When to plant spinach in Madison
Spinach is cold-hardy, so every date keys off Madison's frost dates of May 5.
Step 1 · Sow
Direct sow outdoors
Apr 6 – Apr 27
Sow straight into warm, workable soil.
Step 2 · Harvest
Harvest window
May 16 – May 26
Picking runs until conditions turn against the crop.
Step 3 · Second sowing
Autumn / second sowing
Jul 27 – Aug 10
A second window for a fall crop, timed to mature before the first frost.
Step 4 · Second harvest
Autumn crop harvest
Sep 12 – Sep 22
Maturity window for the second sowing.
Window
Days to maturity
40 – 50 d
Madison's 151-day season leaves this much room.
Spinach on Madison's growing year
Frost-bounded season with crops mapped onto the 12-month axis.
Frost risk Growing Harvest
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
FROST
FROST
MAY 5
OCT 6
Common questions
When can I sow spinach outdoors in Madison?
Direct-sow around early April (Apr 6–Apr 27) in Madison, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 86%.
When will spinach be ready to harvest in Madison?
Expect to harvest from around mid May (May 16–May 26) in Madison, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 80%.
Can I plant spinach in autumn in Madison?
Yes — Madison supports a second, autumn sowing of spinach around late July (Jul 27–Aug 10), timed to mature before the first fall frost.
How long is the growing season in Madison?
Madison has roughly 151 frost-free days, which is enough time to grow spinach to maturity outdoors.
The rule of thumb
Sow spinach as soon as the soil is workable — it tolerates cool weather and light frost. Every date on this page is derived from that rule and Madison's frost dates.
Confidence 89/100 · Curated · based on NOAA GHCN-Daily 1991–2020 normal · frost dates are probabilities, not guarantees.