🍃When to Plant Spinach (2026)
Very cold-hardy. One of the first things you can sow in spring.
- Type: Cool-season
- Method: Direct sow
- Days to harvest: 40
- Spacing: 4" apart
- Sun: Full sun to part shade
- Companions: radish, strawberry, peas
Is Spinach right for your USDA zone?
Spinach is a cool-season crop, which means it thrives in the mild temperatures of spring and fall. Gardeners in zones 3a through 7b get the longest spinach season — you can plant in early spring and again in late summer for a fall harvest. In warmer zones (8a-10b), grow spinach as a winter crop from October through February when temperatures are coolest.
Spinach needs about 40 days from sowing to harvest, so any zone with at least 54frost-free days can grow it successfully. Check your zone's specific dates in the table below.
Spinach planting dates by zone (2026)
| Zone | Start Indoors | Sow / Transplant | Harvest From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 3a | — | Apr 10 | May 20 |
| Zone 3b | — | Apr 10 | May 20 |
| Zone 4a | — | Apr 5 | May 15 |
| Zone 4b | — | Mar 31 | May 10 |
| Zone 5a | — | Mar 26 | May 5 |
| Zone 5b | — | Mar 21 | Apr 30 |
| Zone 6a | — | Mar 16 | Apr 25 |
| Zone 6b | — | Mar 11 | Apr 20 |
| Zone 7a | — | Mar 6 | Apr 15 |
| Zone 7b | — | Mar 1 | Apr 10 |
| Zone 8a | — | Feb 18 | Mar 30 |
| Zone 8b | — | Feb 8 | Mar 20 |
| Zone 9a | — | Jan 21 | Mar 2 |
| Zone 9b | — | Jan 6 | Feb 15 |
| Zone 10a | — | Dec 27 | Feb 5 |
| Zone 10b | — | Dec 11 | Jan 20 |