How to Save Spinach Seeds
Hey all! Today we’ve got a quick little post about saving spinach seeds. I love growing spinach because it’s one of the hardiest greens. It’s a cooler weather crop, so we grow it in the spring and fall here. You can even overwinter it and get a super early harvest in the spring, too!
I like saving spinach seeds because it’s super easy to do and is just one less thing I have to buy next season. And who doesn’t love sharing seeds? So here are the simple steps to save spinach seeds.
Step 1. Let your plant flower
The first step is to let your plants flower. With spinach, this is often called “bolting” and “going to seed.” You’ll notice a stem shoot up from your healthy spinach plant. The leaves the plant puts out will also be progressively smaller.
That’s because the plant is nearing the end of its life as the days get longer and the temperatures get higher. Remember, this is a cool season crop. The plant is putting energy into reproducing instead of pushing out large delicious spinach leaves.
The first picture below shows a healthy plant I’d been harvesting. The second and third pictures show stems beginning to form. The second photo is a bloomsdale spinach variety, while the third photo is a winter giant spinach variety. You can see they look a big different. The winter giant spinach stalks were HUGE!
The stem will eventually form little “flowers” and then green seed pods. Don’t pick anything yet!
Step 2. Watch for seeds to form
Wait for those seed clusters to form and dry out. Below is a good example of a stem I let dry completely in a planter. The seeds are easy to pop off in little clusters, especially when they are dry.
Wait until the seeds are brown like this to harvest them. If you harvest them too soon, it’s less likely they will be viable and produce plants.
Step 3: Pick off seeds & store
Pick the dried seeds off and spread them out on a paper towel. Put the paper towel in a dry, sunny area like a windowsill. That’s how I like to make sure my seeds are completely dried out and free of moisture before I store them. And that about covers it! Enjoy your spinach 🙂
