The Spinach Companion Plant That Leads To A Bigger & Longer Harvest

If you have seen "Popeye the Sailor Man," you probably already know that spinach is a powerful food. It is packed with iron, vitamins A and C, potassium, and magnesium. Even better? It is easy and quick to grow. The trouble with spinach, though, is that once the weather starts warming up, it quickly begins to bolt. This not only ruins its taste but also limits how much you can harvest. That is where companion plants like tomatoes come in. Companion plants benefit your garden by increasing soil fertility or pollination. In some cases, they can also protect plants from pests.

Tomatoes don't help spinach in the usual companion plant way, however. Instead, they just protect the spinach from heat. The reason this combination works is simple: Spinach is a cool-season crop, whereas tomatoes are summer, heat-loving plants. Plus, tomatoes grow taller than spinach. So, when you grow them in and around spinach patches, they go upward, creating a natural "umbrella" of shade that protects the spinach growing beneath from direct sun and heat. 

This keeps the soil and the air around the spinach cooler. The result? You get to harvest more leaves for a longer time before the spinach bolts. Experts often recommend interplanting cool-season crops with heat-loving plants to save space and improve garden efficiency. You just need to make sure you grow the plants at the right time and space them the correct distance apart.

When growing spinach with tomatoes, sow the spinach first. You can do this in early spring, as soon as the soil becomes workable. As for the tomatoes, plant them once the soil has become sufficiently warm and there is no danger of frost anymore. The idea is that spinach plants grow quickly in the spring when the tomato plants are still small. By the time tomatoes mature, the spinach will already be ready to harvest. This is when you can plant a second crop of spinach that can grow protected beneath tomatoes in the garden.

The key, though, is to get the spacing right. If you don't space plants right, they will not only compete with each other but also become a breeding ground for pests. For this duo, place spinach plants about 3 to 4 inches apart. As for tomatoes, leave about 18 to 24 inches between plants in the row, and space rows 36 to 48 inches apart, depending on what kind of tomato you are working with. Also, make sure to keep spinach at least 6 to 12 inches away from the taller tomato plants.

If you want to improve your harvest with this setup even more, try growing heat-resistant spinach varieties. Or, try Malabar spinach (Basella alba). This is an amazing heat-resistant spinach substitute for a delicious and nutritious harvest. And don't just stop at the spinach and tomato combo. There are many other vegetables that pair well with spinach in the garden, and you should try them as well.