GardenAnnual Leafy Green · 43 varieties
Spinach
Spinacia oleracea
Amaranthaceae — the same plant family as beet, swiss chard, amaranth, orach and 2 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is an annual leafy green. It wants full sun and pH 6–7 soil, with about 1–2 in of water weekly. It matures in about 28–55 days from sowing. Watch for aphids and downy mildew. Below: its full sourced profile from 7 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is direct sown. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6–7
- Soil texture
- Sandy loam, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Very hardy
- Suffers in days above
- 75 °F
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it, the temperature that would kill it and a warm-night limit. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 6–12 in
- Mature spread
- 6–12 in
- Growth rate
- Fastest
- Spacing in row
- 2–4 in
- Between rows
- 12–18 in
- Planting depth
- 0.25–0.5 in
- Container size
- 1–3 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is better
- Support
- Self-supportingest
- Grown from
- Direct sow
- Sow again for a fall crop
- 36–68 days before your first frost
There is no line here for the point in its life when water matters most, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Water per week
- 1–2 in/wk
- Feeding
- Heavy
Timing & fruiting
- Days to maturity
- 28–55 days from seed
- Harvest cues
- Rapid leaf growthest
Planted again for autumn
- South Carolina — Piedmont
- Aug 1 – Sep 30
- South Carolina — Coastal Plain
- Aug 15 – Oct 15
Published by the extension service for its own regions, and quoted here for those regions only — converting them would mean assuming a frost date somewhere else. The chart says when, not whether to sow seed or set out plants, so we do not either. Only South Carolina so far.
- Sow by
- late Sep typical · zone 6b
28 days to maturity from sowing, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.
Edible parts per source: leaf.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
Different parts differ — the edible part is the leaf; the notes below flag other parts or preparations.
PeopleLow severity, Oxalic acid
Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).
Open one and add it to your garden — it lights up here. The rest of the 43 are in the full list below.
| Variety | Type | Days | Color | Disease | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amador F1 | Smooth Flat | 28–55 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| America Heirloom | Savoy | 50 | Green | Sow True Seed describes this asslow to run to seed in heat · takes the heat | |
| Banjo | 45 | DOWNY_MILDEW | |||
| Beaujolais | Smooth Flat | 30 | Bicolor | ||
| Bloomsdale Long Standing Heirloom | Savoy | 46 | Green | Sow True Seed describes this asslow to run to seed in heat · takes the cold | |
| Butterflay Heirloom | 40 | Green | |||
| Carmel F1 | Semi Savoy | 40 | Green | DOWNY_MILDEW | |
| Corvair F1 | Smooth Flat | 27 | Green | San Diego Seed Company describes this asslow to run to seed in heat | |
| Countryside F1 | Smooth Flat | 28–55 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Diamondback F1 | Savoy | 28–55 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Equinox | Savoy | 29 | |||
| Flamingo Improved F1 | Smooth Flat | 27 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Gerenuk F1 | Semi Savoy | 27 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Giant Noble Heirloom | Smooth Flat | 46 | Green | Urban Farmer describes this asslow to run to seed in heat | |
| Giant Winter Heirloom | Semi Savoy | 45 | Fedco Seeds describes this astakes the cold | ||
| Hammerhead F1 | Savoy | 27 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Income F1 | Smooth Flat | 27 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Kiowa | Semi Savoy | 47 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Kolibri F1 | Semi Savoy | 29 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Lizard F1 | Smooth Flat | 28 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Mandolin F1 | Savoy | 28–55 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Matador Heirloom | Smooth Flat | 43 | High Mowing Organic Seeds describes this astakes the cold | ||
| Monstrueux de Viroflay Heirloom | Smooth Flat | 40–50 | Green | John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds describes this asslow to run to seed in heat | |
| Oceanside F1 | Smooth Flat | 45 | DOWNY_MILDEW | Fedco Seeds describes this asslow to run to seed in heat | |
| Olympia F1 | Smooth Flat | 38 | |||
| Opal F1 | Semi Savoy | 47 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Palco F1 | Smooth Flat | 38 | DOWNY_MILDEW | Territorial Seed Company describes this asslow to run to seed in heat | |
| Pawnie F1 | Savoy | 47 | Green | ||
| Rangitoto F1 | Semi Savoy | 27 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Red Kitten F1 | Smooth Flat | 34 | Bicolor | DOWNY_MILDEW | William Dam Seeds describes this asslow to run to seed in heat |
| Red Tabby F1 | Smooth Flat | 31 | Bicolor | DOWNY_MILDEW | |
| Reflect F1 | Semi Savoy | 38 | Green | DOWNY_MILDEW | |
| Regiment F1 | Semi Savoy | 37 | Green | DOWNY_MILDEW | High Mowing Organic Seeds describes this asslow to run to seed in heat |
| Renegade F1 | Smooth Flat | 43 | DOWNY_MILDEW CUCUMBER_MOSAIC_VIRUS | High Mowing Organic Seeds describes this asslow to run to seed in heat | |
| Seaside F1 | Smooth Flat | 30 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Sioux F1 | Semi Savoy | 28–55 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Space F1 | Smooth Flat | 37 | Green | DOWNY_MILDEW | |
| Sunangel F1 | Semi Savoy | 27 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Tarsier F1 | Semi Savoy | 27 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Tragopan F1 | Smooth Flat | 24 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Tundra F1 | Semi Savoy | 27 | DOWNY_MILDEW | ||
| Tyee F1 | Semi Savoy | 37–45 | DOWNY_MILDEW | Seed Kingdom describes this asslow to run to seed in heat · takes the heat | |
| Winter Bloomsdale Heirloom | Savoy | 47 | Fedco Seeds describes this astakes the cold |
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center
- NC State Extension
- University of Maryland Extension
- University of Minnesota Extension
- Utah State University Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 17 of the 20 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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