When to plant spinach in New York City
Spinach is cold-hardy, so every date keys off New York City's frost dates of Mar 30.
Step 1 · Sow
Direct sow outdoors
Mar 3 – Mar 24
Sow straight into warm, workable soil.
Step 2 · Harvest
Harvest window
Apr 12 – Apr 22
Picking runs until conditions turn against the crop.
Step 3 · Second sowing
Autumn / second sowing
Sep 9 – Sep 23
A second window for a fall crop, timed to mature before the first frost.
Step 4 · Second harvest
Autumn crop harvest
Oct 26 – Nov 5
Maturity window for the second sowing.
Window
Days to maturity
40 – 50 d
New York City's 234-day season leaves this much room.
Spinach on New York City'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
MAR 30
NOV 19
Common questions
When can I sow spinach outdoors in New York City?
Direct-sow around early March (Mar 3–Mar 24) in New York City, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 86%.
When will spinach be ready to harvest in New York City?
Expect to harvest from around mid April (Apr 12–Apr 22) in New York City, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 80%.
Can I plant spinach in autumn in New York City?
Yes — New York City supports a second, autumn sowing of spinach around early September (Sep 9–Sep 23), timed to mature before the first fall frost.
How long is the growing season in New York City?
New York City has roughly 234 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 New York City's frost dates.
Confidence 89/100 · Curated · based on NOAA GHCN-Daily 1991–2020 normal · frost dates are probabilities, not guarantees.