Spinach
Where can you grow spinach?
Spinach doesn’t like it too hot and is therefore not very suitable for indoor growing. However, you can grow it in hydroponics to harvest the tender leaves during winter. There is little need to pre-cultivate spinach, as it is so fast-growing. Spinach is a good intermediate crop, so you can grow it between rows of slower-growing plants.
Spinach can be grown outdoors, in a pallet collar or in other containers. However, we would not recommend growing spinach on a balcony that is too sunny and warm, as there is a risk that it will grow poorly and flower too quickly.
Spinach needs rich, well-drained soil. Preferably nutrient-rich, but beware of fertilisers that contain a lot of nitrogen, as this is converted to nitrite in the spinach, which can be toxic in excessive amounts.
Sowing spinach
Start in early spring, preferably in early April or even earlier if the soil is settling. Water first and then sow 2 cm deep, with 10-20 cm plant spacing and 40 cm row spacing. You can cover with fibre cloth. Water continuously to keep the seed moist.
You can also sow spinach broadly, i.e. spread the seeds over the area you want it to grow. Then the thinning also turns into an early harvest. You can sow in batches during the spring to have a steady supply of spinach during the summer. But don’t sow in high summer, when it’s too hot and sunny for spinach to thrive.
You can then sow again in August and September to get a late autumn harvest. Spinach tolerates cold well and is therefore ideal for sowing after you have harvested other vegetables and have space left over in the land or pallet collars.
Harvesting and eating spinach
Spinach can often be harvested as early as the beginning of May. Even earlier if you live in the far south or have access to some kind of hotbed or greenhouse. The early harvest of tender leaves, or baby spinach as it is known in the trade, is great to eat as it is. Use in salads, or fry quickly with butter. We usually use the early summer harvest as a starter, and then fill the freezer with autumn spinach.
If you sowed a second time in autumn, you can let the spinach grow properly before harvesting. It’s very nice to have access to fresh spinach when most other crops have been harvested long ago. As winter approaches, you can then harvest all of the spinach to pre-process and freeze it. This way, you can use your home-grown spinach even during the dark months. Spinach soup is a really tasty vitamin bomb that is also quick and easy to make.
Author: Johanna Damm
Fact-checked by Erik Hoekstra
Last updated 2022-10-14