Spinach · 'Ākra, Nineveh, Iraq

When to plant spinach in 'Ākra

Main outdoor window

14-28 Jan

A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.

Timed from last spring frost

25 February

In 'Ākra, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

23 Feb - 5 Mar

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Step by step in 'Ākra

Download these planting dates (.ics)

Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.

Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.

Sow for overwintering

19 Sep - 10 Oct

Counting back 64 days from your first frost so the crop matures in time.

Sow direct

14-28 Jan

Six weeks before your last frost.

Harvest

23 Feb - 5 Mar

Sow in succession. A single sowing gives you a single glut. Sow a short row every 14 days through the window above and you get a steady supply instead.
Frost tolerance
Hardy
Damaged below
-9°C (15.8°F)
Days to maturity
40–50
Min soil temp
4.5°C (40.1°F)
Spacing
10 cm
Sowing depth
12 mm (0.5 in)
Sun
Partial

Spinach through the year

Against the frost risk in 'Ākra

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Autumn sowing Sow direct Harvest Today
Open My Garden

Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in 'Ākra

March has the highest average precipitation (58 mm); July has the lowest (2 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 47 mm
Feb 40 mm
Mar 58 mm
Apr 50 mm
May 22 mm
Jun 4 mm
Jul 2 mm
Aug 2 mm
Sep 2 mm
Oct 23 mm
Nov 37 mm
Dec 45 mm

During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.

Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.

Monthly growing conditions in 'Ākra

Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.

NASA POWER climate averages, 1995–2024
MonthAverage lowAverage highFrost days
January 1.5°C (34.6°F) 11.9°C (53.4°F) 9.0
February 2.4°C (36.3°F) 14°C (57.2°F) 6.4
March 6°C (42.8°F) 18.7°C (65.7°F) 1.1
April 11°C (51.7°F) 25.1°C (77.2°F) 0.1
May 16.8°C (62.2°F) 32.2°C (89.9°F) 0.0
June 22.7°C (72.9°F) 39.4°C (103°F) 0.0
July 26.7°C (80°F) 43°C (109.5°F) 0.0
August 26.6°C (79.8°F) 42.6°C (108.8°F) 0.0
September 22°C (71.7°F) 37.3°C (99.2°F) 0.0
October 16.2°C (61.1°F) 29.8°C (85.6°F) 0.0
November 8.4°C (47.1°F) 20.2°C (68.3°F) 0.6
December 3.7°C (38.6°F) 14.2°C (57.6°F) 4.6

For spinach, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.

Local growing check

Before choosing spinach for 'Ākra

  • Average daytime highs reach at least 32°C in May, June, July, August, September. Plan establishment and flowering with local heat advice. This screen highlights hot months; it is not a crop-specific damage threshold or a heatwave forecast.
  • True spinach favours mild conditions; heat and drying soil encourage bolting. Compare the cooler months with your variety’s advice, or investigate a locally suitable warm-season leaf crop such as Malabar spinach.
  • March is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 58 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

For a different warm-season leaf crop, read the Malabar spinach guide and check its local requirements.

The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.

Before you plant spinach

Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.

  • Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 4.5°C (40.1°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
  • Frost tolerance does not make saturated or frozen soil suitable for planting. Wait until the bed can be worked without smearing or compacting it.
  • Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.

Grow true spinach in the cooler part of your season

Keep the seedbed moist and make small, repeated sowings. A short row harvested regularly is often more useful than many plants reaching their best size together.

Choose bolt-resistant varieties for warmer sowings and hardy varieties for overwintering. Light shade can help in warm conditions, but it does not turn extreme summer heat into a suitable season.

Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach and perpetual spinach are different plants. They can be useful alternatives, but their timing and growth habits should not be copied from this true-spinach calendar.

Growing in a container

Spinach suits containers with moisture-retentive compost and drainage. Check pots frequently during dry weather.

Further reading: RHS spinach growing guide . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 18 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.

How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy

Why these dates

Keep the seedbed moist and make small, repeated sowings. A short row harvested regularly is often more useful than many plants reaching their best size together.

Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.

This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Spinach are timed for direct sowing 6 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for 'Ākra.

The median frost-free season here is 291 days, against 40 to 50 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for 'Ākra →

Growing spinach in 'Ākra

Can I grow spinach in 'Ākra?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. Average daytime highs reach at least 32°C in May, June, July, August, September. Plan establishment and flowering with local heat advice. This screen highlights hot months; it is not a crop-specific damage threshold or a heatwave forecast.

When should I plant spinach in 'Ākra?

Aim for 14-28 Jan in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 12-26 Feb - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When might spinach be ready to harvest in 'Ākra?

The estimated period is 23 Feb - 5 Mar, based on 40 to 50 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.

How much frost will spinach tolerate?

Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.