When to Plant Spinach in NZ: How to Grow Spinach by Region

Updated October 2026

A cool-season crop best sown autumn to early spring, as it bolts quickly once summer heat arrives. In the warmest months grow silverbeet or perpetual spinach instead.

What it looks like as it grows

🌱 Plant profile: Spinach, with sowing times for your region, companion plants and common pests.

When to Plant Spinach in Your Region

Spinach is a cool season crop, sown from autumn into early spring in most of New Zealand. These are the sowing months for each of our nine regions, straight from our planting data. Each region links to its vegetable planting calendar, and the Spinach plant page has spacing, companions and care notes for your region.

From Northland to Canterbury, including the central North Island, our data sows spinach from March to September. The two southern regions are different. Otago and Southland sow from August to November and again from February to April, because the cool summers there slow bolting while midwinter sowings sit in cold soil. Central Otago sows from August to October and in February and March, because spinach bolts in the summer heat there and the soil is frozen in midwinter.

Best spinach varieties for NZ

• Bloomsdale Long Standing, Crinkled dark leaves, slower to bolt than most true spinach. (Kings Seeds, Egmont Seeds)
• Winter Giant / English Spinach, Smooth-leaved cool-season spinach for autumn and winter sowing. (Yates NZ, Mr Fothergill's NZ)

How to grow spinach

• Space plants about 20cm apart.
• Sow seed around 1cm deep.
• Position: part shade.
• Ready to harvest in roughly 55 days.
• Seeds germinate in about 10 days.

How to Sow Spinach

1. Choose full sun to part shade and rich, moist, well drained soil.
2. Sow seed direct, about 1 cm deep. Seedlings appear in about 10 days.
3. Thin the seedlings to a hand-span apart, about 20 cm.
4. Keep the watering steady, because heat and dry roots trigger fast bolting.
5. Feed with nitrogen for lush leaves.
6. Sow a little every few weeks through the cool months for a steady supply.

Our succession planting guide shows how to plan small, regular sowings.

How Long Does Spinach Take to Grow?

Our plant data allows about 55 days from sowing to picking. Pick the outer leaves once they are big enough to use, snapping or cutting them from the outside, and the centre keeps producing. Keep picking until the plant starts to run to seed. Spinach keeps for 3 to 4 days in a sealed bag in the fridge, and it blanches and freezes well.

Growing Spinach in Pots

Spinach suits containers. Our plant data calls for a pot of at least 25 cm, kept evenly moist, and spinach is happy in part shade, so the pot can sit where sun-loving crops would not. Pick the outer leaves and the plant keeps producing for weeks.

Spinach Alternatives for Summer

English spinach runs to seed in heat and long days, so in summer most New Zealand gardens grow another leafy green instead. Silverbeet is hardy and grows most of the year, and the heat-loving Brazilian spinach and Malabar spinach are sown from September to December. Our silverbeet guide has the months for your region.

Companion planting

Grow spinach near: Strawberry, Pea.

Pests and problems

Watch for: Leaf miner, Slugs, Aphids. See our NZ pest and disease guide for organic control.

When it goes wrong

The most common ways spinach trips people up, and what to change next time:

Bolts to seed quickly

Heat and long days. Grow it in the cool months, or grow silverbeet and warrigal greens over summer instead.

Pale yellow leaves

Hungry or waterlogged. Feed with a nitrogen-rich liquid and check drainage.