One of the healthiest vegetables in the world is heart-healthy spinach. It’s also fun to grow in the garden. Certain plants can even boost the growth of spinach to maximize your yields and minimize crop problems.
Known for its high iron content and versatile uses in the kitchen, spinach thrives in cool-weather gardens. It’s known to perform well alongside a variety of other buffer-season crops. This nutrient-dense veggie is often the first green to yield in the spring. It’s also usually among the last ones standing in the fall.
Spinach is incredibly easy to take care of and can be picked very quickly (if you like baby greens). On top of that, spinach doesn’t get as many pests or diseases as other popular greens like kale or arugula.
However, spinach is prone to turning bitter and bolting in warm weather. For gardeners who want to enjoy this crop all summer, the best thing about companion plants might be that they give their delicate greens shade. Let’s talk about which plants grow well with spinach and which ones should be kept away from it.
Spinach is a leafy green vegetable that is both tasty and nutritious. It is packed with vitamins like A C K and folate as well as minerals like manganese, magnesium and iron. Spinach is easy to grow in the cool weather of spring and fall. When thinking about what to plant alongside your spinach, companion planting is key for a successful harvest. Certain plants make perfect partners for spinach while others should be avoided. Let’s explore the best companion plants for growing huge, healthy spinach plants.
Why Companion Plant Spinach
Companion planting simply means growing different plants together for mutual benefit. Certain plants help each other grow better by attracting beneficial insects, repelling pests improving soil nutrients, providing shade or structural support and more. Spinach does well when interplanted with the right companions.
Here are some of the benefits of companion planting for spinach:
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Pest control – Some plants naturally repel pests that damage spinach, like aphids, cabbage worms, beetles and nematodes. These helpful neighbors keep bugs away.
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Nutrient availability – Legumes like beans and peas fix nitrogen in the soil, making this key nutrient more readily available to spinach roots.
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Shade – When planted near taller crops like corn and tomatoes, spinach is partially shaded, which prevents bolting in summer heat.
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Space efficiency – Filling in bare spots with quick-growing spinach makes the most of garden space.
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Flavor enhancement – Onions, garlic and herbs can subtly influence the taste of nearby spinach.
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Pollination – Flowers near spinach attract pollinators which boost the whole garden’s health.
Thoughtful companion planting allows you to grow more spinach in the same amount of garden space while protecting the crop from factors that reduce productivity.
The Best Companion Plants for Spinach
Many types of vegetables, herbs and flowers make great companions for spinach when planted at the proper time and spacing. Here are some of the best ones to try:
Vegetable Companions
Peas – Sugar snap and snow peas are classic spinach partners. As legumes, peas fix nitrogen in the soil and provide dappled shade for spinach once vines grow tall.
Lettuce – Quick-growing lettuces thrive in the same conditions as spinach. Interplanting them makes efficient use of space.
Cabbage family crops – Kale, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts grow well with spinach. They don’t compete for nutrients and shade spinach in summer.
Onions and garlic – Pungent alliums like onions, garlic, leeks and chives help repel pests. Garlic planted in fall allows winter spinach to be planted in the same bed.
Root crops – Beets, turnips, carrots and radishes can be interplanted with spinach as long as roots have enough space.
Beans – Bush beans and pole beans are ideal nitrogen-fixing companions. They also create light shade to protect tender spinach leaves.
Herb Companions
Dill – This herb complements spinach’s flavor. Its tall feathery foliage provides dappled sunlight perfect for preventing bolting.
Oregano and marjoram – These Mediterranean herbs’ pungent scent confuses pests and enhances flavor when spinach is harvested young.
Borage – The star-shaped flowers of this herb attract pollinators. It also makes soil nutrients more available to spinach roots.
Chives – Oniony chives repel aphids. Planted along edges, they also discourage rabbits from entering spinach beds.
Cilantro – Fast-growing cilantro bolts at the same time as spinach, making them ideal quick-harvest partners.
Flower Companions
Nasturtiums – This edible flower deters squash bugs, aphids, beetles and other spinach pests. Trailing varieties provide living mulch.
Petunias – These popular garden flowers release substances that fight nematodes, microscopic roundworms that attack spinach roots.
Calendula – Also called pot marigold, calendula attracts beneficial insects and repels a variety of pests including asparagus beetles.
Cosmos – The bright flowers of this annual attract ladybugs, lacewings and other predators that prey on spinach pests.
Lavender – With its relaxing scent and purple blossoms, lavender looks lovely around spinach beds and helps deter rabbits.
Plants to Avoid Planting Near Spinach
Some plants should not be planted close to spinach, as they will stunt its growth or even kill the crop. Here are the worst companion plants for spinach:
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Strawberries – Both plants attract root-damaging nematodes when planted together.
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Potatoes – These compete with spinach for soil nutrients due to their dense roots.
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Corn – Tall corn can shade out low-growing spinach plants and steal the sun.
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Grapes – Experts advise keeping grapes far away from spinach to avoid devastating wilt disease.
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Tomatoes – These love warmth while spinach thrives in cooler weather. They may stunt each other’s growth when planted together.
In general, avoid pairing spinach with other plants in the amaranth family like chard and quinoa, as they are susceptible to the same diseases. Also skip nightshades like peppers, eggplant and tomatoes, which require more warmth and nutrients.
Tips for Successful Spinach Companion Planting
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Check that your companion choices have overlapping growing seasons with spinach. Cool weather lovers work best.
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Allow at least 6-12 inches between spinach and companion plants so roots and leaves don’t overlap.
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Add flowering companions like nasturtiums and calendula to attract pollinators and beneficial insects.
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Use tall crops like pole beans and corn to shade spinach on hot days and prevent bolting.
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Include dynamic accumulators like comfrey and borage to make more nutrients available to spinach.
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Try new companions each season and keep notes on which combinations work best for maximum spinach yield.
The ideal companions make spinach grow big and strong while repelling pests, attracting pollinators and allowing efficient use of garden space. By mixing compatible leafy greens, legumes, onions, herbs and flowers as companion plants, you’ll enjoy a bountiful spinach harvest. With a little trial and error, you can create the perfect plant neighborhood in your garden for growing the best tasting, healthiest spinach possible.
How Companions Help Spinach
Farmers use the mixed beds method because planting vegetables that are in the right mix keeps pests away without the need for chemicals.
Even though spinach is very simple to grow and quick to harvest, there’s always ways to make it better!
Specific companion pairings with your spinach crop can help it grow faster, bigger, and more flavorful. You can also pair it with other garden favorites to make the best use of your garden space.
Planting spinach together with other plants can not only increase yields but also create a beautiful garden bed.
All of the great things about companion planting might sound too good to be true. Remember that this method is both an art and a science. Companion planting can go horribly wrong when the basic anatomy, spacing, timing, and competition isn’t taken into account.
Before planting two species in the same bed, it’s important to take into account:
- Is one plant going to block the sun from the other?
- Will the plants compete for nutrients or water?
- Can both plants grow to their full size?
- Does one plant attract or repel pests?
- Are they susceptible to the same pests?
- Can the companion plants interact badly with each other?
If these questions aren’t properly addressed, you could wind up with two crop failures at once. If you try a companion combination by accident and it doesn’t work, don’t worry—it happens to everyone! Luckily, spinach grows quickly and can be planted more than once during the season, so you have lots of chances to replant.
Symbiotic plantings may take a bit of trial and error to get right. Luckily, farmers and gardeners who have worked for decades have left us a lot of information about which plants spinach likes to grow next to and which ones we should keep away.
Through my own experience growing spinach on commercial organic farms across the United States, I can say that it is very tough and flexible. It will work with many different kinds of flowers, vegetables, and herbs, and some of them can really boost yields!
The secret lies in understanding how two crops will interact. Imagine that you are a plant matchmaker who is looking for the best couple that will be good for both of them.
What Are Companion Plants?
Spinach is a healthy plant rich in minerals and vitamins.
When you grow more than one type of plant in the same spot to help your crop grow, this is called companion planting. Diversified, organic gardening like this has been used for thousands of years to make agro-ecosystems stronger so they can handle pests, diseases, and bad weather better.
Symbiosis is the biological term for two species working together to mutually benefit each other. Certain companion plants help protect crops from pests with their strong scents or certain compounds they release in the area.
Others may attract beneficial insects like predatory wasps or pollinators. Still other plants can help a crop by blocking sunlight, drawing nutrients from the soil, or filling in garden space that would otherwise be empty.
- Repelling insect pests
- Detering animal foragers
- Attracting predatory insects
- Attracting pollinators
- Releasing compounds into the soil to repel disease-causing organisms
- Preventing crop diseases
- Enhance flavor of the crop
- Acidify or neutralize soil pH
- Providing shade on hot days
- Making more nutrients available to your crop
- Acting like a trellis or support for your crop
- Adding biodiversity to the garden
- Suppress weeds as “living mulch”
- Utilizing otherwise empty garden space
- Maximizing yields from a small space
If you want to maximize the yieldable space of your garden while creating robust ecological guards against crop threats, companion planting is a scientifically-backed method that can be implemented in gardens of any size or growing zone.
Adding different flowers and herbs to your space through companion planting also makes it more colorful and interesting botanically.
Spinach Growing Tips Garden Quickie Episode 149
FAQ
What can you not plant next to spinach?
Does spinach like full sun or shade?
Do lettuce and spinach grow well together?
What can I plant with spinach?
Carrots are another great choice to plant alongside spinach. These plants work together for a variety of reasons. The first reason is they both enjoy the same growing conditions and climate. The other reason is carrots grow at a much deeper level than spinach does. Therefore, they won’t compete for nutrients. 13. Zucchini
How does one eat spinach?
Spinach can be eaten raw, sautéed, in salads, in pies, with fruit juice, in omelets, in soups and broths, and as your creativity allows.
What is a good companion plant for spinach?
Fortunately, there are some perfect companion plants for spinach to plant nearby. Good companion plants for spinach include strawberries, peas, radish, lettuce, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, and eggplant. These plants each have characteristics that tend to repel pests, attract beneficial insects, and/or provide other benefits in the garden.
What vegetables go well with spinach?
Brassicas The brassica family consists of many favorite vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. These plants are a great option for companion planting with spinach. Though they like many of the same nutrients, they won’t compete.
What greens can be grown with spinach?
Lettuces, mustard greens, chard, and watercress are leafy greens that can successfully be grown with spinach for successful companion planting. These mainly function to shade the plant and suppress weeds. Be sure to water well throughout the growing season to prevent your leafy greens from drying out. What to Plant with Spinach
Do some plants get along with spinach?
Some plants don’t get along with spinach, including: Companion planting is a fun way to add flair to your garden, gain extra yields from small spaces, and prevent problems in your spinach. The most important thing to remember is that spinach needs enough space and light to grow to its full glory.