Growing Spinach in Containers is the best way to enjoy a homegrown harvest in a limited space like a windowsill or a balcony. This nutritious leafy green is not difficult if you know all the tips on How to Grow Spinach in Pots!
Get the best tips to grow spinach all year round here
How to Grow Spinach in Pots?
Growing spinach from seeds is the most straightforward process:
Sow seeds 1/2 inch deep, directly in containers or a seed tray. Seedlings will germinate in 5 to 14 days, depending on the variety and growing conditions.
If you have sown seeds in a seed tray, wait until 2-3 true leaves appear on each plant and then carefully transplant them into the pots. However, it’s better to plant spinach directly in the desired pots. Also, it’s one of the fast-growing vegetables, and you’ll be ready to harvest it within one month after germination.
Check out the best spinach varieties for pots here
Best Container Size for Growing Spinach in Pots
A 6 to 8 inches deep container and as wide as you want would be best for growing spinach in pots. You don’t need a very deep pot for it but a wider one. You can also go for wooden boxes, window boxes, railing planters, or crates, depending on your space on a patio or a balcony.
Growing Spinach Indoors
Growing spinach indoors on a windowsill is a great idea, as it doesn’t require full sunlight. You can also place its pot on a kitchen window, balcony, or practically any place where it gets at least 4 hours of direct sun.
Spacing Spinach
Provide each spinach plant a space of 3 inches. If you want to pick large leaves, give a little more space to each plant. Avoid spacing it too much or growing the plant too crowded as it will result in overly small or large leaves, which will hamper the taste.
Requirements for Growing Spinach in Containers
Position
If you are growing spinach in fall (autumn), keep the plant in a sunny spot (in mild climates) for shorter days and less sun intensity.
For spring and summer planting, keep your potted plants in a location that receives some shade, especially in the afternoon.
In a subtropical or tropical climate, place the containers in a spot that receives a bit of shade. The plant will do just fine in partial shade too.
Soil
For growing spinach in containers, use a quality potting mix rich in organic matter. The texture of the soil must be crumbly and loamy.
Avoid a growing medium that clogs the drainage and remains waterlogged. Well-draining soil with a neutral pH is the most crucial factor for the optimum growth of spinach in containers.
Watering
When growing spinach in containers, avoid water stagnation because it will lead to the development of rot and various fungal diseases. Also, avoid wetting the foliage. Keep the soil moist but not soggy or wet. Make sure the pot has a drainage hole at the bottom.
Temperature
Spinach seeds can germinate both in temperatures as low as 40 F (4 C) and in high temperatures. However, the best soil temperature for growing spinach is 50-80 F (10-27 C).
Many spinach cultivars can tolerate temperatures down to 20 F (-6) and up to 90 F (32 C) easily. Once the temperature starts to soar high, you may need to provide shade to your plants.
Learn how to grow Malabar spinach in pots here
Spinach Care
Growing spinach in pots doesn’t need special care. Regular watering, fertilizing, and the right soil are critical to a great harvest.
Fertilizing
For growing healthy green spinach, you have to provide nitrogen. When planting, mix time-based fertilizer, or add 30 percent of compost or well-rotted manure in the soil. This will provide nutrients slowly.
Feeding the plant with fish emulsion, compost, or manure tea in the middle of the growth is a nice organic way to promote the plants.
If you have not added time-based fertilizer, feed the plant with balanced liquid fertilizer once in 2-4 weeks in half strength.
Mulching
Do mulching, even if you’re growing spinach in pots. Mulching plants with organic matter will help in retaining moisture.
Pests and Diseases
You don’t need to worry much about pests while growing spinach in containers. However, keeping an eye on leaf-eating insects like slugs, caterpillars, and other common garden pests like aphids will help you eliminate them on time.
Super Tips for Growing Spinach in Warm Climates
It is a cool-season crop, but growing spinach in arid, tropical, and subtropical climates is extremely easy. Moreover, you can grow it successively as a bi-annual crop, except in hot summer months. You’ll need to provide shade and enough water to keep the soil temperature cool and moist.
In warm weather, vegetables like lettuce and spinach begin to bolt early and set seeds. One of the most important things you need to consider when growing spinach in the hot climates is to grow heat-tolerant varieties like Corrente, Canadian Green, Akarenso, Alkame, Samba, and Alrite. These varieties easily tolerate the heat and humidity.
Harvesting Spinach
The spinach plant will be ready for harvest 25 to 50 days after germination, depending on the growing conditions and cultivar.
Harvest when the plant has formed at least 5-6 healthy leaves, 3-4 inches in length. Pick outer leaves first and leave the new inner leaves so that they continue to grow, or cut the whole plant at the base with a knife or scissor, and the plant will resprout again.
Note: When the weather becomes humid and hot (in warm climates), the plant tends to form an erect stem, on which you can see some small yellow or green flowers developing. To coincide with the flowering and the subsequent production of flowers, the plant’s foliage thickens and changes in flavor (more bitter), which is called bolting, so it is convenient to harvest the plant before it starts flowering for better taste.
Learn about growing Kangkong spinach here
- Debbie
- September 1, 2016 At 1:18 am
- I can’t wait to try this next year. Thanks for posting.
- Reply
- JETHRO PAUL RAYMER
- September 9, 2016 At 5:57 pm
- CAN YOU PLEASE SI G ME UP FOR YOUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER.
- Reply
- K Moosa
- October 15, 2016 At 6:49 am
- Just planted spinach. Hope mine looks as good as yours. Thanks for the advice
- Reply
- Ruth
- November 3, 2016 At 12:28 pm
- Spinach is one of my favorite green leafy vegetable aside from moringana & saluyot. Now I have the chance to plant my own spinach. Thank you for the guide.
- Reply
- Halilee
- November 10, 2016 At 10:51 pm
- thank you for the tips………certainly worth a go
- Reply
- kabir
- November 21, 2016 At 5:33 pm
- There are many benefits of spinach. Spinach is Low in fat and even lower in cholesterol, spinach is high in niacin and zinc, as well as protein, fiber, vitamins A, C, E and K, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese. In other word, it’s loaded with good things for every part of your body!
- Thanks for your article.
- Reply
- corne woodhouse
- January 8, 2017 At 2:54 pm
- Very intersting. Will try to do this ver soon.
- Reply
- Louise
- January 11, 2017 At 1:25 am
- Excited to try this! Please add my email to your newsletter list!
- Reply
- Peggy Duenas
- March 7, 2017 At 6:46 pm
- what month is the best time to plant spinach indoors in Hawaii?
- Ive planted outdoors before and i can not keep up with the pest.
- Reply
- barkha
- March 30, 2017 At 11:33 am
- Thanks
- Reply
- Sangeetha
- April 1, 2017 At 5:37 am
- Thanks
- Reply
- Lulwa Bucheery
- April 4, 2017 At 3:12 pm
- Thanks for the guide for planting spinach. I am vegetarian and love to eat organic vegetables.
- I am now interested to plant my own spinach.
- Thanks again for the informations
- Reply
- Nina
- April 4, 2017 At 6:20 pm
- Oh! Wonderful, I may try this soon as well! Awesome post :D
- Reply
- Eric Strenton
- April 19, 2017 At 9:37 pm
- This is explained so well, thank you for all of your tips. I love growing in pots because it means my kids can get involved and take charge of their own plants (without ruining my garden!) and I’m always on the look out for new things for them to grow. I’ll definitely be trying this next. Hopefully it’ll trick them into eating it too!
- Thanks again
- Eric
- Reply
- Carlton
- February 12, 2021 At 3:39 am
- Hey eric, you should’ not have to trick them.Introduce them to spinach cakes. Sauteed chopped bacon( to reduce grease) 0r chopped ham or sausage finely chopped, seasoned . Sautee spinach ,mix with chopped ingredients, add a portion of flour to bind mixture. Pinch portion and form into a patty, place on non stick pan and bake at 300 for 20 mins. Never mentioned the work spinach, and hooked.
- Reply
- Joshua oigo
- May 5, 2017 At 10:40 am
- Thanks for the nice piece,helps much
- Reply
- Pierrette Racine
- June 16, 2017 At 6:06 pm
- Thank you so much. I am working on it right now.
- I like to receive your newsletter please.
- Thanks again,
- Reply
- Ann Charles
- August 27, 2017 At 3:28 pm
- Thank you so much for sharing in an understanding manner,I live in MT so I have began planning for the next planting season.I can’t start soon enough,thank you.
- Reply
- Ahakya
- January 9, 2018 At 5:49 pm
- I have planted few seeds in a wide pot and it did germinate well. But, all of a sudden it started to fall off. Would there be a reason or care I’m missing?
- Reply
- Suzie
- January 27, 2018 At 9:13 pm
- How deep was the pot that the plant was in? & how many “few seeds” did you plant in that pot? Also, was there any bugs in the area that could’ve gotten into the plant?
- Reply
- dennis
- July 4, 2018 At 11:39 am
- exellent
- Reply
- 3D6 Space
- August 4, 2018 At 12:01 pm
- This was really helpful. I’ll give it a try this winter indoors. Thanks!
- Reply
- Sue
- October 20, 2018 At 2:43 pm
- May I know how many seedlings do you plant in the 6″ deep pot? How many seeds per hole do you recommend if I plant using the seed tray?
- Thanks.
- Reply
- Simiyu
- April 2, 2021 At 11:51 pm
- Aw
- Reply
- Jeremy
- January 23, 2019 At 10:38 pm
- Thanks for the tips for warmer climate varieties of Spinach. I will have to look at some Asian varieties since we are in NC. Where are all you planting?
- Reply
- SS
- February 25, 2019 At 10:40 am
- My spinach plants are growing to about 3-4 inches long and then just falling to the sides. It looks like the plants are falling because unable to hold their own weight. I’ve tried sowing them deeper too with pretty much same results. What can I do differently?
- Reply
- Sonia nicolas
- April 28, 2019 At 9:16 am
- I can’t wait to starts my veggies garden,this year I got some heirloom tomatoes seed and I got big containers for them.Thank for the hints, I had learned a lot.
- Reply
- The Bellie Bean YouTube Channel
- March 14, 2020 At 8:57 am
- This is so thoroughly yet concisely written and easy to understand that it actually makes me believe that even I would be able to follow these directions. Thank you so much for posting.
- Reply
- BARUN CHATTAKHUNDI
- August 28, 2020 At 10:47 pm
- Thank you very much for sharing the information. Please add my e mail. and send news letters.
- Reply
- Sarika
- March 24, 2021 At 3:44 am
- Alternatively, you can keep your pot outdoors after seeding, as long as the ground has thawed. Even though you aren’t planting the spinach in the ground, this is a good indicator that your spinach could survive outside. Spinach can survive temperatures as low as 15 °F (?9 °C).
- Reply
- Simiyu
- April 2, 2021 At 11:53 pm
- Thanks for your help and am working on it now to earn income 🙏🙏
- Reply
- Essential Veda
- April 27, 2021 At 1:15 pm
- Love this stuff ! As I was working on getting more things about this, the article has helped me to solve various clarifications. Thanks for the great content.
- Reply
- Ella
- November 20, 2021 At 9:57 am
- I don’t have much of a green thumb. This might be a good place for me to start.
- Reply
I can’t wait to try this next year. Thanks for posting.
CAN YOU PLEASE SI G ME UP FOR YOUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER.
Just planted spinach. Hope mine looks as good as yours. Thanks for the advice
Spinach is one of my favorite green leafy vegetable aside from moringana & saluyot. Now I have the chance to plant my own spinach. Thank you for the guide.
thank you for the tips………certainly worth a go
There are many benefits of spinach. Spinach is Low in fat and even lower in cholesterol, spinach is high in niacin and zinc, as well as protein, fiber, vitamins A, C, E and K, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese. In other word, it’s loaded with good things for every part of your body!
Thanks for your article.
Very intersting. Will try to do this ver soon.
Excited to try this! Please add my email to your newsletter list!
what month is the best time to plant spinach indoors in Hawaii? Ive planted outdoors before and i can not keep up with the pest.
Thanks
Thanks for the guide for planting spinach. I am vegetarian and love to eat organic vegetables. I am now interested to plant my own spinach. Thanks again for the informations
Oh! Wonderful, I may try this soon as well! Awesome post :D
- Carlton
- February 12, 2021 At 3:39 am
- Hey eric, you should’ not have to trick them.Introduce them to spinach cakes. Sauteed chopped bacon( to reduce grease) 0r chopped ham or sausage finely chopped, seasoned . Sautee spinach ,mix with chopped ingredients, add a portion of flour to bind mixture. Pinch portion and form into a patty, place on non stick pan and bake at 300 for 20 mins. Never mentioned the work spinach, and hooked.
- Reply
This is explained so well, thank you for all of your tips. I love growing in pots because it means my kids can get involved and take charge of their own plants (without ruining my garden!) and I’m always on the look out for new things for them to grow. I’ll definitely be trying this next. Hopefully it’ll trick them into eating it too!
Thanks again Eric
Hey eric, you should’ not have to trick them.Introduce them to spinach cakes. Sauteed chopped bacon( to reduce grease) 0r chopped ham or sausage finely chopped, seasoned . Sautee spinach ,mix with chopped ingredients, add a portion of flour to bind mixture. Pinch portion and form into a patty, place on non stick pan and bake at 300 for 20 mins. Never mentioned the work spinach, and hooked.
Thanks for the nice piece,helps much
Thank you so much. I am working on it right now.
I like to receive your newsletter please.
Thanks again,
Thank you so much for sharing in an understanding manner,I live in MT so I have began planning for the next planting season.I can’t start soon enough,thank you.
- Suzie
- January 27, 2018 At 9:13 pm
- How deep was the pot that the plant was in? & how many “few seeds” did you plant in that pot? Also, was there any bugs in the area that could’ve gotten into the plant?
- Reply
I have planted few seeds in a wide pot and it did germinate well. But, all of a sudden it started to fall off. Would there be a reason or care I’m missing?
How deep was the pot that the plant was in? & how many “few seeds” did you plant in that pot? Also, was there any bugs in the area that could’ve gotten into the plant?
exellent
This was really helpful. I’ll give it a try this winter indoors. Thanks!
- Simiyu
- April 2, 2021 At 11:51 pm
- Aw
- Reply
May I know how many seedlings do you plant in the 6″ deep pot? How many seeds per hole do you recommend if I plant using the seed tray? Thanks.
Aw
Thanks for the tips for warmer climate varieties of Spinach. I will have to look at some Asian varieties since we are in NC. Where are all you planting?
My spinach plants are growing to about 3-4 inches long and then just falling to the sides. It looks like the plants are falling because unable to hold their own weight. I’ve tried sowing them deeper too with pretty much same results. What can I do differently?
I can’t wait to starts my veggies garden,this year I got some heirloom tomatoes seed and I got big containers for them.Thank for the hints, I had learned a lot.
This is so thoroughly yet concisely written and easy to understand that it actually makes me believe that even I would be able to follow these directions. Thank you so much for posting.
Thank you very much for sharing the information. Please add my e mail. and send news letters.
Alternatively, you can keep your pot outdoors after seeding, as long as the ground has thawed. Even though you aren’t planting the spinach in the ground, this is a good indicator that your spinach could survive outside. Spinach can survive temperatures as low as 15 °F (?9 °C).
Thanks for your help and am working on it now to earn income 🙏🙏
Love this stuff ! As I was working on getting more things about this, the article has helped me to solve various clarifications. Thanks for the great content.
I don’t have much of a green thumb. This might be a good place for me to start.
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