If you like fresh home-grown spinach and hate the fact if you can only get it locally during the farming season, then growing your own crops indoors may be the best option for you.
Many people love the idea but never follow through because it sounds a little overwhelming. However, we are here to show you it’s not.
To successfully grow spinach indoors, you need a dry, safe space, a durable pot with excellent drainage, and fertilized soil. From there, all it takes is minimal maintenance, and you will see fully grown spinach within 45-50 days.
If you want detailed instructions on how to grow your spinach indoors successfully, continue reading this article.
Our Process: We will take a deep dive into home-grown spinach and everything you need to do to make the process go as smooth as possible.
Will Spinach Grow Indoors?
You would be pretty surprised to know that tons of vegetables and fruits can easily be grown indoors, and yes, spinach is one of them.
Spinach is a hardy plant that doesn’t need a whole lot of TLC to thrive.
You can easily grow this product in your home in the right conditions all throughout the year.
How to Successfully Grow Spinich Indoors?
If you are a spinach lover and prefer enjoying the fruits of your own labor, then you are ready to create your own indoor garden, and we are here to help.
To successfully grow spinach indoors, here is what you will need:
- 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, you should find the best location in your home that will stay 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 is a very hot day, make sure the space is cooled as much as possible and give a little more water than you typically would.
While this plant can survive in up to 80°F, it is a cool-season crop and prefers much cooler temps.
If you are planning on growing your plants in the summer, keep them in a location where they have access to the sunlight but are mostly shaded.
You can keep these plants near the window in the fall because the days are shorter and the sunlight is less prevalent.
Always Good Idea: You also want to keep your spinach plants in a safe location where pets or children can 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 thing you need is a durable planter or pot with optimal drainage; overwatering a plant or not allowing the soil to drain properly is a great way to create root rot and kill your plant quickly.
- Next, you will want to fill the pot with well-fertilized soil and then push your finger into the soil a little more than an inch of the way down.
- For proper growth, your spinach will need adequate room, so make sure your planter is large enough for the number of seeds you will be using.
If you are growing smaller leaf spinach (baby spinach), you only need to space your seeds about 3-inches apart.
For the large leaves, 5-inches between each seed should be sufficient.
After placing the seeds into holes, place the soil back over them and water them thoroughly.
Maintaining Your Spinach
Once your seeds start to spout, maintaining this plant is fairly simple.
Keep the soil adequately fertilized and mulched, and water it daily.
Never over-water spinach, instead carefully add water to the soil only (avoiding the plant’s leaves), and make sure the soil is moist, not soaked. (as mentioned above, too much water or poor drainage can lead to root rot.)
How Long Does It Take to Grow Spinach Indoors?
Once you have planted the seeds and started the growing process, it shouldn’t take more than a week for you to start seeing the little green sprouts making their way above the soil.
However, growing spinach isn’t going to be a quick process. It can take almost two months before you can even consider harvesting your crops.
On Average: It takes about 50 days before you can start to remove the spinach leaves from your planter.
How Do You Know When Spinach Is Ready to Harvest?
The rule of thumb, when it comes to picking spinach, is if the leaves are big enough to eat.
If your spinach leaves are 3-4 inches long and there are numerous amounts available, you are safe to start picking.
If you would like your plant to continue growing leaves, only pick the outside leaves and allow the inner ones to continue getting larger.
Is It Easy to Grow Spinach at Home?
Spinach is actually one of the easiest plants to grow indoors.
The plant is very hardy and can thrive in some of the more extreme conditions as long as they are being cared for and maintained.
Can You Grow Hydroponic Spinach Indoors?
Hydroponic in-door gardens are becoming increasingly popular over the recent years and can absolutely be used to grow your spinach.
However, it is essential to mention that spinach is one of the harder leafy vegetables to grow this way.
If you have a hydroponic garden and are interested in growing spinach, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Use the freshest seeds you can find
- Reduce the hours of light available to the plant
- Keep the temperatures cool, no higher than 70°F during the day or 65°F at night.
- Steer clear of seed heating mats
- Try putting your seeds in the refrigerator a week or two before sowing
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.