Spring planting doesn’t start when the air feels warm, It...Read More
Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach is a hardy heirloom variety that is bred to withstand warm temperatures as well as a light frost. Slow to bolt and fast growing, this easy to grow variety requires minimal maintenance. The large leaves of Bloomsdale Long Standing are thick, broad, dark green, and have a crimped, crinkled, meaty texture. Bloomsdale Long Standing provides rich, tender, nutty flavor that is wonderful eaten raw, cooked, baked, sauteed, chopped, juiced, or preserved in the freezer to use later. Try making a homemade spinach dip using freshly harvested Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach and Garlic Chives from the garden.
In 1784, Englishman David Landreth moved to downtown Philadelphia to open the first commercial seed business in the United States. He and his brother Cuthbert developed this variety of spinach, which they named Bloomsdale Long Standing and introduced it to their customers in 1826.
NAME: Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)
VARIETY: Bloomsdale Long Standing
DAYS TO MATURITY: 45
POLLINATION: Open Pollinated
TYPE: Annual
HARDINESS ZONE: Zones 2 – 10
SUNLIGHT: Full sunlight or partial shade
SOIL: Rich, loose, fertile soil with a pH between 6.0 – 7.0
PLANT HEIGHT: 6 – 10 inches
SPACING: 5 – 9 inches apart
TEMP: 45 – 80 °F
These seeds do not required stratification.
To learn more about Stratification, click here!
Start seeds indoors 2 weeks before your last local frost date, in cell trays with 1 to 2 seeds per cell.
Keep the soil moist and germination will occur in 8 to 12 days.
Once the first set of true leaves show, thin them to one seedling per cell.
When they are 3 inches tall, transplant the seedlings into the garden beds or large pots, buried in soil to the base of the stem, spacing the plants 5 to 8 inches apart.
If direct seeding spinach outdoors, plant seed 1/2 inch deep and 2 inches apart.
Once they get to be a few inches tall and show their true leaves, thin them out so they are spaced 5 to 8 inches apart.
If you plant spinach in successive plantings, with 12 to 18 days in between, you will have an extended overlapping harvest without the wait for the plants to mature.
You can start spinach seeds in large pots if you plan to grow them entirely in pots.
If you want to grow spinach during the hottest weeks of summer, partial shaded areas or additional shade cloth can, to an extent, help prevent bolting cause by hot weather.
Spinach grows best in loose, fertile soil with good drainage and a pH between 6.5 – 7.0; adding compost to the soil prior to planting will help provide essential nutrients and improve drainage.
To prevent summer bolting, stop planting one month before the hottest summer temperatures start.
Plant fall-harvested spinach towards the end of summer so it reaches maturity by late fall, when the air is cool, but not yet below 40°F.
Begin harvesting spinach leaves when they reach the desired size, typically around 4-6 inches long, or by harvesting the entire plant at full maturity between 40 and 50 days
Use scissors or a sharp knife to cut the outer leaves, leaving the inner leaves to continue growing.
Harvest spinach regularly to encourage continuous production throughout the growing season. Avoid letting the plants bolt, as the leaves become bitter once the plant starts to flower.
