How to Grow Spinach Organically

In today's video: How to Grow Spinach organically

Questions answered: how to space spinach, different types of spinach, savoy spinach, growing baby leaf spinach, seeding spinach, getting better seed germination on spinach, how to germinate in the summer, harvesting spinach, and more!

Support our work (👊) at
or

[CtrlAltDUST]

I was literally wondering today why my spinach wasn't germinating like my other seeds! Every single one of your videos are EXTREMELY helpful in my home garden. I've utilized many of your suggestions and techniques in my garden. CHEERS and keep up the good work!

[Pickles]

I love the bloomsdale long standing spinach. I winter sow them in large containers. My "chef" hubby ( our kiddos tell me to stop calling him that) loves cooking it in soups. By the way he isn't a chef but I gotta build him up. We will be celebrating our 40 yr anniversary in June 💕. Happy gardening Farmer Jesse .

[renatehaeckler]

I like bloomsdale longstanding spinach for fall sowing because it will often overwinter and then you get giant leaves almost a foot across that are sweet and mild tasting in the early spring. Unfortunately that -6* weather last December was too cold for my (unprotected) spinach. It is a savoy type. One year I saved seeds from some just to see how that worked because there are male and female plants, and the seeds I saved grow pretty well so that's cool.

[nedbluestone]

Great vid. I always let several plants go to seed then harvest and spread the seeds in the Autumn here in Boise, ID. I have been doing this for 15+ years and I honestly don't remember what I started with. It has turned into a majority of savoyed spinach but there always is a chance for a smooth leaf plant or two. It germinates and grows as the weather warms, and I never worry about fertilizing and it is all usually harvested before pests have a chance to become a problem.

[shawnueda]

We grow butterflay variety for the shoulder season and for winter. For late spring and early fall we switch to Space because it is bit more tolerant to heat. We don't sell cut spinach just bunched. Spacing is 6 to 8 inches. For summer month we substitute bunched tatsoi and sell as Chinese spinach (Tatsoi is also known as spinach mustard). We'll easily sell 60 bunches per market day. Bunching size for both spinach and tatsoi is around 8 inch tall plants. Watering is by drip ONLY!! Insect netting is a must. It's not just for aphids but to keep sparrows from feasting on the plants. We also place around 10 mouse trap inside a down spout of a rain gutter cut to 12 inches (two traps per 12inch tube) per 100 foot rows.

[matprather]

I do the pick one leaf at a time harvest. I also let them get big so it's faster filling up the tote. I have trained the customers at the market to love big leaf spinach like 6-8" diameter. I prefer the crinkly leaf type so they have volume in the bag not all flat together. My favorite varieties are a Red Tabby for a Red Vein and Lizard or Sunangel for green. I do a mix or red and green.

[MK-tioo]

I started soaking my seed in a peroxide/water mix on a paper towel and have gotten nearly 100% germination since I started doing it this way. Before that it was really hit or miss.

[makilahduncan]

Loved eating spinach even as a kid so I'll definitely be rewatching this video a few times. I'm enjoying the book and can't wait to add another hat to my ball cap collection haha. Plus it'll be great for the Tennessee heat
Thank you for being a good source of knowledge. I appreciate all the work that goes into these videos that we don't even know/think about.

[StayDownComeUp]

It eat spinach and kale with a few grapes for a flavor blast every day for lunch and that's the best meal ever. Just wanted to drop that here. 😊

[mattreinecke]

Spinach is a royal vegetable. The name Savoy comes from the House of Savoy (Savoia) The royalty of Piedmont, Sicily and Sardinia. They were even the kings of Italy from the 1860 unification until Mussolini. And you thought it was just nice in salads...🤪

[johndyer]

I love how cold hardy Bloomsdale Longstanding spinach is during winter in zone 6b. It tastes better after it goes through winter.

[melissaschloneger]

I have watched many of your videos twice and the snarky humor is still funny on round 2. You pack so much info into your videos and I appreciate your desire to share the knowledge. I think its time for me to buy a hat and the book, since I have been following you for a while (not stalking but we do live in Ohio). Keep up the good, hard work! And bring the cat back into the videos…

[momcomputer]

I'm not a market grower (yet), but for the home gardener I would highly recommend Malabar Spinach. Fantastic flavor and loves the summer heat. It's not as abundant as other types but most of the leaves will get to be a heart-shaped 7". They are also beautiful vining plants, so have a trellis available. I've even grown it in pots and brought it indoors over winter for fresh greens. It will seed abundantly and the late fall seeds that I didn't catch are growing new plants. I love it and will never be without it again! ThanQ for all your wonderful educational videos, Jesse! Oh, and if you use your left hand to point to other videos, you'll be right on the mark. 🤣

[tanarehbein]

A greenhouse guy told me a hint that has been full proof for me concerning aphids. He said to add vitamin B complex to your watering solution. I've tried it with one capsule dissolved in a five gallon bucket of water as well as 1/2 capsule per 5 gal water. Either has worked great. One dose is usually eno, two for a really horrendous infestation.
By the way, for white fly treat the water with vitamin C.
Why has no one ever done a video on that?

[dawnlemieux]

In New Hampshire, I sometimes seed spinach out very late in the fall, but before ground freezes. Then as soon as the soil starts warming up in the spring I will have a crop of spinach. Bonus if it snows soon after planting so the seeds don’t start to germinate in the fall. Timing is critical as too early a planting could germinate seeds in the fall just to be frozen and wasted.

[Mtpumpkinsman]

So enjoy all these videos you put out and these crop break downs are amazing and full of good nerdiness! My ground is still frozen and so can’t wait to get spinach radish and arugula started.

[EDLaw-woit]

I really appreciate the work and research you must do to present these great videos. I know you are monetized but you go above and beyond. All of you watching should buy the book. It absolutely is worth every penny spent. Havagudun Jesse.

[taitsmith]

I literally just throw spinach on the ground in the fall and harvest through spring.
NW Texas Zone 6B

[CS-bnun]

We're older growers-at-home only to eat, freeze and share, but really appreciate your specific details as we have not had much success in growing spinach in a warmer (8a) climate. May wait and try again in the fall now that we are already warming up so much...way too quickly! When you are selling your savoy varieties at a market (I think you sell in that manner..sorry...newer to your channel so not sure), do you let folks have a little taste to entice them to buy it? Thanks again for informative and well-produced videos! For any one who didn't watch until the end clip...you missed a good one!

[hopehochhalter]

In the mid 2000's, a successful organic farmer in my area, Dave Swett, spoke to our MG group about spinach, beets and chard. He always prepped his seed by soaking it in strongly brewed black tea (cooled), then seeded with it. It has served me well. Something about the tannins in the tea helped with germination? Food for thought.