Perpetual Spinach Beet Leaf Seeds

Beet Leaf Perpetual Spinach (Beta vulgaris) 250 seeds

Perpetual spinach — also known as spinach beet or leaf beet — A great choice as it is much easier to grow and far more vigorous than true spinach. It also has the advantage of constantly producing a new crop when picked and so is ideally suited to gardening in a small space.

It is a reliable, mild-flavoured alternative to true spinach, valued for its resistance to bolting and its ability to crop for much of the year. Plants form neat rosettes of glossy, mid-green leaves on slender stems, with a delicate, slightly sweet flavour and subtle peppery note, delicious raw in salads or cooked as you would spinach. Fully hardy and low-maintenance, it thrives in full sun to light shade on well-drained, fertile soil, reaching around 30–40cm, and grows just as happily in large pots as in garden beds.

Sowing Instructions

Sow direct outdoors March–August (or under glass January–February for an earlier crop), in shallow drills 2cm deep, with rows 35–45cm apart, into finely prepared soil that's already been watered. Sow thinly and don't transplant seedlings, as leaf beet resents root disturbance. Germination takes 7–21 days at 8–30°C. Thin gradually to 20cm apart as seedlings emerge. For a continuous supply, sow further batches every three weeks. Water well while establishing, and use cloche protection for early spring sowings and again from October to extend cropping into winter. First harvest is ready in around 8–10 weeks; pick a few outer leaves at a time rather than stripping the plant.

FAQs

• Is it frost hardy? Yes — fully winter hardy, and with cloche protection it will keep cropping into the colder months.
• Can it be grown in pots? Yes, its compact, upright habit makes it well suited to large containers and small gardens.
• Does it need staking? No, it's low-growing and self-supporting.
• How long until harvest? Around 8–10 weeks from sowing, then it keeps producing for months.
• Will it bolt in hot weather, like spinach does? No — it's notably more bolt-resistant than true spinach, making it a dependable summer crop.