Spinach can handle cold weather, but hot temps will end your harvest before it ever gets started. Intensive gardening is really a way fo gardening where you maximize the spacing in your garden to give you the best yields. This spinach plant may be better adapted to the environment. A garden can range from a small section in your yard to a sizeable plot of land. You may find you only need 10 inches in between rows because you are just awesome on foot when you care for your spinach plants. Check out this monumental guide here if you want more information on planting spinach. A square foot garden is a method of utilizing a square foot spacing for each plant. Are you able to safely harvest and maintain your spinach plants by foot? Let’s say you have a garden area of 4 foot by 4 foot. How far apart to place spinach plants depends on the variety of spinach you are growing, the condition of your soil, and whether you want to harvest baby spinach leaves or cut full-grown plants. Sow New Zealand spinach ½ inch (12mm) deep and 2 to 4 inches (5-10cm) apart. Spinach plant spacing in a raised beds. Spinach is one of the fastest growing vegetable crops, reaching full maturity in 35 to 55 days after germination of the seeds. Spinach, Spinacia oleracea, is a leafy herbaceous annual plant in the family Amaranthaceae grown for its leaves which are used as a vegetable.The spinach plant has simple leaves which stem from the center of the plant and measure about 2–30 cm (0.8–12.0 in) long and 1 to 15 cm (0.4–6.0 in) across. If your plants are in a sunny, warm spot, they will grow faster and get bigger sooner, so give each plant a bit more space to mature. The 4-inch spacing is for bush beans and spinach. Once the seeds are up and established and are starting to produce “baby” leaves you should thin the plants to about 4 inches apart (eating the plants you thin, of course). Egyptian spinach prefers hot weather so it's best to grow this plant in a warm spring or summer. Try different spacing of your plants and see how much you can harvest. Spacing. Before sowing, ensure good growth by digging in up to two bucketfuls per square metre (square yard) of well-rotted organic matter such as garden compost, and raking in 150g per square metre (5oz per square yard) of general fertiliser. You will place each spinach seed in the middle of these mini squares. This can vary if you can only reach so far, so keep this in mind when you plan your square foot garden area. Seedlings are typically ready for transplant approximately three-weeks after initial seeding. Nature does not work that way. Sow direct into the ground in mid spring onwards. When the plants are one inch tall, thin to 2 to 4 inches apart. Some of these may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if items are purchased. But just how close depends on several factors: Spinach grows well in full-sun and in partial shade. Container gardening is such a wonderful way to help you learn ideal spacing requirements for vegetables. 5 inches is ideal spacing for the fully matured spinach plants. Space rows 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46cm) apart. #spinach #growspinach, 2 – Spinach Plant Spacing for Square Foot Garden, 3 – Spinach Plant Spacing for a Container, 4 – Intensive Garden Spacing for Spinach Plants, Spinach Plant Spacing for a Square Foot Garden, Intensive Garden Spacing for Spinach Plants. You will need to plant each spinach plant to give them spacing of about a 3-5 inch diameter. They prefer full sunlight but will tolerate partial shade. Keep in mind that you need to be able to reach in to plant, maintain, and harvest your spinach plants so you really can only have a maximum of 4 square feet if can access them from opposite sides. The rows may be as close as 12 inches apart, depending upon the method used for keeping weeds down. Plant seeds in late spring, after the soil has warmed. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Keep these questions above in mind when you plan your garden spacing for spinach. This will give you nine mini squares to plant your spinach seeds in. You can also plant spinach in hanging baskets or window planters if you want to save space in your garden for other veggies :). Water spinach plant is a frost sensitive plant. Also can be started indoors and moved outside under cloches in early spring. Sow 12 to 15 seeds per foot of row. Sowing Time Plant Spacing: 6 inches Row Spacing: 1-2 feet Maturity: 40-48 days Soil: Average, well-drained Growing Habit: Upright annual Sun: Full sun Fruit Size: 10-12 inches History. The word ‘spinach’ is derived from the Persian word for ‘green hand’, as the plant was cultivated in Iran more than 2,000 years ago. Plant Spacing When Growing Spinach Plant spinach seeds ½ inch deep and about 1 inch apart. Most gardeners like to do this in several passes to determine the strongest plants to save. Purchase or construct a support on which the plant can climb and place it in the garden site. Use your best judgment of spacing them about 4-5 inches apart as it depends on the size and shape of your container. Single Plants: 7" (20cm) each way (minimum) Rows: 7" (20cm) with 11" (30cm) row gap (minimum) Sow and Plant. This site is owned and operated by DTP Partners LLC. Cover with ½” (1.3 cm) of fine mulch. Spinach also matures and goes to seed quickly, so it is better to re-seed every couple of weeks than to try and plant a large crop to harvest over time. After the first season, look for volunteer seedlings and move them to where you want them to grow. Enter your email below and we will send you a guide to help you SAVE money in your garden. Recommended Varieties of Spinach. The reason is that you may mix in different crops in between your plants. Commercial growers that harvest mechanically plant closer together at 15 cm by 25 cm giving the grower 250 000+ plants per hectare. Green thumb Gardener is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and links to Amazon.com. Are you uncertain on on the best way to get your spinach plant spacing correct? The typical row spacing for spinach plants is between 12 and 18 inches. Your results may surprise you. Say you plant much closer than 3 inches apart. Plant New Zealand spinach in the warm part of the year when regular spinach will not grow. Keep in mind that these are recommendations based on our experience. Square foot gardening is all the rage these days. When starting spinach indoors, plant the seeds into a tray or pot at least 4 inches (10cm) deep, because spinach seedlings develop a deep taproot and you want to give the roots plenty of room to grow. The requirements that are typically listed there will be ideal for your space. Sticking with the spinach plant spacing guidelines you could plant a total of 9 spinach plants in each square foot area. Spacing and Planting Depth for Spinach Seeds As a general guideline, plant spinach seeds in fertile and well-prepared soil at a depth of about ½ inch (1.3cm), and compact the soil firmly over the top of the seeds. A classic farm or good size garden plot will need to have ideal sized rows in between the spinach plants. Because of their compact nature, you can plant spinach seeds fairly close together. Each square foot garden area is 12 inches by 12 inches. However, your row sizes may vary depending on your needs for equipment to plant, maintain and harvest. The plant is drought tolerant but the leaves will not be as tender. Spacing Plants should be spaced ten to 20 cm apart in rows that are 30 cm apart. The natural selection may help your plants grow stronger. You would have 16 square feet or 16 mini square areas to plant your vegetables in. Planting spinach in a container is an excellent way to enjoy this wonderful vegetable. Easy to grow from seeds sown in spring, one-half inch deep and 2 inches apart. This is a rough estimate because you may have an oval, round, square or rectangular container. If your soil is rich and fertile, you can space spinach plants a bit closer together. This equates to about 160 000+ plants per hectare. The general idea to get the most bang for your buck in spacing. The soil where the spinach plants must remain pretty much undisturbed. This program utilizes cookies to track visits for the purposes of assigning commission on these sales. Experiment with your spinach plants to help you gauge the right spacing for them. Sow the spinach seeds thinly in rows spaced about 12 to 18 inches apart, or simply scatter the seeds in blocks. Plant spinach 4-6 weeks before the last frost in the spring. If your soil is less than optimum, space plants farther apart, so each plant has access to more water and nutrients. This added knowledge may also help you with other plants. 2. As a general guideline, plant spinach seeds in fertile and well-prepared soil at a depth of about ½ inch (1.3cm), and compact the soil firmly over the top of the seeds. A plant must be spaced at a certain distance from its stem, in order to avoid being smothered by the roots of other plants. Your spinach might be tastier because of this or you may get more yield in a denser planting. Common Pests and Diseases (and how to manage): Common pests include aphids and slugs, and downy mildew is a common disease for spinach. Space rows 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46cm) apart. Space spinach plants 12 inches apart in fertile, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.0. Harvesting Greens grow best in a well-drained soil with lots of organic matter. We at Green Thumb Gardener provide tips and guides for both for beginners and advanced gardeners out there. Many Asian growers in Massachusetts will soak the seed until germination to ensure the seed is possible. This survival of the fittest may result in healthier plants as the weaker ones may not grow as large as they are crowded out. See below for more instructions. If you want to harvest leaves at very young age, then the spacing can be reduced to 2 inches only. Having wide enough rows gives you this needed access to the spinach plants. . Divide the planter box into squares, and see how many plants will feel comfortable in it. The size of your container will ultimately determine how many spinach plants you can place in it. A row is needed so you can safely plant, weed, water, and harvest your spinach plants. For hot weather "spinach" there are several substitutes: New Zealand "spinach" a plant discovered in New Zealand by Captain Cook, is grown as a summer crop. 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