Spinach is a vegetable with many hidden qualities, particularly the high content of iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium it contains. Spinach prefers medium rich soils and shouldn't be over fertilised.

Fresh spinach used to only be available in spring or autumn because the plants bolt very quickly in the summer. However, there are now types of summer spinaches where this doesn't happen. During the summer, spinach prefers partial shade, but in the winter it likes sunny corners. Spinach is an ideal plant for a mixed garden. The young leaves of summer spinaches can also be eaten raw. Winter spinach should always be cooked.