When to plant spinach in Richmond
Spinach is cold-hardy, so every date keys off Richmond's frost dates of Apr 1.
Step 1 · Sow
Direct sow outdoors
Feb 18 – Mar 11
Sow straight into warm, workable soil.
Step 2 · Harvest
Harvest window
Mar 30 – Apr 9
Picking runs until conditions turn against the crop.
Step 3 · Second sowing
Autumn / second sowing
Aug 25 – Sep 8
A second window for a fall crop, timed to mature before the first frost.
Step 4 · Second harvest
Autumn crop harvest
Oct 11 – Oct 21
Maturity window for the second sowing.
Window
Days to maturity
40 – 50 d
Richmond's 217-day season leaves this much room.
Spinach on Richmond'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
APR 1
NOV 4
Common questions
When can I sow spinach outdoors in Richmond?
Direct-sow around mid February (Feb 18–Mar 11) in Richmond, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 88%.
When will spinach be ready to harvest in Richmond?
Expect to harvest from around late March (Mar 30–Apr 9) in Richmond, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 79%.
Can I plant spinach in autumn in Richmond?
Yes — Richmond supports a second, autumn sowing of spinach around late August (Aug 25–Sep 8), timed to mature before the first fall frost.
How long is the growing season in Richmond?
Richmond has roughly 217 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 Richmond's frost dates.
Confidence 88/100 · Curated · based on NOAA GHCN-Daily 1991–2020 normal · frost dates are probabilities, not guarantees.