Horticultural Planning Records Est. data · NOAA 1991–2020 · USDA 2023

Vegetable · Amaranthaceae

How to Grow Perpetual Spinach

Cool season Frost hardy Full sun
Days to maturity 50–60
Spacing 6"
Plants / sq ft 1.33
Season Cool

Planting Perpetual Spinach

Perpetual Spinach is a cool season vegetable in the Amaranthaceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.

You can sow Perpetual Spinach directly into the garden 2–4 weeks before your last frost.

Perpetual Spinach can be grown by direct sowing and transplanting. Direct sowing avoids transplant shock, while direct sowing is simplest where the season is long enough.

Spacing and Planting Depth

Give Perpetual Spinach room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.

Spacing in row6 inches
Row spacing18 inches
Plants per sq ft1.33
Planting depth0.5 inches
Sun requirementFull sun

Days to Maturity

Perpetual Spinach reaches maturity in 50–60 days from sowing. Once ready, plants continue producing for approximately 90 days.

For a continuous harvest, sow a new batch every 21 days. Use the succession planting scheduler →

Perpetual Spinach is ready to harvest after about 55 days. Picking regularly over the roughly 90-day harvest window keeps plants productive and encourages a longer pick. Harvest before summer heat or, for fall crops, before a hard freeze, to keep quality high.

Conditions and Care

As a cool-season vegetable, Perpetual Spinach does its best growing in the cooler weather of spring and fall and tends to bolt or turn bitter in summer heat. It is frost hardy and can shrug off light freezes, so it can stay in the ground later into the season than tender crops.

Perpetual Spinach needs full sun — give it at least six hours of direct light a day for the best growth and flavor. Sow seed about 0.5 inches deep, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.

Perpetual Spinach belongs to the Amaranthaceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Because it matures relatively quickly, Perpetual Spinach rewards succession sowing: small, repeated plantings keep a steady supply coming rather than one short glut.

Companion Plants

Pairing Perpetual Spinach with the right neighbors can improve growth and deter pests; a few combinations are best avoided.

Grows well with: Green Beans (Bush), Onion

Growing Notes

A leaf-beet/chard type harvested like spinach.

Plan your Perpetual Spinach schedule
Data sources
  • Johnny's Selected Seeds