Suddenly my spinach stalks are 1 inch thick and 3 feet high and the leaves are pointy. Sadly, this means the spinach has come to an end for the season. Even more telling is the presence of a little flower bloom in the center of the plant.

When it starts to get too hot, the spinach will quickly sprout up and start to turn to seed. This year it happened even faster in the Pacific Northwest than it usually does. Hopefully that means you started harvesting early and often to get the most of your plants. I cut the remaining spinach leaves for my final harvest and pulled the plants out of the ground.

Now what should I plant?
Late June is a good time to seed carrots, beets, beans, and lettuce. Take inventory of your garden and what other vegetables might be coming to an end so you know the space you have to work with. I know that additional space will be opening up in my beds as soon as I am finished harvesting my beets and current lettuce. Since carrots seem to take longer than beets and lettuce to be ready to harvest, I will use some of this square footage for carrots and some of it for lettuce (because I can never get enough lettuce). Before planting your seeds, be sure to fertilize your soil because this is the key to delicious and nutritious vegetables. Water often and start the summer growing season!

Tip of the day: If you love Spinach, like I do, get ready to seed more in August for spinach in October.