Did you ever buy a large bunch of spinach from the grocery store but couldn’t eat it all before it went bad? Trying growing it! While most folks recommend sowing spinach seeds outdoors, you can grow them indoors. Spinach is a great candidate for hydroponics too!
Outdoor Sowing Tips:
In order to germinate, spinach seeds prefer cool soil temperatures between 50℉ and 60℉. You can go a little lower or higher than this range. Typically, this means sowing early to mid spring and late summer around Pittsburgh, PA.
Spinach seeds should be planted 1/2″ deep.
The distance for full grown spinach typically varies between 4″ and 6″. As for square foot gardening, you should put 4 or 9 plants per square foot depending on the variety. For baby spinach greens, plant the seeds close together.
Indoor Sowing Tips:
Sow the seeds in seed trays under grow lights.
I usually transplant the spinach seedlings to a 4 inch pot in the grow room once it has two sets of true leaves and transplant the seedling outside once there are a few more leaves.
I usually start my spinach seeds indoors around 6 to 8 weeks before I transplant them. Don’t forget to harden off the seedlings before transplanting outside.
Use the spacing noted above for transplanting outdoors.
Growing Tips:
Keep the seedlings and plants moist but not soggy! I use a drip system.
Depending on your soil, you may need to give your spinach a little boost of nitrogen.
Since slugs may attack spinach in the spring, I use Sluggo Plus to get rid of them.
In the heat, provide some shade. As for shade, you can plant spinach under taller plants or use a shade cloth over a hoop tunnel.
I am always ready for crazy temperature swings in the spring and fall which means I have my garden fabric and hoop tunnels ready to go before I plant.
Spinach is a cold tolerant veggie that enjoys the spring and fall weather and prefers outside temperatures below 70℉.
Also, spinach is great for succession planting and interplanting.
Spinach is belongs to the Amaranth Plant Family and belongs in the Greens veggie category.
