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- Start indoors
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Historical frost averages plus extension guidance, not a forecast. Check the forecast and soil temperature before planting.
Sow spinach outdoors 3–7 weeks before your last spring frost, as soon as the soil can be worked. For a fall crop, sow 8–10 weeks before your first fall frost. Spinach likes cool weather and handles frost well, but it runs to seed fast once days get long and warm.
- Frost tolerance
- Hardy: tolerates frost
- Soil temperature
- Germinates from 35°F; best 45–75°F
- Days to harvest
- 37–60 days from seed
The rule we use
- Sow outdoors: 3–7 weeks before the last spring frost
- Sow for fall: 8–10 weeks before the first fall frost
Sowing spinach in spring
Spinach is one of the first crops of the year. Seed sprouts in soil as cold as 35°F, though it's slow at that temperature. Sow about ½ inch deep and thin seedlings to 3–4 inches apart. Sow a short row every week or two through early spring for a steady supply.
Stop sowing once your last frost has passed by a few weeks. Spinach is triggered to flower (bolt) by long days, and warm weather speeds it up. When the plant starts to stretch upward, the leaves turn bitter, so harvest the whole plant then.
Fall and overwintered spinach
Fall is often the best season for spinach. Days are getting shorter, so plants don't bolt, and light frosts make the leaves sweeter. In hot summers, spinach seed germinates poorly in soil above about 75°F; sow in the cooler part of the day, keep the soil moist, or shade the row.
In many areas a late sowing can survive winter under a row cover or a layer of straw and start growing again in late winter. That gives you the earliest spinach of all, weeks before a spring sowing would be ready.
Harvesting
Pick outer leaves once they're big enough to use, and the plant keeps making new ones from the center. Baby leaves are ready in about a month. Harvest the whole crop if you see it starting to bolt.
Seeds and supplies for spinach
- Spinach seeds at True Leaf Market
- Park Seed for seeds and young plants.
- Row cover to carry fall spinach through winter.
- A soil thermometer to check the soil is warm enough before sowing.
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Questions about planting spinach
Can spinach be planted before the last frost?
Yes. Spinach is hardy and is usually sown 3–7 weeks before the last spring frost. Young plants handle frost and light freezes without harm.
Why does my spinach keep bolting?
Long days and heat trigger it. Sow earlier in spring, choose varieties described as slow to bolt, or grow spinach in fall, when days are getting shorter.
When should I plant spinach for fall?
About 8–10 weeks before your first fall frost. Enter your ZIP above for dates. If the soil is very warm, keep the seedbed moist and shaded until seeds sprout.
Can spinach survive winter?
In many places, yes, especially with a row cover or straw over it. Overwintered plants start growing again in late winter and give an early harvest.
Sources
- Vegetable Planting Calendar for Central Maryland (2026), University of Maryland Extension
- Vegetables for Spring and Fall Planting; Vegetables for Summer Planting, University of Maryland Extension Master Gardeners
- Suggested Vegetable Planting Dates for Utah, Utah State University Extension
- Vegetable Planting Guide (CMG GardenNotes #720), Colorado State University Extension
- Soil temperature conditions for vegetable seed germination, Oregon State University Extension
- Frost dates: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (doi:10.25921/4ek7-fk11)