When to Plant Spinach in Cairns, Tropical Guide
Sow April to August. Right now in October it is out of season. The next sowing month is April.
Grow Spinach in your space
- Planting window
- You might be able to grow it here under the right conditions. Sow in the dry season, April to July, direct or in trays. True spinach bolts...
- Days to harvest
- 35 days
- Sunlight
- Full sun in cool weather. Part shade beneficial in all but the coldest zones. Shade delays bolting.
- Water needs
- Consistent moisture essential. Light, frequent watering keeps soil evenly moist. Drought...
- Spacing
- 20cm apart, 30cm between rows
- Soil pH
- 6.0-7.5
Published · Last reviewed · By GardenBuddy.au
Growing advice is reviewed by hand. Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
This Spinach guide is written for the Tropical zone, which takes in Cairns, Townsville and Darwin. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Canberra Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
True spinach (English spinach) is a cool-season annual prized for its tender, dark green leaves. It is one of the most nutritious leafy greens but also one of the most temperamental to grow in Australian conditions. It bolts rapidly in heat and long day-lengths, making it primarily an autumn-winter-early spring crop across most of Australia. Understanding this limitation is key to successful growing.
See what grows now in your own postcode
Planting Calendar for Tropical
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | S/D | S/T/D | S/T/D | S/T/D | T | - | - | - | - |
S = Seed Tray T = Transplant D = Direct Sow
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Current Growing Conditions
Soil temperature: 22.5°C (optimal range: 4–25°C) ✓ Ready to plant
Modelled from Open-Meteo forecast (Cairns), not a live sensor.
What this month normally looks like
In October the Tropical zone normally runs 34°C by day and 23°C overnight, with about 53 mm of rain over 5 or 6 wet days. Averages 1991 to 2026, 37 postcodes, SILO.
How to Grow Spinach in Tropical Australia
When to Plant
You might be able to grow it here under the right conditions. Sow in the dry season, April to July, direct or in trays. True spinach bolts fast in tropical heat, so pick the outer leaves often. Ready in about 45 days.
- Soil
- Rich, well-drained soil heavily enriched with compost and well-rotted manure. Spinach is a heavy feeder that demands fertile soil.
- pH Range
- 6.0-7.5
- Sunlight
- Full sun in cool weather. Part shade beneficial in all but the coldest zones. Shade delays bolting.
- Spacing
- 20cm apart, 30cm between rows
- Watering
- Consistent moisture essential. Light, frequent watering keeps soil evenly moist. Drought stress triggers bolting. Morning watering. Drip irrigation ideal.
Companion plants: Strawberry, Pea, Bean, Celery, Cauliflower, Radish
Avoid planting near: Beetroot (same family; shared pests and diseases)
Grow before, grow after
Spinach belongs with the leafy greens, the leafy greens and brassicas turn of a four turn bed rotation.
- Grow before it
- Legumes (Beans - Dwarf, Peas, Broad Beans)
- Grow after it
- Fruiting crops (Tomato, Capsicum, Zucchini)
Give the bed 3 turns before leafy greens go back in. Leaf crops want the nitrogen the legumes left behind.
Tropical Growing Tips for Spinach
Recommended Varieties
- Dry season only: Bloomsdale or another slow-bolting type
- NZ spinach, amaranth or kangkung are easier swaps
Key Challenges
- Bolts almost immediately in tropical warmth
- Downy mildew in humidity
- Genuinely impractical crop
Pro Tips
- Do not grow true spinach in the tropics. It will fail.
- Grow NZ spinach (warrigal greens) instead. It thrives in tropical heat
- Kangkung (water spinach) is another excellent tropical substitute
Harvesting Spinach
When ready: Baby spinach: leaves 5-8cm (3-4 weeks). Full size: leaves 15-20cm (6-8 weeks). Leaves should be dark green, firm, and glossy. Harvest before any sign of flower stalk elongation.
How to harvest: Cut-and-come-again: cut outer leaves at base, leaving inner leaves and growing point. Or cut entire plant 3cm above ground for one large harvest (may regrow once). Harvest in cool of morning.
Preserving: pressure canning
1 tested pressure-canning recipe for Spinach: 1 where it is the crop being canned. Each one comes from published home canning guidelines. The conversion to Australian units is ours, with psi beside every kPa. Always follow your pressure canner's manual.
Where to next
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Open the planting dashboard Join GardenBuddy.auCommon Questions About Spinach
When do you plant spinach in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): Apr to Aug
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Apr to Jul
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Mar to Aug
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Feb to Sep
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Mar to Oct
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Mar to Aug
- Mediterranean (Perth): Mar to Aug
Does spinach grow all year round in Cairns?
No. In the Tropical zone the planting months are Apr to Aug. Outside that window it either bolts, sulks or gets cut down by the weather.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box under the heading and the page tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Tropical zone, Cairns is its reference city.