Perpetual Spinach is a great vegetable to start growing at home if you are a beginner gardener. Keep it well watered and pick the leaves regularly and you will have a happy plant. Perpetual spinach likes full sun or part shade and grows best over the cooler months. Space Perpetual Spinach 30 inches apart to give it room to grow.
| Plant type | Perpetual Spinach is a Chard and related to Beetroot. |
| Plant size | 30 inches high, up to 20 inches wide |
| Difficulty | Easy to grow |
| Cost | Affordable (around $5 for a seedling), seeds $3-$4 |
| Spacing | 30 inches apart |
| Where to plant | Full sun or part shade. |
| When to plant | Spring and Fall. Prefers cooler weather. |
| Soil type | Well-draining soil that is rich with organic matter. Dig the soil over and improve it with pelleted chicken manure and compost before planting. |
| Watering | Keep Perpetual Spinach well-watered for sweet, tender leaves. |
| Mulch | Straw, sugar cane mulch or lucerne. |
| Fertilizer | Scatter pelleted chicken manure when planting seedlings. Use a liquid fertilizer like fish emulsion after 4 weeks after seeds have grown. |
| Best way to grow | Plant seedlings for quick results. Scatter sow seeds for succession planting. |
| Growth type | Grows all year round and can be continually picked for up to 2 years. Will need to be replaced after the second year. |
| Container growing | Choose a pot that is 1-2 inches wider than the seedling or scatter sow in a raised garden bed. |
| Companion plants | Beetroot, strawberries, onion, chives, peas, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce. |
| HarvestingPick young leaves by tearing or trimming them off with kitchen scissors. Use scissors or secateurs to cut larger leaves so you don’t damage the plant. | |
| Cooking | Pick young leaves to use in salads. Pick older leaves and cook in dishes like Spinach. Steam, add to stir fry or mix through casseroles. |
How to plant Perpetual Spinach seedlings
Growing Perpetual Spinach from seedling for an instant edible garden. Here is my step by step guide.
- Choose a sunny or part shade spot in your garden that is at least 10 inches wide.
- Rake back any mulch on your soil.
- Add a handful of pelleted chicken manure, compost or worm castings as fertilizer.
- Dig through the fertilizer gently with a small fork or spade into the top 5 inches of soil.
- Make a small hole the size of the pot in the soil and place the soil into a spare pot or bucket.
- Remove the plant from the pot and place it in the hole.
- Backfill the plant with soil removed, place any excess soil in another garden bed or in your worm farm.
- Surround the spinach with straw or sugar cane mulch.
- Water in well to settle the soil around the plant roots.
How to sow Perpetual Spinach seeds
Growing Perpetual Spinach from seed for a cheaper option. You can plant perpetual spinach by seed every 4 weeks so you always have spinach on hand.
- Choose a sunny spot in your garden bed, raised garden or pot.
- Rake back any mulch on your soil if planting straight into your garden bed.
- If planting in a pot, fill with seed raising mix leaving ½ inch space at the top of the pot.
- Scatter the seeds on top of the seed raising mix or garden soil.
- Sprinkle a layer of seed raising mix or soil over the seeds ½ inch deep.
- Gently water the seeds with the mist setting on your garden hose.
- Keep the seeds moist for the first week, seeds will emerge in 8-10 days.
- Thin the seeds when they reach ½ inch high. Seeds will grow in clusters.
- Seeds in trays can be transplanted into your garden or into a larger pot into good quality potting soil.
Growing Perpetual Spinach – How to Guide
Plant type
Perpetual Spinach is a Chard and related to Beetroot. It is also related to Silverbeet and can be eaten in the same way. Small leaves are great in a salad.
Plant size
Perpetual spinach can grow up to 30 inches high and up to 20 inches wide. I like to keep mine small by trimming it regularly encouraging it to growing new leaves for salad. Keep the leaves trimmed back to smaller than 10 inches for the best tasting crop.
Difficulty
Perpetual spinach is easy to grow from seedling and the key to success it to keep it well watered. Growing from seed it as easy as growing lettuce as long as you keep the seeds damp.
Cost
Seedlings are affordable and I paid around $5 for a small pot that was a few inches high. Seeds are the more affordable option with 50 seeds costing $3-$4. Buy heirloom seeds for a traditional English spinach variety and plant in the spring.
Spacing
Plant perpetual spinach 30 inches apart to give them space to grow to full size. I grow mine in in a smaller area and keep them regularly trimmed. This will keep the plant smaller around 5-10 inches high and wide to fit in my raised garden bed.
Where to plant
Plant in full sun or part shade and if you live in a very hot climate, keep them out of the harsh summer sun. Most of my garden is in part shade so my spinach will get shade cover in the afternoon. This will keep the leaves sweeter and tender compared to a full sun position.
When to plant
Plant all year round if you live in a sub-tropical area and plant in Spring and Fall in cooler areas. Spinach prefers cooler weather and can survive frosts.
Soil type
Perpetual Spinach is a hungry plant so plant in well-draining soil that is rich with organic matter. Dig the soil over and improve it with pelleted chicken manure and compost before planting. If you have aged cow manure or worm castings these can also be added to the soil for an extra nutrient boost.
Watering
Keep Perpetual Spinach well-watered for sweet, tender leaves. Add mulch around your spinach to keep the soil moist and remember to check the soil and water if it seems dry.
Mulch
Mulch Perpetual Spinach with straw, sugar cane mulch or Lucerne. Use a light mulch so it breaks down quickly to add extra organic matter to the soil, prevent weeds and keep the soil moist.
Fertilizer
Use a natural, organic fertilizer like pelleted chicken manure when planting seedlings. Feed Perpetual Spinach with a liquid fertilizer like fish emulsion 2 weeks after planting. Keep fertilizer off the leaves and don’t fertilize within a week of harvest time.
Always wash your perpetual spinach leaves well before eating.
Growth type
Perpetual Spinach grows all year and can be continually picked for up to 2 years. After 2 years the spinach will need to be replaced to keep it producing new leaves.
Container growing
Perpetual Spinach grows well in a raised garden bed or pot. Choose a pot that is 1-2 inches wider than the pot the seedling came in and move it up to a bigger pot as it grows. If you are planting seeds, scatter sow them in a pot or in a raised bed.
Companion plants
- Beetroot
- Strawberries
- Onions
- Chives
- Peas
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Lettuce
I have planted my perpetual spinach with my snow peas and lettuce as they all enjoy regular watering.
Harvesting
Perpetual Spinach is easy to pick by hand or using kitchen scissors. Pick young leaves by trimming them off with kitchen scissors or pinch them off carefully with your fingertips. Use scissors or secateurs to cut larger leaves to avoid accidentally pulling the plant out by the roots.
Cooking
Small leaves can be picked to used in salads. Larger leaves can be used like regular spinach in either steamed, added to stir fry or mix through casseroles.
Growing Perpetual Spinach – Summary
Perpetual Spinach is an easy vegetable to start growing at home if you are a beginner gardener. Keep it well watered and pick the leaves regularly and you will have a happy plant.
I am an accredited practicing dietitian, experienced gardener and a dedicated cook. I love writing and sharing my experience so you can learn from my successes and mistakes.
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