📦 Overview
- Type: Leafy green (chard family)
- Latin name: Beta vulgaris
- Common name: Perpetual Spinach / Leaf Beet
- Lifecycle: Hardy biennial (grown as annual)
🌱 Why it’s in the Seed Bank
A staple crop — reliable, productive, and easy to grow.
This is one of those seeds I like to keep on hand at all times. It fills the gap when other greens struggle, especially during warmer months.
📅 Sowing information
- Sow: March – August
- Germination: 7–14 days
- Depth: 1–2 cm
Can be sown direct or started in modules.
🌿 Growing notes
- Prefers moist, fertile soil (perfect for no-dig beds)
- Tolerates partial shade
- Keep well watered for tender leaves
- Very low maintenance overall
📏 Spacing
- Thin to 20–25 cm between plants
- Rows approx. 30 cm apart
✂️ Harvesting
- Cut outer leaves regularly
- Avoid removing the central growing point
- Continuous harvest over many months
🍽️ Use in the kitchen
- Can be used like spinach
- Holds texture better when cooked
- Great in soups, pasta, and stir-fries
🌼 Saving seed
- Flowers in its second year
- Produces seed similar to beetroot/chard
- Allow a plant to bolt if saving seed
🔗 Related
👉 See growing guide: Growing Perpetual Spinach in a No-Dig Bed
👉 Recipes: check The Pot section for ideas using spinach
🟨 Sowing Info
Quick Guide:
- Sow: Mar–Aug
- Spacing: 20–25 cm
- Harvest: Cut-and-come-again
- Position: Sun or partial shade