Do you love vegetables? Especially the green leafy ones such as spinach and kale? Well, you should. Apart from being healthy and full of nutrients, green leafy vegetables are also quite sweet.
That is why it isn’t surprising to see most people want to know how to grow spinach indoors. How do you do that, though?
You can start by reading this to the end. We will highlight all the steps you need to take for you to grow spinach indoors.
Step By Step Guide to Growing Spinach Indoors
Lots of people have been doing it already. Let’s see how they are doing it. Just follow the 8 steps:
- Select the Container You Will Use
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t always have to use pots to grow indoor plants. Well, unless by pots, you mean any pot-like container.
You will need several containers for the various stages of growth.
Some people might prefer trays to grow spinach seeds. If you, however, decide to go with pots or pot-like containers, there is a certain level of depth you will have to select.
The pot should have a depth of at least six inches. The deeper, the better, so if you can get a pot that is about eight inches, it won’t hurt any bit.
Many vessels will offer you this depth and be ideal for spinach.
- Select the Type of Soil
The type of soil you grow your spinach will have a bearing on whether this procedure will be successful or not. Spinach, like any other vegetable, will require specific types of soil to do well.
That’s why you need to give special consideration to the soil.
Loamy soil with a significant amount of organic matter works best for spinach seeds. You should ensure the soil has excellent drainage and has as low a pH as possible.
Spinach doesn’t do that well in extreme pH conditions.
But where do you get this soil?
You can buy the soil at the store or from online sellers. Don’t use just any soil type since you might end up wasting your time without achieving any noteworthy results with your spinach.
You don’t want that, do you?
- Plant the Seeds
Planting the seeds isn’t a complicated affair since all you will be doing is burying them in the soil. You will have to do that to a depth of about half an inch.
Any deeper and the seedlings might have trouble breaking through the soil.
Apart from the depth, you will also need to consider spacing. If you are planting a spinach type that tends to have large leaves, they will need adequate spacing.
That means you should place the seeds several spaces from each other.
For that reason, it will be best if you do that at maybe three inches spacing. If you need as many of them as possible, you can stretch that to maybe say two inches. The leaves size will affect this spacing.
If you plan to be harvesting the spinach every once in a while, it means the leaves won’t get to grow that big. You, therefore, can go for lesser spacing.
If, on the other hand, you prefer leaves that grow to a large size, adequate spacing is a good idea.
- Place the Pot or Container in an Ideal Place
You will have to ensure you place your pot or container, not just anywhere. You will need a place where the spinach will get the best conditions.
While your windowsill might be a great place, not every time will the spinach get the optimal conditions.
If it is too hot outside, you should try and avoid the hot spots in your house. Spinach seeds will typically grow best with some shade.
If you are planting in the fall, sunnier areas will be great since the sun tends to set earlier during these times.
- Check the Temperature
Although spinach is hardy, you will still need to check the temperature to avoid killing it by mistake. That will mean you checking your thermostat and having the right temperature.
Germinating seeds will typically require between 40 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit to grow well. You can, however, set your thermostat to about 50 degrees which is an ideal temperature to ensure you don’t freeze the spinach.
Some spinach types will withstand hotter temperatures. But you will need to protect your spinach plants with some shade if the temperature goes over 90 degrees.
- Moisturize the Soil
We have already said spinach is quite hardy, but that doesn’t mean you can neglect it. You will still need to water it if you want to enjoy the best spinach regularly.
Failing to water will make the spinach grow at a languid pace.
When watering, don’t leave the soil soggy. Instead, use enough water to make the soil only moist. Waterlogged soils have poor oxygen circulation, which is bad news for any plant, leave alone spinach.
Too much water n the pot could also lead to the development of fungal diseases. That is why it is prudent you keep the soil n the pot draining and only moist.
- Add Some Fertilizer
Giving spinach water and ensuring the soil is moist enough are just among the few things you can do to maintain it. It, however, won’t be enough to get the best leafy spinach.
For that, you will have to add some fertilizer, whether organic or inorganic. As much as the soil you will be using might have its nutrients, you will still need to mulch additional nutrients.
Mulch will augment the organic matter as well as make the soil moist. That keeps your spinach in good condition enabling it to sprout all green and leafy. Also, you can feed your spinach coffee grounds too.
Nitrogenous fertilizers are also an option, but you have to use them in moderation. There are also various options for organic manure you can consider.
You will, however, need to ensure such waste is well-rotted for it to be more effective.
- Harvest Your Vegetables
Don’t let the easy growing process fool you into thinking the spinach will be ready for harvesting fast. It will typically take you between 30 and 50 days to harvest the spinach.
How do you know that the spinach is ready for harvesting, though? Measure the leaves. If the leaves are over three inches long, then they are ready for harvesting.
Growing Spinach Under Lights
So, how does light color affect plant growth?
Well, that’s a crucial factor for most of the indoor plants that you need to master.
Often you will find you want to grow spinach or other types of vegetables indoors, but the lighting in their houses isn’t up to the task.
Usually, when an indoor plant fails to produce to the required standards, the culprit is most likely light.
So, how does one go about growing spinach indoors under lights? It very much follows the same procedure as the normal indoors growing only with a few modifications.
In addition to the usual things, you will need a light source, hence the name growing under lights.
As we had earlier mentioned, spinach will do well in regular light as long as it sees the light for about 8 to ten hours a day.
So, what if your house doesn’t have enough light to support the growth of the spinach? You will have no option by supplementing the lighting in your home.
The best option is to use fluorescent lights.
How do you then plant spinach under lights?
- Buy The Seeds
Get the spinach seeds and lightly sprinkle them onto the surface of the soil in the container. As much as you should bury the seeds, don’t cover them with too much soil. Also, remember to space the spinach seeds when covering them with soil evenly.
- Ensure Right Environment
Move the container with the seeds in a bright room with temperatures from between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The room should ideally never have temperatures below 40 Fahrenheit.
- Follow Up Until Germination
Remember to check the soil regularly. If you detect any dryness, moisten the soil by spraying with a misting bottle. You should spray until you see a consistent moist outcome and not a soggy one.
Ensure you place this container directly under the fluorescent light source at a distance of roughly six inches. Fluorescent lights cane anything between fluorescent bulbs and tubes.
One thing you need to ensure, though, is that you got the ideal source of light. That prevents excessive light from killing the spinach or hampering proper growth.
That is why you have to be checking the light and adjusting it as the seeds grow.
Occasionally raise the amount of light as the spinach grow, always ensuring you maintain the 6-inch difference between the source of light and spinach.
When watering the seeds, if you planted them in a tray, place the top 0.5 inches of the soil in to warm water up to 2 inches.
Drain the tray for a few minutes before returning it to its original place under the lights.
- Move Seedings To New Container
As soon as the seedlings grow long enough, transfer them into a different container, say a pot. Carefully place them into holes you’ve made in the soil inside the pot.
Ensure the holes are about the same depth as the length of the root ball.
Lightly tamp around the base of the plant after doing this to ensure the roots hold. Do this for all the other lants, then return the pot under the lights again.
Remember to check the lights and adjust the distance between them and the plants until they are ready to harvest.
Can you Grow Spinach Indoors?
Absolutely! You can grow spinach indoors if you don’t have the luxury to maintain an outdoor garden in your place of abode.
There are various ways you can do that. The most popular method is growing them in pots.
Potted plants have been around d for a longer time than most indoor plants. It is common to use potted flowers and other decorative plants at home. So why not try spinach as well?
Does it necessarily have to be in pots? Nope. Any viable container will do. Someone might have thought you could only use pots.
Well, we’d like to tell you that other containers can do the trick for you.
If you have a window sill, then you are good to go. Spinach doesn’t require too much maintenance, unlike most other indoor decorative plants. It, therefore, wouldn’t tax your energy.
If you plan on starting this, you will need to know how to do it the right way.
What Other Plants Can One Grow Indoors?
There are so many other plants that you can grow indoors. You can easily vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, and even cabbage indoors.
However, light being a problem will necessitate the use of fluorescent bulbs to ensure the vegetable has the optimum light conditions they need to flourish.
Planting lettuce indoors will typically be almost the same as planting spinach with a few minor alterations.
For instance, lettuce prefers light of 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. They, however, need the identical moderate amounts of water as spinach.
In the same way, you can grow spinach from craps; you can also grow lettuce.
You, therefore, shouldn’t be afraid to try growing different vegetables indoors since you never know when they could save you with some fresh food.
Tips to Remember When Growing Spinach
- Remember not to expose the spinach to excess lights. They are hardy plants, yes, but they aren’t immune to the effects of too much light. There, however, are some heat-tolerant varieties you can plant f you live in a predominantly hot area.
- Don’t focus too much on nitrogenous fertilizers f you can get organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizer has no side effects on the plant and might help moisten the spinach soil to grow better.
- When harvesting the spinach, harvest the thicker outer leaves fast and leave the plant’s inner leaves to regenerate successfully. Also, if you want the spinach to taste better, harvest it before it starts flowing. Plants such as spinach and lettuce tend to become bitter whenever they approach the flowering stage.
Watch this video to master growing spinach indoor.
Final Thoughts
Are you still scratching your head, wondering how to grow spinach indoors? We bet not. With our guide, it will be relatively straightforward for you to have healthy spinach plants right from the comfort of your home.
You don’t have to deal with spinach alone as you also can try lettuce o any other vegetables. Indoor vegetables might come in handy in the winter when most people are usually out of green vegetables.
So do try out our procedure and let us know if it works for you. All the best.
I am growing spinach in a pot under grow lights . The spinach cam up and grew 1-2 inches but now it has stopped. It still looks healthy but has not grown in a week or so. I have it 6 inches from grow light, fertilized and maintained moisture but it just won’t grow.😔