How to Grow Spinach From Seed to Harvest

hello everybody it is the beginning of March and am getting ready to sew spinach in my Ohio Garden today's video will be basic tutorial on how to grow one of The Season's most popular greens spinach from seed to harvest so let's jump in spinach is an extremely cold hearty crop which will grow well in the spring and fall in most regions as well as through the winter and climates with mild Winters spinach can be direct sewn as soon as the soil has warmed to 40° in the spring or about 8 to 10 weeks before your last spring frost date depending on your growing location spinach can be sewn even earlier by using Cold Frame spinach can also be sewn for full crop it typically works best to plant seed in August or September as the day length begins to decrease in late summer the optimal soil temperature for germination is 45 to 68° but spinach seed can germinate at soil temperature as low as 35 spinach seed germination will drop off drastically in warmer soils those that are above 75° to direct sew spinach plant seed approximately half an inch deep and 1 in apart in rows 8 to 12 in apart spinach can also be broadcast Zone in patches and thinn be sure to keep your soil consistently moist until the seed has germinated when your seedlings have two to four true leaves thin them to approximately 2 to 6 in apart as spacing which is too close can cause premature bolting it's not necessary to thin if you're growing for baby leaf spinach to thin snip seedlings off at soil level to avoid root disruption of surrounding seedlings now note here on spacing you may notice that most growing guides and Seed packets recommend similar type spacing for all vegetables in that they recommend that you sew the seed pretty TI tight and then thin to proper spacing if you're the Frugal type or just short on seed this can seem like an annoying waste of seed this type of spacing is typically given to ensure good stand to compensate for less than optimal germination or any seedling loss if it feels wasteful to you which totally understand we've got couple of options the first is to just wait bit longer to thin the seedlings instead of thinning at 1 to 2 in tall just wait till your spinach is around 4 in tall that way it can be harvested and used as baby greens which are fantastic in salads second option is to Simply sew at The Wider spacing to begin with and then if you end up with any blank spots where seeds didn't germinate go back in and REO doing this gives you nice kind of succession planting by default because you'll end up with slightly staggered Harvest and our third option is to plant transplant plants or pre- germinate the seed this ensures that we have viable seed or seedling in each planting spot so if you'd like to opt for transplanting spinach early seasoned spinach can be started from seed indoors about 4 weeks before your desired transplant date to start spinach indoors sew your seed a/4 to half an inch deep in seed starting medium and lightly cover the seeds moisten your medium and keep evenly moist as seedlings are growing seed should germinate in about 7 to 10 days at temperatures of around 60° you can begin fertilizing with plant food formulated for seedlings once they are about an inch tall seedlings can be transplanted in about 4 weeks or after they have two to four sets of true leaves you'll want to harden off your seedlings before transplanting hardening off is process of slowly acclimating tender seedlings to outdoor conditions bring your seedling Flats outdoors and and place them in protected spot gradually increasing the time seedling spend Outdoors over the course of several days to week when you're ready to transplant seedlings space them at about 4 to 6 in apart again if you're growing for baby leaf spinach you can space them more closely remember that properly acclimated spinach seedlings will tolerate temperature dips as low as 15 to 20° Fahrenheit but the optimal growing temperature for spinach is 50 to 65° temperatures consistently above 70 to 80 will cause spinach to become bitter and bolt spinach is also daylength sensitive and will typically begin bolting when day length reaches over 12 hours regardless of temperatures spinach grows best in cool loose fertile soil that is high in organic matter and has good drainage it is happiest growing in soil with pH of 6.5 to 7.5 spinach is sensitive to acidic soil and grows poorly at pH below six it is important to maintain consistent soil moisture as plants grow highly recommend mulching the soil around plants to help retain moisture and keep the soil cool spinach will grow in full sun to partial shade plants will benefit from being covered with shade cloth when temperatures reach 70° or higher if possible find that it's optimal when spinach gets full sun exposure early in the season and then receive some shade especially from the afternoon sun as it near maturity spinach is moderate feeder and may benefit from the application of either balanced fertilizer or fertilizer which is slightly higher in nitrogen however be careful not to over fertilize with nitrogen and only use supplemental fertilizer if leaves look pale instead of being rich deep green spinach can be fertilized at the time of transplant or after seedlings have emerged and are several inches tall spinach is shallow rooted and requires consistent moisture to prevent bolting aim for 1 to 1 and 1 12 Ines of water per week Harvest time will depend on the variety of spinach you've planted but average maturity is 40 to 55 days to harvest cut the entire plant off at ground level or harvest the largest leaves from the outside of the plants allowing the center of the plant to keep growing for an extended harvest spinach can be harvested at baby Leaf stage or left to grow to full size so that covers the basics of growing spinach from seed to harvest in the next video I'll share some tips for troubleshooting common spinach problems as well as some advice for growing spinach in the Midwest and similar areas so be sure to subscribe to my Channel growfully with Jenna so you don't miss it thanks for watching and I'll see you next time