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How to grow spinach indoors from seed


How To Grow Spinach Indoors

Spinach is a healthy and tasty vegetable and contains many nutrients that can help treat various diseases and health conditions, such as improving cognitive functions and fatigue. 

It will also increase your choice of leafy greens in the winter months. You can use and prepare it in different ways; young fresh leaves are mostly used for salads, the older and bigger leaves are usually cooked, and the excess leaves can be blanched and frozen, and saved for later. 

And the best part is you don’t need a garden to grow this healthy vegetable. Growing spinach indoors is easy; all you need is a window ledge or balcony. 

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Can You Grow Spinach Indoors Year-Round? 

The best part about growing spinach indoors is that you can grow it all year round, and not only that, spinach plants grow indoors very well.  

All you will need is water, potting soil/potting mix, and seeds. Also, containers, or a small pot or two that are at least 6–12-inches deep. 

Since growing spinach indoors in pots doesn’t need much care, you can grow spinach indoors with little to no experience in gardening and enjoy its health benefits. You just have to provide the right soil or potting mix and fertilizer; also, make sure your spinach plants receive regular water. 

Here are the steps for growing spinach indoors:

Different Types of Spinach That You Can Grow Indoors

First, you should know the three types of spinach plants; you can choose depending on your taste.

When choosing between different varieties of spinach you want to grow indoors, you have to consider how much sunlight you can provide and in what type of climate you live in. 

For a tropical climate, it’s best to choose varieties that perform well in hot and humid weather, such as Catalina, Indian Summer, Bloomsdale longstanding, and Malabar. 

For a more cold climate, it’s better to choose varieties that perform well in cold and winter tolerant types of spinach. These include Winter Bloomsdale and Tyee.

Growing Spinach in Pots

Choose a pot that’s about 6 to 10 inches deep, you don’t need very deep pots, but you’ll need wide pots to give enough room for the spinach plants to continue to grow and spread. 

You should sow spinach seeds about half an inch deep. Spinach seeds will germinate in around 7–14 days. Remember to keep the soil moist and cool during germination; the recommended temperature during germination is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The key to fast-growing spinach is soil rich in organic matter with compost or fertilizer added to aid water retention. 

Seeds and Planting

If you’re planting spinach for the first time, it’s best to use seeds of different varieties. A week before planting, soak the spinach seeds in warm water for one day. This will increase the chance of seed germination. When you remove them from the water, gently dry them with a paper towel. 

After soaking the seeds in the water, place them in an airtight container and make sure they’re kept in a cool place for a week. This will retain enough moisture for the seeds to complete the first two stages of germination. When your spinach seeds are ready to plant, scatter the seeds around the pot and cover them with half an inch of soil. 

Growing Spinach Seedlings

You’ll need a seed tray or container with cells and universal soil to grow seedlings. Place a seed in each of the cells, at a depth of about half an inch into the soil. Moisten the soil and cover the crops with a film. Keep at the temperature from 65 degrees Fahrenheit to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. After 10 days, remove the film. When you see that your seeds are growing nicely and need additional space, transplant them into pots.

Spacing

You should provide enough space for spinach to grow. If you want to harvest young spinach leaves, then 3 inches will be enough. If you want to pick larger leaves, then give the plants more space, at least 5 to 6 inches.

Soil

When you’re growing spinach in pots or containers, use a loamy soil rich in organic matter. The soil pH should be neutral, and you should avoid soil that clogs the drainage holes; well-draining soil is the best choice to grow spinach indoors. 

Temperature and Light

Spinach is a cool-season crop, so optimal growing conditions should be between 50 degrees Fahrenheit to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Mature plants can even tolerate lower temperatures, down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit, but young spinach will bolt when exposed to temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Generally, the best temperature for growth is from 60 degrees Fahrenheit to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you grow spinach on a window sill or balcony, you should expose the plant to direct sunlight for at least 4 to 6 hours per day, depending on the spinach type. Although direct sunlight is best for growing spinach, it will also grow in partial shade. 

If you’re growing spinach indoors without access to sunlight, then LED lights are the best choice. In the early stages, seedlings will require between 14 and 15 hours of light per day, and between 8 and 10 hours of light is recommended for adult spinach plants. 

Watering and Care

Water spinach regularly and avoid exposing it to extreme heat. Try not to wet the foliage and keep the soil moist and not too soggy. Pots with drainage holes are vital for preventing this problem.

Growing spinach indoors doesn’t require any special care; all you need to do is water it regularly and, of course, don’t forget to fertilize to make the spinach grow faster. 

Fertilizing and Mulching

Nitrogen-based fertilizers are best for growing spinach. You can also use a balanced liquid fertilizer or even manure. Fish emulsion, manure tea, or compost will also provide your plant with the needed nutrients and promote growth. Keep in mind that you should apply fertilizers when the spinach has sprouted and not after it’s almost fully grown.

You should also mulch even if you grow spinach in pots; it will help retain moisture and improve the fertility of the soil. But be careful as over mulching can bury and suffocate the plant. 

Pests and Diseases

Since you’ll be growing spinach indoors, you don’t need to worry too much about pests. Still, keep an eye on leaf-eating insects such as Aphids and Leaf miners. 

You can avoid this problem by planting basilic, chamomile, or dill beside your spinach or in between spinach. These are known to keep pests away and manage the problem organically with no need for chemical sprays. 

Harvesting

Spinach leaves are ready for harvest when the plant has grown at least 5 or 6 leaves, and they’re 3 to 4 inches long. 

You can harvest small spinach leaves simply by cutting them with scissors at the stem. It’s best to start harvesting the outer, older leaves and working your way into the center of the plant. Leave the new inner leaves so they can continue to grow, and you can harvest them later. 

If the temperature is too humid or hot, you’ll see small yellow or green flowers developing on the plant pretty fast, so it’s important to keep cool growing conditions.

The flowering and bolting of the plant thicken the foliage, and the taste of spinach becomes more bitter. So for a better taste, it’s best to harvest the spinach before it starts flowering. 

Usage and Storage of Spinach

Spinach grows very quickly, so you’ll have to cut it regularly to keep it fresh. Newly harvested spinach juice is very refreshing, and young leaves can also be used for salads. If you cannot use it immediately, it can be blanched and frozen.

For older and larger spinach leaves, remove the stalks as they contain harmful and toxic substances. This is especially important if you feed small children spinach, as they can be more sensitive to poisoning.

Since spinach is rich in nitrates, reheating will make it toxic as it releases lutein, which poses a risk of poisoning. Don’t store the spinach for the next meal and don’t reheat it; it’s best to throw the leftovers away or eat them cold. 

5 Health Benefits of Spinach

  1. Spinach contains more than 15 different vitamins and minerals that are crucial for your health.
  2. It’s a rich source of antioxidants.
  3. It strengthens the immune system and helps with constipation.
  4. There’s more potassium in spinach than in bananas, and it’s a great source of vitamin A, so it’s good for eye health.
  5.  It also contains a lot of calcium and magnesium, which reduces the risk of developing diabetes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Does Spinach Take to Grow Indoors?

Spinach is a fast-growing plant. The time of growth varies depending on the type of spinach, but usually, it takes 6–8 weeks after you plant spinach to harvest.

Will Spinach Regrow After Cutting?

The answer is yes; you can cut the plant with scissors or a knife at the base of the leaf, and spinach will sprout again. As long as the growth point is not damaged and you keep the temperature cool enough, it will most likely regrow again for two or more harvests.

What Grows Well With Spinach?

If you’re thinking of expanding your small indoor garden, it’s good to know which vegetables you can and can’t plant next to your spinach. It will grow well together with lettuce, peas, and radish. But avoid planting it with potatoes or brassicas.

What if You Live in a Tropic Climate?

Spinach is a cool-season crop and tends to bolt in warmer climates, but growing it in tropical climates isn’t as hard as you might think. As mentioned above, you can grow a variety that does well in hot and humid climates. These include Catalina, Indian Summer, and Malabar.

You’ll need to provide shade and a cool temperature for indoors growing. In this case, it’s better if you grow spinach indoors, away from the window, and not on the balcony. You’ll also need to water more often to keep the soil moist and cool.  

Can You Eat Spinach That Has Bolted?

Bolting is a process that cannot be avoided with leafy greens such as cabbage, lettuce, and spinach. Once it starts to bolt, the leaves become tasteless or bitter, so they are no longer edible. 

You can try and pinch off the flower buds once it starts bolting, but this will only stop the process for a short time. All you can do is let the flowering process reach its end and then collect the seeds for next season’s harvest.

Final Words

Growing spinach indoors is very simple, and you don’t need to be an experienced gardener to grow spinach at home. It’s a fast-growing plant that can be used for several different kinds of food and preparation. You can steam and saute the leafy greens or make a salad or healthy juice from young leaves. 

It’s also rich in vitamin C and E; contains vitamin A, B1, B2, and B6, and many minerals such as magnesium, sodium, and calcium. It strengthens the immune system, eliminates constipation, speeds up carbohydrate metabolism, cares for your beautiful skin, hair, and nails, and has many more health benefits.

So if you live in an apartment and don’t have an outdoor garden, you can easily grow spinach inside. It’s beginner-friendly, and doesn’t need much additional care.

Once you discover the joys of gardening and preparing food with your homegrown spinach, you might want to “branch out” and expand your indoor home garden.

Growing Spinach From Seed - The Complete How To Planting Guide

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Growing spinach from seed can be challenging for beginners, but it’s actually super easy! The key is knowing how and when to do it. So, in this post I will show you everything you need to know about how to grow spinach seeds, step by step.

Spinach is a fast, low maintenance vegetable that is actually very easy to grow from seed. But timing is everything!

The biggest mistake newbies make is sowing the seeds too late, only to watch the plants bolt right away. Another common mistake is using the wrong method for starting spinach seeds.

Don’t worry, I will break it all down, and make it simple for you! In this detailed guide, I’m going to cover everything from the best planting method, to when to start, and give you detailed sowing instructions.

 

I’ll also talk about germination time, seedling identification and care, fixing common problems, answer your FAQs, and much more! In the end, you’ll know everything about successfully growing spinach from seed.

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Growing Spinach From Seed

If you have ever tried starting spinach from seed, then you probably know first hand just how tricky it can be.

But don’t worry, once you learn the secrets for success, you’ll have a garden full of these yummy greens!

The best part is that these instructions work no matter what type of spinach seeds you want to grow. Woohoo!

Types Of Spinach Seeds To Grow

You may be surprised to learn that there are several varieties of spinach seeds that you could grow.

Some have slightly different flavors and textures, while others are slow bolting, or have larger leaves.

A few of my personal favorite varieties are Bloomsdale (bolt-resistant), Monstrueux Viroflay (large leaves), Lavewa (heat tolerant), Butterflay (large leaves), and Matador (slow to bolt).

Spinach seeds in my hand

Recommended Method For Sowing Spinach Seeds

Spinach doesn’t like to be transplanted, and doing so can trigger it to bolt prematurely. So, it’s best to direct sow the seeds, rather than starting them indoors or winter sowing them.

In fact, I don’t even recommend trying to start them indoors – it’s a recipe for failure.

It’s actually really nice, because that means you don’t have to worry about buying any equipment or caring for the seedlings!

Related Post: 3 Seed Starting Methods That Every Gardener Should Try

Planting Spinach Seeds

It’s very important to plant spinach seeds using the best method, and at the right time. In this section, I’ll talk about how to get it right every time.

When To Plant Spinach Seeds

Like I mentioned above, growing spinach from seed is all about timing. The key to success is planting it during the cooler months of the year.

If you plant them too late, the seeds may not germinate because it’s too warm. And even if they do end up germinating, the heat will trigger the plants to bolt right away.

Since it prefers the cold, plant spinach seeds directly into the garden 4-6 weeks before your average last frost date, or as soon as your soil is workable in early spring.

You could also plant the seeds in late summer for a fall harvest, since it’s such a fast crop. It is cold hardy, so it won’t be killed off by spring or fall frosts.

If you live in a warmer climate with mild winters, sow the seeds once the weather cools down in the fall, and enjoy it through the winter.

You can stagger your harvests by sowing the seeds intermittently throughout the spring and/or fall, so the plants mature at different times.

Preparing Spinach Seeds For Planting

There’s nothing fancy you need to do before planting spinach seeds, no soaking nicking, or cold stratification is necessary.

If you want to try it, soaking spinach seeds before planting can help to speed up germination time.

But, since you’ll be sowing them directly into your garden, pre-soaking is not necessary.

Related Post: How To Grow Seeds: The Ultimate Seed Starting Guide

Spinach Germination Time

When planted in the right soil, spinach seeds germinate very quickly. It only takes about 5-10 days for the seedlings to start emerging.

If the soil it too warm or too wet, it will inhibit germination. So, if your spinach seeds aren’t growing, then it could be too warm or soggy for them.

What Do Spinach Seedlings Look Like?

When they first pop out of the soil, baby spinach seedlings will have two long, narrow leaves. These are called the “seed leaves”. All of the ones that form after that are called “true leaves”.

The true leaves look like tiny spinach leaves, and it only takes a couple of days for those to start forming after the seed leaves unfurl.

Spinach seeds germinating

How To Care For Spinach Seedlings

Since it’s best to direct sow them, you don’t need to worry too much about caring for the seedlings. Woohoo!

But below are a few tips to get them off on the right foot, you can read my complete care guide here.

Water

One of the reasons it’s so low maintenance is that, since it’s usually cool and wet in the spring, I rarely need to worry about watering my spinach plants.

Spinach likes a lot of water, but it doesn’t like wet or saturated soil. Make sure to sow the seeds in a spot in your garden that has fast draining soil, and never allow it to dry out completely.

Fertilizer

I like to top-dress my soil with a granular fertilizer before I plant the seeds to give them the extra nutrients they need.

As soon as spinach seedlings begin growing their first true leaves, you can start using liquid fertilizer on them. You can buy compost tea concentrate, or get tea bags and brew your own from scratch.

Spinach seedlings also love being fed with fish emulsion or liquid kelp, which are two of my favorites to use in my garden.

Baby spinach seedling

Thinning Spinach Seedlings

If you planted more than one seed per hole, or sowed them too close together, then you’ll need to thin the seedlings.

Once they get to be about 2″ tall with a few true leaves, thin them out so they are about 4-6″ apart. Simply choose the healthiest one to keep, and then remove the rest.

Don’t pull them out though, or you could damage the shallow roots of the one you want to keep. Instead, cut them off at the base using a sharp pair of micro-tip snips or bonsai shears.

First true leaves on spinach plant seedling

How Long From Seed To Harvest

As I’ve already mentioned a few times, spinach if very fast. So it will be one of the first things you harvest from your garden in the spring.

It takes about 45 days to grow spinach from seed to harvest. Some of the leaves may be large enough to pick before then, which is great.

But make sure you don’t remove all of the leaves when you harvest. They need to have some of them in order to stay alive and keep producing.

Related Post: Freezing Spinach With Or Without Blanching

Mature spinach plants in the garden

Troubleshooting Common Problems

There’s nothing worse than taking the time to plant all those seeds, only to have problems that you don’t know how to fix.

So, below I will list a couple of the most common problems you may have when growing spinach seeds, and how to fix them…

Spinach Seeds Not Germinating

If your seeds never germinated, then it was either too wet, too warm, or the seeds were old, and no longer viable.

Always plant fresh spinach seeds in well draining, cool soil for best results.

Seedlings Aren’t Growing

If your seedlings aren’t growing any larger, it could be because it’s too shady, the soil is either too wet or dry, or the weather is too hot for them.

Keep the soil evenly moist, and try feeding them to see if that helps to trigger new growth. Otherwise, next time adjust your placement and/or planting schedule.

Spinach Seedlings Bolting

There are two things that trigger spinach seedlings to bolt right away. They were either transplanted, or the temperature is too hot.

To avoid this next time, never transplant the seedlings, and always either plant the seeds in very early spring, or in the fall for a winter crop.

FAQS About Growing Spinach Seeds

In this section, I will answer some of the most frequently asked questions about growing spinach from seed. If you have a question that you can’t find the answer to, ask it in the comments below.

How many spinach seeds per hole?

How many spinach seeds you plant per hole depends on their age. If they’re brand new, then you only need to plant one per hole. Otherwise, if they are old or have a low viability rate, then sow 2-3 seeds per hole.

How deep do you plant spinach seeds?

The general rule of thumb is to plant a seed twice as deep as it is wide. So, spinach seeds should be planted about 1/2″ deep.

What is the best temperature to grow spinach seeds?

The best temperature to grow spinach seeds is between 50-70°F. They germinate more successfully when the soil is cool.

How long does it take to grow spinach from seeds?

On average, it takes about 45 days to grow spinach seeds from planting to harvest time. Some varieties are faster than others, so check the packet for exact timing.

Do spinach seeds need light to germinate?

No, spinach seeds do not need light to germinate.

Should spinach seeds be soaked before planting?

Soaking spinach seeds before planting is optional. It can help to speed up germination, but it’s not necessary.

Why are my spinach seedlings dying?

The most common reasons why spinach seedlings die is improper watering (either too much or not enough), too much sun and heat, transplanting, or fertilizer burn.

They do best in cold weather and will start to die as soon as it gets hot, so plant them as early as possible.

They prefer the shade rather than full sun, and like evenly moist soil – never soggy or completely dried out.

Also, sow the seeds directly into the ground, because the seedlings do not transplant well.

How do you grow spinach seeds indoors?

I do not recommend growing spinach seeds indoors. Transplanting the seedlings will trigger them to bolt. Instead, you should direct sow them right into your garden.

Growing spinach from seed can be tricky if you’ve never tried it before. Just remember, timing is everything. The secret to success is planting spinach seeds as soon as you possibly can, before the weather starts to warm up in the spring.


If you want to learn more about growing your garden from seeds using any method you want, check out my online Seed Starting Course! It’s a comprehensive online course that you can take at your own pace (and from anywhere in the world!), with lifetime access, and step-by-step guidance! Sign up and get started today!

Or do you just need a refresher or quick-start guide to get going? Then my Starting Seeds Indoors eBook is just what you need!

More Posts About Growing Seeds

Share you tips for growing spinach from seed in the comments section below!

Steps For Planting Spinach Seeds

It’s easy to plant spinach seeds indoors or outside. Simply follow these step-by-step instructions.

Materials

Tools

Instructions

    1. Prepare the soil - Loosen up the soil, and remove any weeds, or large rocks and sticks. Amend poor soil with compost or worm castings, and then mix an organic granular fertilizer into it before sowing the seeds.
    2. Figure out the spacing - You can either space the seeds 2" apart, and then thin them later. Or space them 4-6" apart if you don't want to thin the seedlings.
    3. Plant the seeds - Spinach seeds should be planted 1/2" deep. If you're using fresh seeds, then you only need to plant one per hole. Otherwise, if they are old, then plant 2-3 per hole. You can either lay the seeds on top of the soil, and gently push them down, or make holes first and drop them in.
    4. Cover the seeds - Once you're done sowing the seeds, cover them with soil, and gently press it down. Don't pack it tight, but just enough so that the soil will come in contact with the seeds.
    5. Water - Use a low setting on your garden hose so you don't displace the seeds, then water the bed until the soil is evenly moist. Don't overdo it though, the soil should not be completely saturated or soggy.

How to plant and grow spinach on a windowsill

In winter and early spring, you especially want to please yourself with fresh herbs - lettuce, dill, spinach. Healthy crops contain vitamins, minerals, acids and oils, they improve the taste of any dish. You can plant delicious plants not only in the garden, but also at home. How to grow spinach at home?


Before planting spinach at home in a pot, you need to prepare a planting container and soil. nine0003

The culture pot will need to be low, but wide, since the root system of the plant is located near the surface. There must be drainage holes at the bottom of the container to drain excess moisture.

Spinach gives good, juicy greens only in fertile, loose, neutral soil. Heavy clays or poor sands are not suitable for him. You can make the soil mixture yourself by mixing garden soil with humus and a small amount of river sand, or use ready-made soil for vegetable seedlings. nine0003

Any soil requires preliminary disinfection in order to prevent the death of seedlings due to fungal diseases or pest larvae. The earth is calcined in the oven or frozen, abundantly watered with a fungicide solution.

Not every variety is suitable for growing spinach at home. It is better to give preference to early maturing varieties that are resistant to flowering - Matador, Giant, Krepysh, etc.

Selected seeds should first be disinfected in a fungicide solution to get rid of fungal spores located on the seed coat. A weak solution of potassium permanganate or any available fungicide will do. nine0003

After disinfection, the seed should be soaked. When sown with dry seeds, the germination of spinach is low due to the dense shell. Soak them in a solution of growth stimulants or fertilizer according to the instructions. Spinach sprouts fastest after soaking the seeds on a damp cloth or napkin for 1-2 days.

It is inconvenient to sow raw seeds, therefore, after soaking, they are slightly dried on a napkin.

Spinach sowing

nine0005

Sowing spinach will not make it difficult even for beginner gardeners. After preparing the seeds and planting containers, you can start sowing the seeds.

How to plant spinach at home:

  1. Fertile soil is poured into the pot 2-3 cm below the edge.
  2. Moisten the substrate with warm water.
  3. Spread the spinach seeds 2 cm apart.
  4. Sprinkle the spinach with a 0.5-1 cm layer of soil.
    5. nine0033 Lightly moisten the soil surface with a spray bottle. It is impossible to water the seeds from the watering can: they will be washed away with water.
  5. The container with crops is removed in a plastic bag or under glass to maintain high humidity.

At a temperature of about +20 degrees, seedlings will appear in 3-5 days. The film is removed gradually so that the sprouts do not wither from a sharp change in air humidity.

After the appearance of the first true leaf, the spinach should be carefully picked into separate cups or spacious boxes according to the 5x7 cm pattern. This will give the plants enough space to grow full-fledged greenery. In thickened plantings, spinach greens will shrink and stretch. nine0003

Spinach Care

The plant is undemanding to care: with proper sowing of spinach on the windowsill, it will quickly gain green mass. However, to obtain juicy, abundant greenery, it must be provided with appropriate care.

It is best to grow spinach on a windowsill with a window to the west or east, and if there is additional light, also to the north. The peculiarity of the culture is that in direct, abundant sunlight, the leaves acquire a characteristic bitterness. The plant will need diffused light. nine0003

In order for the plants to remain compact, not stretched, the temperature should be maintained within + 15 ... + 18 degrees. At lower temperatures, spinach develops slowly. An ideal place for growing will be a warmed loggia, balcony.

Spinach needs frequent, abundant watering, it does not tolerate drying out of the soil. The dryness of the earthy coma leads to the appearance of flower arrows. Blooming plants will not give a full-fledged harvest: they will spend all their strength on flowering and seed setting. nine0003

Since the culture is fast-growing, spinach does not require additional feeding. There will be enough nutrients in the soil.

Picking spinach on the windowsill begins a month after germination. It is convenient to cut the leaves with scissors, leaving only young foliage on the plant. Do not pull on the leaves: they will lose their appearance. In addition, the root system of the bush may suffer during sharp jerks.

To keep the greens always fresh, you can sow spinach seeds every 2 weeks. nine0003

In winter, in apartments, plants suffer from excessively dry air, especially in combination with high air temperatures. Leaf plates may dry out along the edge. To maintain the presentation of the leaves, they must be sprayed daily.


You can grow spinach all year round: in summer - in open ground, and in winter - at home. So you can always add healthy greens to fresh salads, soups, side dishes and meat. The leaves are used in cooking to color baked goods a pleasant green color. nine0003

planting and care in the apartment

As a rule, spinach is grown outdoors , but in order to get useful macro- and microelements even in the middle of winter, many sow spinach seeds at home and grow them on the windowsill. If you can follow the simple rules of sowing and maintenance (create the necessary light and temperature conditions), you will have fresh and juicy greenery all year round, even if you do not have a summer house.

How to grow spinach at home on the windowsill will be described in detail below. nine0003

By the way! Many people dislike spinach because it tastes like “grass with grass” (not sour like sorrel). Indeed, this is a tasteless plant. But the neutral taste is great, you can make such delicious dressings! For example, the Caesar salad with spinach is very unusual.

Contents

What varieties of spinach are suitable for growing on the windowsill

Before you start growing spinach on the windowsill, you should purchase quality planting material. And for this, first of all, carefully study the instructions on the package - familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the varieties in order to choose the most suitable for indoor cultivation.

As a rule, the following varieties of spinach are used for sowing, which tolerate greenhouse conditions well and give a bountiful harvest:

To determine the most suitable variety, it is worth planting several packages of seeds in different containers. Only after that you can understand which kind of spinach will suit you the most according to all criteria. nine0003

How to plant spinach on the windowsill: features, conditions and step-by-step instructions

After choosing the desired variety, you should start sowing work, namely: preparing the container, soil for growing, soaking the seeds. To do this, planting spinach at home requires approaching with skill and performing all stages of cultivation according to certain rules.

Growing container

The root system of spinach, for example, unlike sorrel, is rather shallow, so the container needs a small depth (12-15 cm). nine0003

Naturally, the pot must have drainage holes to drain excess moisture.

In addition, you can add a small layer of expanded clay or foam to the bottom of the planting container as drainage.

What soil to plant in

Spinach will grow well only in neutral soil.

In other words, spinach loves soil with an acidity level of around 6-7 pH!

You can purchase ready-made soil for growing vegetables such as cabbage, pumpkin, beans, peas. nine0003

Or make your own. To do this, take a neutral garden soil and mix it with compost or humus, as well as river sand.

Tip! It is recommended to decontaminate any soil, even purchased soil, in advance by one of the methods , for example, by steaming the oven so that all soil pests die under the influence of high temperatures. Then additionally shed with a solution of Fitosporin .

Seed preparation

It is not recommended to plant spinach with dry, unprepared seeds (unless it is pelleted, i.e. already processed seeds). The seeds have a dense external structure, so they should be pre-soaked for a day or two in water at room temperature (above 18 degrees).

And then (optional) hold for another 20-30 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect seedlings from diseases.

Direct planting

Step-by-step instructions for sowing spinach seeds for further cultivation at home:

Please note! In the next video, the author uses the wrong soil to grow spinach (not the right acidity). In general, everything is shown very well and clearly.

Video: sowing spinach seeds for growing on the windowsill

Transplanting spinach from open ground to a pot for growing in an apartment

By the way! It is not necessary to grow spinach from seeds, it is much easier to take and transplant it from the garden.

All you need is to dig up the bushes in autumn and transplant them into a pot.

Further care and cultivation are carried out similarly to those sown with seeds (more on this later).

How to care for spinach on the windowsill at home

Spinach care is quite simple - maintain optimal light and temperature conditions, as well as water on time. nine0003

What should be the place to grow: light and temperature

Spinach is a relatively light-loving plant. For him, it is recommended to choose a well-lit southern window sill (either western or eastern, but at least southwestern or southeastern is better) .

Optimum day length is 12-14 hours.

But in order for the sun to not burn too much on especially hot days, burning tender leaves, it is recommended to shade it. nine0003

By the way! Spinach does not like direct sunlight at all and a lot of sunlight, besides, it becomes bitter ...

In late autumn, winter and early spring days, the shrub does not have enough daylight hours, especially when it is raining or just overcast outside. Therefore, for growing spinach indoors, it is recommended to additionally install phytolamps or full-spectrum LED lamps.

Spinach does not require very warm conditions. At a temperature regime of +15..+18 degrees , the leaves of the plant quickly gain strength and grow to optimal sizes.

A grown plant with 4-5 leaf blades can be grown at a lower temperature of +10..+14 degrees, but in this situation the growth of leaf blades will be somewhat slowed down.

Therefore, an insulated balcony or loggia, where the temperature is slightly lower than room temperature, is quite suitable for growing. nine0003

In too warm conditions, spinach stalks will quickly wither, so it is recommended to maintain an optimal cool temperature.

Watering

Watering should be carried out quite often and plentifully, spinach does not tolerate drying out of the soil.

It is strongly recommended to periodically spray overgrown leaf blades. This will saturate them with nutrient moisture and improve their appearance.

A low level of humidity provokes bolting, spinach throws out flower stalks, which should be promptly disposed of so that the plant does not waste extra strength. nine0003

Spinach does not require any special feeding.

Sowing and harvesting dates for domestic spinach

After sowing spinach, you can see its first shoots, even with pre-treatment (soaking), in about a week (sometimes earlier).

And the actual cutting of foliage (harvesting) will begin only when the plants have fully formed succulent leaves. There will be 5-8 pieces, 8-10 centimeters long. In early ripening varieties, this moment occurs approximately 30 days after the first shoots. nine0003

Tip! In order not to interrupt the process of constantly obtaining useful spinach foliage, you can regularly make new crops.

At harvest time, the leaves can be cut off completely, leaving only the outermost young leaves.

Harvest by carefully breaking the stem or cutting with scissors.

Do not pull or pluck the foliage as this may damage the root system.

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