Can you grow spinach year-round in containers?
Written by
Olivia Mitchell
Reviewed by
Prof. Charles Hartman, Ph.D.To grow spinach year-round in containers, you'll need to adjust your methods for the challenges of each season. Using containers makes it easy to relocate your plants, allowing you to take advantage of both sun and shade as needed. Considerations for protection methods, especially in extreme temperature conditions, will enable constant production regardless of the weather outside.
Summer Management
- Install 40% shade cloth during peak afternoon hours
- Water twice daily to combat evaporation
- Use light-colored containers to reflect heat
- Harvest before noon to avoid heat-stressed leaves
Winter Protection
- Employ cold frames maintaining 10-15°F warmth
- Group containers against insulated walls
- Wrap pots in bubble wrap for root insulation
- Water sparingly only when soil thaws
Utilize succession planting every three weeks for continuous harvesting. Stagger planting dates between various containers. This will lead to new plants maturing while older plants are on their way out. Keep a calendar to track germination and maturing/harvest dates for timing purposes.
Seasonally, change plants between locations throughout the year. During spring and fall, move outdoor containers outside and then over to shaded patios in the summer. Then, in the winter, bring plants indoors or underneath protection. Mobility enables you to provide your plants with as much natural light as possible while avoiding temperature extremes, cold, or chilling conditions.
Take advantage of indoor supplementation during extreme weather. LED grow lights can provide a continuous daily light period of 14 hours when days shorten and natural light declines. Keep lights 6 inches from plants and turn containers as needed. Indoor systems will maintain supply even in blizzard or heat wave conditions.
Read the full article: How to Grow Spinach in Containers Successfully
