When is spinach in season?

Spinach is a leafy vegetable in the Chenopodiaceae family, like amaranth and arrowroot. As well as its use in cooking, it also makes itself useful in the garden as a green manure. It can be grown in spring and autumn. In spring, spinach is one of the first crops to be grown, while in autumn it can be harvested right up until the first frosts, depending on the variety you choose. This vegetable is grown all over the world and can be eaten nine months of the year, including winter. Only in July, August and September is it not possible to harvest it.

Spring spinach is sown in February, under cover, and from March to April directly in the vegetable garden. Autumn spinach, on the other hand, is sown in September under glass. Germination starts 5 to 15 days later, and you can start harvesting the following month, in March or October, depending on the variety. To make sure you don't miss any dates and know when you should be sowing your spinach, we've put together a very useful sowing calendar.

Tricks for successfully growing spinach in the garden

A family of four can be self-sufficient in spinach with 50 plants over 20 linear metres or 4 square metres. The choice of seeds is crucial to a successful harvest. Choose a variety suited to the season and watch out for predators. Gather up snails and slugs regularly and space the plants 15 cm apart. Spinach's biggest enemy is the spinach itself, which is why it is advisable not to plant it in the same place two years running. You should also beware of fungal diseases such as mildew, as the plant is very sensitive to them. Spinach needs cool, fertile, clay soil. If the soil is too moist and compact, the seedlings may drown. Mulching the plants will keep the soil fresh.

Protect autumn plants with a tunnel or mini-greenhouse in winter, so you can see them starting up again at the end of winter the following year. Water regularly to prevent them going to seed, taking care not to suffocate the plant. Another good tip is to combine friendly plants with your spinach. In autumn, it will thrive among rocket, lettuce, mustard, chicory, chervil, parsley or at the foot of summer vegetables still present in the garden. You can also plant it near radishes, cabbage, etc. In spring, plant them with lettuces, turnips or radishes.

Grow your own seeds and why it's useful to sow spinach in your vegetable garden

Spinach is a dioecious plant, so the male flowers are borne on different feet to the female flowers. It is said to be strictly allogamous. To obtain seeds of a specific variety, you need to isolate several plants of the same variety.

Even if you're not crazy about this leafy vegetable, it's useful to have some in your garden. Firstly because it is a green manure. It is said to act as an intermediate nitrate trap crop. It captures the nitrogen in the soil, in a form that disappears into the water table over winter, and releases it when it decomposes. Forgotten plants can also be used as seedbeds.