How to Grow Spinach From the Seed of Spinach Plants

Spinach is a nutrient-rich leafy green vegetable crop.

Spinach should be one of the first vegetables planted in the spring. This cool-climate leafy green grows best in the spring and early summer. By the time the weather heats up, any unharvested spinach plants go to seed. Leave a few spinach plants in the garden and collect the seeds. Collecting and saving seeds will save you a few dollars on seeds next planting season.

Things You'll Need

• Garden scissors
• Paper bag
• Garden fork
• Compost or manure
• Knife

Instructions

1. Leave the flower heads on the spinach plants until they dry and form seeds. Once the seed heads are dry, cut them from the spinach plant and shake the seeds into a paper bag. Store the spinach seeds in a cool, dark place until planting time.

2. Prepare the soil in the garden bed by removing all the weeds and weed roots and taking out sticks, stones and other debris. Spread a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost or seasoned manure over the spinach planting bed and work it into the top 8 inches of the soil with a garden fork.

3. Make a groove in the soil 1/2 inch deep. Place the seeds 1 inch apart in the groove and cover the seeds with 1/2 inch of soil. Space multiple rows of spinach 12 inches apart. Plant spinach in the spring as soon as the bed is prepared. Spinach will germinate as long as the soil is 35 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or above.

4. Water the soil over the spinach seeds immediately after sowing the seeds and then keep the soil damp during the germination process and the growing process.

5. Thin the spinach seedlings to 2 inches apart when they are 1 to 2 inches tall. Remove weeds by hand as they appear. Additional fertilizer is not necessary when growing spinach as the initial application of compost or manure supplies the needed nutrients.

6. Harvest the spinach at any point when the plant has at least five or six stalks and leaves. Spinach is ready to harvest 35 to 45 days after sowing the seeds. Cut the spinach plant at the soil line using a sharp knife.

Tips & Warnings

• The thinned seedlings make a delicate addition to spring salads or stir fries.

• Plant the first batch of seeds as soon as the soil is ready. Plant a second batch two weeks later and a third batch two weeks after that. The staggered planting makes for continued harvest through the spring and into early summer.

• Plant another batch of spinach in late summer. The seeds will germinate in early fall and be ready to harvest before the first hard frosts.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: Spinach
• North Carolina State University Extension; Spinach; Douglas C. Sanders