- Baby Leaf Greens & Baby Leaf Lettuce | Technical Production Guide
- Spinach | Key Growing Information
- Spinach Seed Roller Pack | Tech Sheet (PDF)
- Spinach Varieties | Comparison Chart / Planting Program (PDF)
- Webinar Slide Deck | Spinachpalooza—Seasonal Slotting & Variety Traits | PDF
- Spinachpalooza—Seasonal Slotting & Variety Traits | Hensley’s Seed Co.
- Spinach Varieties | Succession Planting Program
- Winter Growing Guide | Part 6: Recommended Crops & Varieties
- Baby Leaf Greens: 12 Picks for Market Growers | Hensley’s Educational Webinar Resources
Spinach Succession Planting Program
This planting program from Hensley’s shows which spinach varieties to sow, grow and harvest one after another so your spinach supply carries on from season to season. Slower-growing varieties do best when they mature in warm weather, while faster-growing varieties do best maturing in cool weather. Use the sowing and harvest windows in the charts below to build your own spinach schedule.
When to Sow and Harvest Each Spinach Variety |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Legend |
Sow | Harvest | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Variety | Spring (cool) | Summer (warm) | Fall (cool) | Winter (cold) | Late winter through early spring | ||||||||||||||||||
| 'Tragopan' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Space' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Gerenuk' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Flamingo Improved' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Hammerhead' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Rangitoto' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Sunangel' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Tarsier' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Tundra' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Lizard' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Equinox' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Kolibri' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Bloomsdale' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Seaside' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Red Tabby' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
How the Spinach Varieties Compare |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variety | Days to baby-leaf harvest** | Leaf type | Leaf color | Growth speed | Bolting speed | Disease resistance* |
| 'Tragopan' | 24 days | Flat (smooth) | Deep green | Quick | Quick | Downy mildew races 1–15, 17, 20 (HR) |
| 'Space' | 25 days | Flat (smooth) | Mid-green | Quick | Moderate | Downy mildew races 1–3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 19 (HR) |
| 'Flamingo Improved' | 27 days | Arrow-shaped | Mid-green | Quick | Quick | Downy mildew races 1–14, 16 (HR) |
| 'Gerenuk' | 27 days | Semi-savoy | Medium-dark green | Quick | Moderate | Downy mildew races 1–7, 9–20 (HR) |
| 'Hammerhead' | 27 days | Savoy | Medium-dark green | Quick | Quick | Downy mildew races 1–12, 14–16, 19 (HR) White rust (IR) |
| 'Rangitoto' | 27 days | Semi-savoy | Mid-green | Moderate | Quick | Downy mildew races 1–16, 19 (HR) |
| 'Sunangel' | 27 days | Semi-savoy | Medium-dark green | Quick | Moderate | Downy mildew races 1–9, 11–20 (HR) Downy mildew races 10 (IR) White rust (IR) |
| 'Tarsier' | 27 days | Semi-savoy | Medium-dark green | Quick | Moderate | Downy mildew races 1–7, 11–20 (HR); Stemphylium (HR) Downy mildew races 8, 10 (IR) |
| 'Tundra' | 27 days | Semi-savoy | Glossy deep green | Slow | Moderate | Downy mildew races 1–13, 15, 16, 18 (HR) |
| 'Lizard' | 28 days | Flat (smooth) | Deep green | Slow | Slow | Downy mildew races 1–15, 17, 20 (HR) |
| 'Equinox' | 29 days | Savoy | Medium-dark green | Moderate | Moderate | none listed |
| 'Kolibri' | 29 days | Semi-savoy | Medium-dark green | Moderate | Moderate | Downy mildew races 1–9, 12–15, 17 (HR) Downy mildew races 10, 11 (IR) |
| 'Bloomsdale' | 30 days | Savoy | Medium-dark green | Moderate | Quick | none listed |
| 'Seaside' | 30 days | Flat (smooth) | Deep green | Slow | Slow | Downy mildew races 1–11, 15, 16, 19, 20 (HR) Downy mildew races 12, 14 (IR) |
| 'Red Tabby' | 31 days | Flat (smooth) | Deep green, vivid red veins | Slow | Slow | Downy mildew races 1–9, 11–13, 20 (HR) Downy mildew races 10 (IR) |
*DM: downy mildew; WR: white rust; Sv: Stemphylium Leaf Spot
**Day counts are for harvest at baby-leaf size for market sale.
Spinach Varieties Side by Side
Tech tip: sowing spinach for winter harvest
In northern growing areas, spinach can stay in a hoophouse all winter. The trick is to get plants established before day length falls below 10 hours. After that point growth nearly stops, but the plants keep their cold tolerance, so you can harvest through winter or let them overwinter for an early spring cut.
Spinach for winter has to be sown in the hottest weeks of summer, when it normally struggles. Keep the soil cool and moist, but watch closely for damping off. Watering cools soil two ways: the cold water itself lowers the temperature, and evaporation pulls heat out of the soil.
