Plant Spinach in Zone 7a

Zone 7a averages 198 frost-free days, running from a last spring frost around April 10 to a first fall frost around October 25. Spinach needs roughly 45 days from planting out to first harvest, so it uses about 23 percent of that window. Spinach is a hardy crop, which is what decides where in the window it belongs.

Spinach handles cold soil, so there is no reason to wait for the frost date. Direct sow around Mar 6, roughly 5 weeks before the Zone 7a last frost, as soon as the ground is workable. Sowing at the last frost instead costs you the coolest and best part of the season. At 45 days to harvest, a 198-day Zone 7a season has room for about 3 sowings, so stagger them rather than planting everything at once.

Yes. Plant spinach between September 13 and September 27 in Zone 7a, roughly 6 to 4 weeks before the average first frost, so it roots before the ground freezes.

Spinach sown 4 to 6 weeks before the first frost sizes up, stalls through winter under a row cover, and restarts weeks before anything can be sown in spring.