Patchmates
Sign in
Back

Vegetable

English spinach

Spinacia oleracea

English spinach is a fast cool-season green for autumn and winter in Adelaide. It bolts quickly in warm weather and lengthening days, so sow from late summer to early winter. For summer greens, grow silverbeet or warrigal greens instead.

When to plant where you live

Checking your area…

Add english spinach to my garden

Planting times for other areas

Varieties (3)

  • Baby leaf types (e.g. hybrid slow-bolt)Bred for quick baby leaves and slower bolting
  • BloomsdaleCrinkled (savoy) leaves; productive heirloom
  • Winter GiantLarge leaves and cold hardy; good for autumn sowing

Neighbours

Grows well with

From seed to plate

  1. Plant

    20 cm apart, seed 15 mm deep. Full sun or part shade.

  2. Water

    Keep moist.

  3. Feed

    Nitrogen-rich compost.

  4. Pick, from about 6 weeks

    Pick outer leaves.

Good to know

  • Sow small batches every 3 weeks through autumn
  • Pick outer leaves or cut the whole plant 3 cm above the soil to regrow

Common problems

  • Boltingsow in autumn; pick leaves young; avoid spring sowings
  • Downy mildew (yellow patches with grey fuzz)space plants, water at the base
  • Snails and slugstrap or hand pick at night
  • Poor germination in warm soilsow when soil has cooled below about 20 °C

If you use a garden chemical, follow the label exactly. Try organic options first, and ask the community or Plant Doctor if you're unsure.

Ask the garden helper about english spinachAny question, answered from the plant libraryHow others are growing english spinachQuestions, tips and harvests from the community

Safety: High in oxalates.

Where this information comes from

Reviewed by AI cross-check (Claude), not a horticulturist on 27 Oct 2026. Version 2.