Whether you garden in the ground, in raised beds, on the windowsill, or anywhere else, spinach is a great addition or re-addition to your plant family. Read on for simple, straightforward specifics about growing spinach.
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Family | Container Size | Good Companions | Bad Companions | Soil Conditions | Germination | Sun | Water | Temperature Range | Height | Lifespan | Reproduction | Yield Per Plant | Ingestibility | Further Reading
What Family Does Spinach Belong To?
Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) belongs to the Amaranthaceae family, also known as the amaranth family.
Some of its relatives include amaranth, quinoa, and beets.
What Size Container Should I Use for Growing Spinach?
The minimum container depth recommended for spinach is 6 inches.
Learn more about this in our Choosing the Right Planter for Your Container Garden article here.
What Are Good Companion Plants for Spinach?
Some of spinach's best companions are as follows:
- Lettuce
- Broccoli, cauliflower, and other Brassicas
- Banana
- Eggplant
- Leek
- Pea
- Beans such as green beans
- Radish
- Strawberry
What Are Bad Companion Plants for Spinach?
Although spinach thrives near most plants, it is not compatible with everything. Some things to avoid planting with spinach are as follows:
Quinoa and amaranth are specifically mentioned because fellow Amaranthaceae family members like these can cross-pollinate with each other, which can cause both plants involved to produce seeds that are not true to the parent plant.
This cross-pollination can affect the taste and texture of the seeds. Seeds are the "grains" from quinoa and amaranth that we eat, so it is a particular concern for those plants.
However, if you are saving seeds from your spinach plants, it is best to avoid planting them near any fellow members of the Amaranthaceae family, including chard, beets, and others as well, not only the traditionally "seedy" ones like quinoa. Seeds that are not true to the parent plant like this are often sterile or, at least, unlikely to produce another true spinach plant.
If you are not saving your spinach seeds, it is generally fine to plant your spinach near chard, beets, and other Amaranthaceae family members where you will eat other parts of the plant but not the seeds.
Although members of the same plant family do consume similar nutrients, Amaranthaceae family plants are not heavy feeders. So they should not harm each other's growth or deplete the soil excessively, especially if proper crop rotation is followed afterward.
What Soil Conditions Does Spinach Need?
Spinach prefers rich, well-draining soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.
How Long Does Spinach Take to Germinate?
Spinach takes 5-10 days to germinate at a temperature of 70-75°F.
It can also germinate at a temperature of 40-70°F, but it will take much longer -- up to 3 weeks.
How Much Sun Does Spinach Need?
Spinach can grow in full sun to part shade.
In other words, it grows fastest in full sun. It will still grow in dappled shade or part shade, just at a slower rate.
Because it takes longer to grow, spinach grown in shade is more susceptible to pests and disease.
Sun recommendations can vary by region, and spinaches grown in hot areas or in warmer conditions than the ideal temperature range noted below may need more shade.
How Much Water Does Spinach Need?
Spinach needs 1 inch of water per week in cool weather and 1.5 inches of water per week in hot weather.
Because spinach has shallow roots, it is best to do shallow watering sessions more frequently, as opposed to deeper, less frequent sessions.
What Is the Ideal Temperature Range for Growing Spinach?
Spinach grows fastest in temperatures of 50-60°F.
This is its ideal temperature range. Although it will grow in temperatures both cooler and warmer than this range, the growth could be slower or even stunted.
Many spinach varieties are hardy to 20°F. But again, they will grow more slowly in cold weather than if they were in their ideal range.
Minimum and maximum temperatures will vary by variety. Some spinach varieties are bred for earlier harvests and others for warmer climates.
How Tall Does Spinach Get?
The average height of spinach is 1-2 feet.
Is Spinach Annual, Biennial, or Perennial?
Spinach is an annual vegetable, meaning that it starts and ends its life in the same year.
Some sources cite perpetual spinach as an exception to this, as it is biennial. However, the plant's name is a misnomer; it is actually a type of chard, not spinach.
How Does Spinach Reproduce?
Spinach reproduces by seed.
How Much Spinach is Produced Per Plant?
For spinach, how much is produced per plant (also called the yield) largely depends on the variety.
Most spinaches have an average yield of 0.5 pound per plant.
Can Spinach Be Ingested?
Spinach leaves are edible.
Although highly nutritious, spinach does not have any known uses in herbal preparations.
Spinach leaves contain oxalic acid. Those who are sensitive to oxalates and oxalic acid may want to avoid or limit their intake of spinach leaves. Oxalates are reduced by cooking and other heating methods.
There are no other known safety concerns associated with ingesting spinach leaves.
Further Reading
This article is intended as a quick-reference guide for gardeners. Consult your seed packet or seed catalog for variety-specific information.
When you have a bumper crop of spinach rolling in, you may not have enough time for long, complicated recipes or many-step preservation procedures. Check out my article on quick, simple uses for spinach here!
Spinach is featured in these Plant to Plate articles:
- Simple Uses for Spinach
- Choosing the Right Planter for Your Container Garden
- Gardening in Full Sun
- Gardening in Dappled Shade
- Gardening in Part Shade