Spinach can be grown and harvested all year round. It only takes about eight weeks to reach maturity. Every gardener can determine the harvest time himself. This is either in early summer or autumn and depends on the time of sowing. If spinach has been overwintered, a second harvest in spring is possible.
When is the right time to harvest spinach?
Spinach can be harvested within eight weeks of sowing. The harvest time depends on the sowing season: spring spinach is sown from March to May and harvested from April to June, while autumn spinach is sown from August to September and harvested from September to November.
Growing time and harvest time
Spinach is sown either from March to May or from August to September. Early spinach is sown from March to May. Its harvest period lasts from April to June. If sowed in August, the harvest takes place from the end of September to November.
It only takes eight weeks from sowing to harvest. If the plant has developed large leaves, the spinach is ready to harvest.
Second harvest in spring
If you have grown one of the numerous hardy varieties (“Matador”, “Monnopa”, “Winterriesen”), you can let the spinach overwinter in the bed. You can harvest it a second time in spring.
For overwintering, the spinach is covered with fleece (€34.00 on Amazon) or brushwood in particularly cold locations.
Harvest spinach up to four times
For multiple harvests, the spinach is harvested from the outside in. First, cut off the outer leaves just above the ground.
You leave the heart of the plant standing, then the spinach will sprout again and can be harvested up to four times. After the last harvest, remove the entire plant.
Unique Harvest
A one-off harvest is also possible. The entire plant is harvested. You can preserve leaves that you will not use within the next few days.
Harvest tips:
- Harvest spinach late afternoon and evening,
- If the spinach starts to bloom, it tastes bitter and should no longer be harvested
- Be sure to harvest the spinach stalks to avoid diseases
Store and preserve spinach
Despite its nitrate content, spinach is very digestible. Fresh spinach only lasts two or three days in the refrigerator. It tastes best freshly prepared, either as steamed leaf spinach or in the pureed version. Young leaves can be prepared as a salad.
Spinach can be preserved longer by freezing. To do this, the spinach is blanched so that it collapses. After cooling in a water bath, the spinach can be frozen.
Tips & Tricks
After the first harvest, light fertilization stimulates the spinach to sprout again. You should wait three weeks before the next harvest so that they do not contain too much nitrate.
