University of Illinois Extension
Illinois Vegetable Garden Guide
Spinach
Spinach should be grown in the early spring or late fall because the long, hot days of summer cause it to bolt to seed, making it unusable. Select recommended varieties for each of these plantings. New Zealand spinach, which is not a true spinach, can be grown during the summer.
The plants may be harvested any time the leaves are large enough to use. Some plants may be thinned out for early use and the rest left to attain full size.
| Crop | Amount for 100 ft of row |
Variety recommended for use in Illinois | Days to harvest | Resistant to |
| Spinach (seed) | 1 ounce | Bloomsdale Long-Standing | 45 | |
| Winter Bloomsdale | 45 | |||
| America | 45 | |||
| Summer | ||||
| New Zealand | 65 |
| Vegetable | Hardiness | Recommended planting period for central Illinois (b) | Time to grow from seed to field (c) | |
| For overall Use |
For storage |
|||
| weeks | ||||
| Spinach | Hardy | Mar. 25-Apr. 15 Aug. 15-30 |
……. | … |
| Vegetable | Spacing in row | |||
| Seed to sow per foot | Distance between plants when thinned or transplanted | Distance between rows | Planting depth | |
| inches | inches | inches | ||
| Spinach | 12-15 | 2-4 | 12-18 | ½ |