Spinach

Spinach is the crop that makes a shady balcony productive. It germinates at 40°F, grows fastest in cool weather, and bolts the moment days get long and hot. That gives you two honest windows: early spring and autumn. Trying to grow it in July is the single most common container-garden failure with this crop.

How to grow it

• Sow four weeks before last frost, ½ inch deep, and thin to 6 inches.
• Keep soil moist — spinach seed fails in dry soil and seedlings bolt in dry air.
• Grow in partial shade in zone 7+; full sun only in cool climates.
• Feed once with a mild nitrogen feed at the four-leaf stage.
• Sow again in late summer for a fall crop — the plants overwinter in mild zones.

What goes wrong

• Bolting in heat: a central stalk and small bitter leaves. Harvest immediately and replant in fall.
• Downy mildew: yellow patches on upper leaves with grey fuzz beneath. Water at soil level only.
• Leaf miners: pale winding tunnels. Remove affected leaves; the crop usually outgrows the damage.

Harvesting

Cut outer leaves at 40 days, or cut the whole rosette an inch above soil for one regrowth.

• Cut outer leaves while the plant has at least five leaves remaining.
• Harvest in the morning for the crispest leaves.
• Wash in cold water and dry — wet spinach bruises in the fridge.

Varieties that work in pots

Bloomsdale Long Standing · Tyee · Giant Winter · Red Kitten

Seed is cheap; the pot and the mix are where the money goes. Links to search results on Amazon are affiliate links — see our disclosure.