soil are readily available to the plants.

Provide adequate spacing to allow for good air circulation to avoid mildew. If downy mildew does become a problem, practice crop rotation or choose resistant varieties. Proactively check for slugs, which are easily controlled with a number of environmentally-friendly options, including handpicking, placing bowls of beer near the plants at soil level, or using a pet-safe iron phosphate bait like Sluggo.

Spacing spinach adequately at planting time can reduce instances of mildew later. And of course, the best part of spinach is eating it. Hyde Hall Essex. Rosemoor Devon. Wisley Surrey. Bridgewater Greater Manchester. Environmentally friendly gardening. Plant health.

Take part in our research. Meet the team. Shop plants rhsplants. Shopping with the RHS. RHS Christmas gifts. Help us achieve our goals Make a donation. Join the RHS today and support our charity Join now. Save to My scrapbook. Hi Lora, Spinach can be harvested by cutting the outer leaves off periodically and allowing new ones to grow from the center. When the days start to cool off a little, try planting new seeds for a fall harvest!

Hi can I use different growth media such as hydroponics, cocoapit and soil to determine the best media for growth and development of spinach?

I am a 14 year old growing spinach for my school project. My question is: is there any Spinach Seeds that germinate in hot weather eg. Perhaps your school would allow you to grow one of these warm-weather greens instead?

Hi I am trying to grow spinach and I am unsure how to tell if I am giving my spinach plant too much or too little nutrients? Thanks for all your help. Basically if your spinach looks healthy, then it is probably happy. But if you suspect a problem, a good place to start is to get your soil tested. The results will tell you if your soil has any deficiencies. In general, spinach likes quite a bit of nitrogen and moist, not soggy, soil.

A soil pH of between 6. Nutrient deficiencies may appear as yellow or pale leaves, stunted or distorted growth, purpling or bronzing of leaves, leaves dropping early, or other symptoms. Hope this helps! Is there a difference between Malabar spinach and mailbag spinach. Anyone have a good reference for types of spinach although I know the one o mentioned isn't a "real" spinach. I'm trying to get the most use out of my garden space. I live in zone I planted the spinach and kale on March Once it matures, how long will I be harvesting the plants?

I want to grow okra there. Thank you. I'm still learning. Spinach likes cook conditions; too hot for too long and it will bolt. The harvest season, and the best conditions, also depend on the variety.

Ballpark estimate of harvest season in ideal conditions: six to eight weeks. You might find more help below—there is lots of information there, including, maybe, the variety you are growing.

Kale starts best in cooler conditions, and it might appear to slow down in heat. Here, too, the harvest season, and the best conditions, also depend on the variety. You can find New Zealand spinach not a true spinach offered by various mail-order companies, such as Burpee, Victory Seeds, etc. Tips for freezing my spinach? I harvested quite a bunch that i'd like to freeze for future--thanks! There are many methods for prepping spinach for the freezer, but we prefer to steam it.

Thoroughly wash the spinach and then dry completely. Trim the stems, chop leaves if desired, then steam in batches for 2 minutes each bunch.

Place the leaves in ice water for about 1 minute after steaming. Thoroughly dry a salad spinner is good for this part and then measure and put into freezer bags, labeling each bag with the amount of spinach.