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🔍 Click to enlargevegetableannual💧 Hydroponic-Compatible
Spinach
Spinacia oleracea
Fast-growing leafy green packed with iron and vitamins. Bolts in summer heat.
Quick Facts
Sun:⛅ Partial Shade, ☀️ Full Sun
Water:💧💧 Moderate
USDA Zones:Zones 3–11
Space:🪴 Container, 🌱 Small Bed, 🏡 Large Garden
Soil:Loam, Silty
Best Season(s):Spring, Fall, Winter
Experience Level:🌱 Beginner
Native Range:Central & Western Asia
Bloom Color:Inconspicuous green flowers if bolted (grown for leaves)
Bloom Cycle:Bolts quickly in heat — a sign the crop is finishing
Days to Harvest:20–40 days
Harvest Pattern:Continuous / cut-and-come-again
Care Notes
Keep soil cool and moist. Plant in early spring or fall. Harvest before it bolts.
💧 Hydroponic Notes
Exceptional in Kratky or NFT systems. Grows year-round indoors. Prefers cooler temperatures (50–70°F). Ready to harvest in just 3–4 weeks.
Growing Details
Mature Size:6-10 in tall, 6-8 in wide
Growth Rate:🐇 Fast
Zone Performance
In Zones 3-6, spinach thrives in the cool of early spring and again in fall, and mature plants can often survive under snow cover, resuming growth the moment temperatures rise. In Zones 8-11, it performs best as a fall-through-early-spring crop entirely, since it bolts almost immediately once day length and temperature increase in late spring.
Companions & Wildlife
🦌 Deer Resistance
frequently damaged
Soft, tender leaves make spinach highly palatable, and it is often one of the first crops browsed when deer enter a vegetable garden.
🐝 Pollinator Value
none
Spinach is wind-pollinated, not insect-pollinated, and is almost always harvested well before any flowering would occur.
Good Companions
Radish — Fast-growing radish is a compatible, non-competing filler crop between slower-growing spinach.
Troubleshooting
⚠️ Bolting to seed stalk quickly
Plant heat- and bolt-tolerant varieties for late plantings, and harvest promptly once daylength and temperatures start climbing in spring.
⚠️ Leafminers tunneling pale trails inside leaves
Remove and destroy affected leaves immediately, and cover new plantings with row cover to block egg-laying adult flies.
⚠️ Downy mildew causing yellow patches with fuzzy gray growth underneath
Improve airflow with wider spacing, water at the soil line, and choose resistant varieties in humid climates.
⚠️ Slow or poor germination in warm soil
Spinach seed germinates poorly above about 75°F — sow in cool soil or pre-chill seed briefly in the refrigerator before planting warm-season successions.
✅ Pet Safety
Non-toxic in normal amounts; contains oxalates like many greens, so very large amounts aren't ideal for pets with kidney issues.
Informational only — always check with a veterinarian if you suspect your pet has eaten something it shouldn't have.