Spinach Seeds

How to Grow Spinach

The essential guide to growing spinach (Spinacia oleracea) from seed; with notes on germination, cultivation, harvest and even kitchen uses.

---

Spinach types at a glance:

• English/True (round-leaf) – tender leaves, mild flavour, ideal for raw salads or delicate sautéing. Prefers cool weather, bolts in heat. The classic is 'Bloomsdale'.
• Arrow-leaf (Asian/Middle-Eastern lines) – pointed leaves, slightly firmer texture, holds up to stir-fries and can take warmer conditions before bolting. See 'Flamingo'.
• Savoyed – heavily crinkled, deep-green leaves, robust earthy taste; great for steaming, soups and freezing. Cold-tolerant and rain-shedding.
• Semi-savoy – lightly puckered compromise between savoyed toughness and English tenderness; versatile in kitchen and garden.
• Perennial substitutes – New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia) and Malabar spinach (Basella) thrive in summer heat but are botanically different; treat as warm-season greens if true spinach struggles.

---

Ave. Seeds per Gram: ≈ 100 seeds

Germination Temperature: 4 – 25 °C (best 10–18 °C); emergence in 5 – 10 days.

Feed Requirements:

• Cool-season crops: moderate.
• Warm-weather sowings (spring/summer): bump to heavy with extra compost for rapid leaf growth.
• Spinach favours well-limed soil (pH 6.5 – 7.5).

---

Growing Notes:

Climate & Timing

• Temperate & cool zones: sow Feb–Apr and Aug–Oct for autumn-winter and late-spring harvests.
• Sub-tropics: main sowings Apr–Jun; arrow-leaf strains can extend into Jul–Aug.
• In heatwaves germination falters – pre-chill seed in the fridge 2 days or keep beds damp and shaded.
• Succession-sow every 10 days for steady supply.

Sowing & Spacing

• Direct-sow 8 mm deep.
• For bunching/family use: thin to 25 – 35 cm apart in rows 40 – 50 cm apart.
• For baby-leaf scatter sow densely, then harvest with scissors.

Site & Soil

• Free-draining, humus-rich loam in full sun (or light shade in warm months).
• Keep beds evenly moist – dry soil and heat trigger bolting and bitterness.

Care

• Mulch lightly.
• Water at soil level to deter downy mildew.
• If growth slows or leaves yellow, foliar spray or side dress with fish/seaweed tea (high in nitrogen).
• Promptly remove any plants that start to send up flower spikes.

---

Common Problems & Fixes:

• Slugs & snails ravage seedlings – bait or hand-pick at dusk.
• Aphids & whitefly – hose off or spray with potassium soap; encourage ladybirds.
• Leaf miners tunnel leaves – remove affected foliage and use row covers.
• Downy mildew/bacterial leaf spot in wet spells – maximise airflow, avoid overhead watering, grow resistant varieties.
• Bolting in hot, long days – choose arrow-leaf or semi-savoy types, keep soil cool with mulch and irrigation.

---

Harvesting Notes:

When to Harvest

• Baby leaves: 3 – 4 weeks after germination, 10 cm tall.
• Mature leaves: 50 – 100 days, depending on season and variety.

How to Harvest

• Pick outer leaves individually for cut-and-come-again regrowth or cut whole plants 2 cm above soil. 
• Harvest in the cool of morning for best crunch.

Storage & Use

• Unwashed leaves store up to a week in the fridge crisper inside a perforated bag.
• Blanch 2 minutes then freeze for winter quiches, curries or spanakopita.
• For salads, plunge just-picked leaves into cold water, spin dry and dress immediately.

Grow your own spinach for a year-round hit of iron-rich greens – whether it’s cool-weather English leaves or arrow-leaf bunches that shrug off the Aussie sun, there’s a spinach to suit every patch and plate.