If you love fresh spinach grown at home but live somewhere that only locally grows it during the farming season, growing it indoors might be the way to go.
Many people like the idea but never take the plunge because it sounds a little overwhelming. But we are here to tell you that it isn’t.
All you need to grow spinach indoors is a dry safe space, an adequate container with good drainage, and fertilized soil. Beyond that, it is as simple as maintaining it to manage you will see fully grown spinach in 45-50 days.
If you are looking for an in-depth view of how to grow your spinach indoors successfully continue on.
Subclass: We follow a structure of providing a deep dive into home-grown spinach and everything you need to do to make it go as smooth as possible.
Will Spinach Grow Indoors?
You would easily shocked to find out that a large number of fruits and vegetables are suited for growing indoors, and spinach is certainly one of those fruits.
Spinach is a quite hardy plant and does not require so much TLC in order to thrive.
You can really grow this product in your home at any time of the year if the correct conditions are met.
How to Successfully Grow Spinich Indoors?
If you’re a big fan of spinach, and you like to relish in the fruits of your own labor, then you are already plotting to create your own indoor garden, and we can help you do just that.
Here’s what you’ll need to grow spinach indoors successfully:
- A dry, well-ventilated location
- Spinach seeds
- Pots
- Soil
- Mulch and fertilizer
- Watering can
Find the Best Location in Your Home
Before you do anything else, you will need to find the best placement in your home that keeps the temperature between 40°-75°F.
If the temperature goes above or below those temps, you are going to risk the chance of killing the plant.
If it’s a very hot day, ensure that the entire area is cooled as much as possible and provide a little more water than you normally would.
While this plant can survive temperatures up to 80°F, it is a cool-season crop and prefers cooler temps.
If you are projecting on growing the plants during the summer, make sure to keep them in a location where they can see the sun but are mostly shaded.
In the fall, you can keep the plants next to the window, as the days are shorter and there is less sun.
Always Good Idea: Also make sure to keep your spinach plants in a safe location where pets or children will not get into them or knock them over.
Prepare Your Pots
Now that you have the best location for your spinach plants, you can get your indoor pots ready for the seeds:
- The first item needed is a pot or planter that is durable with adequate drainage; literally drowning a plant or even the plant’s soil can create root rot that can kill your plant rather quickly.
- Next, you will want to fill the pot with already fertilized soil and then push your finger into the soil just over an inch down.
- Spinach will need adequate room to grow properly, so ensure your planter is large enough for the number of seeds you will be using.
If you’re planting smaller leaf spinach (also known as baby spinach), you’ll want to plant your seeds approximately 3-inches apart.
For the larger leaves, you’ll want to plant your seeds at about 5-inches apart.
After you’ve placed the seeds into the holes, cover the seeds with soil again and water them thoroughly.
Maintaining Your Spinach
After your seed’s begin to sprout, it’s quite easy to take care of this plant.
Keep the soil well-fertilized or mulched, and make sure you water it daily.
Do not over-water, but carefully add some water to the soil only (not the leaves of the plant) and notice when the soil is wet. Not soaked! (as mentioned above, excess water or poor drainage can rot roots)
How Long Does It Take to Grow Spinach Indoors?
Once the seeds have been planted and you begin the growing process, it should generally take no longer than one week for you to see the little green sprouts moving above the soil.
However, growing spinach is not going to be a fast process. It can take almost two months before you can reasonably harvest your crops.
On Average: It takes a little over cooking fifty days before you can start removing spinach leaves from your planter.
How Do You Know When Spinach Is Ready to Harvest?
When it comes to selecting spinach leaves, you need to know the rule of thumb: The spinach leaves need to be large enough to eat.
If your spinach leaves have grown between 3-4 inches long and you have a plethora of leaves produced, feel free to start picking.
However, if you would like your plant to continue producing more leaves, only pick the outermost leaves but allow the inner leaves to continue growing larger.
Is It Easy to Grow Spinach at Home?
Spinach is truly one of the most forgiving plants you can grow indoors.
The crop is quite hardy and can survive through some of the more extreme home gardening conditions as long as you care for and manage it properly.
Can You Grow Hydroponic Spinach Indoors?
Hydroponic in-door gardens have certainly taken off in popularity over the past few years, and most definitely can be used to grow your spinach.
However, It is worth pointing out that spinach is one of the more challenging leafy vegetables to grow this way.
If you do have a hydroponic garden and want to grow spinach, here are a few things to consider:
- Use seeds that are as new as possible.
- Reduce the light available to the plant.
- Keep the temperature cool, no more than 70°F in the day, and 65°F at night.
- Do not use heat mats for the seeds.
- You might want to put the seeds in the refrigerator 1-2 weeks before planting.
Summing Things Up
Growing spinach indoors isn’t as difficult as one might think and can be done in just about any home by anyone, whether you have a green thumb or not.