Spinach · Bitlis, Bitlis, Turkey

When to plant spinach in Bitlis

Main outdoor window

26 Mar - 9 Apr

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

Timed from last spring frost

24 April

In Bitlis, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

5-15 May

If you plant at the start of the window.

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

Cautious Balanced Bold

Estimated soil-warming check. The historical frost estimate is 13 Mar. An air-temperature model suggests soil suitable for spinach may warm to about 4.5°C (40.1°F) around 26 March. This is a planning estimate, not a soil measurement. The calendar uses the later date; measure your bed at sowing depth and check the forecast before planting.

Step by step in Bitlis

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

7-28 Aug

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

Sow direct

26 Mar - 9 Apr

Delayed by a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. The frost-only date would be 13 Mar. Measure your soil before planting.

Harvest

5-15 May

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 Bitlis

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Spinach

Frost risk Autumn sowing Sow direct Harvest Today

Open My Garden

Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in Bitlis

April has the highest average precipitation (88 mm); August has the lowest (3 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 83 mm

Feb 83 mm

Mar 88 mm

Apr 88 mm

May 58 mm

Jun 16 mm

Jul 6 mm

Aug 3 mm

Sep 11 mm

Oct 56 mm

Nov 62 mm

Dec 84 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 Bitlis

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
Month	Average low	Average high	Frost days
January	-9.1°C (15.6°F)	-0.5°C (31.2°F)	30.7
February	-7.5°C (18.5°F)	1.1°C (33.9°F)	27.3
March	-2.3°C (27.8°F)	6.1°C (43°F)	22.7
April	2.4°C (36.3°F)	12.4°C (54.4°F)	6.9
May	7°C (44.6°F)	18.2°C (64.8°F)	0.2
June	11.9°C (53.4°F)	26.2°C (79.2°F)	0.0
July	16.1°C (61°F)	32.3°C (90.1°F)	0.0
August	16.7°C (62.1°F)	32.3°C (90.2°F)	0.0
September	12.1°C (53.7°F)	26.3°C (79.4°F)	0.0
October	6.4°C (43.4°F)	18.1°C (64.6°F)	1.7
November	-0.4°C (31.3°F)	9.6°C (49.2°F)	15.6
December	-5.6°C (22°F)	2.8°C (37°F)	28.2

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 Bitlis

Average daytime highs reach at least 32°C in July, August. 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.
April is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 88 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 Bitlis.

The calendar also applies a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. Where that estimate is later than the frost-based date, it delays the window. Soil in your own garden can warm earlier or later; a thermometer at sowing depth is a better final check. Cold, wet conditions can slow germination and increase decay risk.

The median frost-free season here is 191 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 Bitlis →

Nearby

Spinach in places close by

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Also in Bitlis

Other vegetables to time

Tomatoes tender Lettuce half hardy Potatoes half hardy Courgettes tender Sweet peppers tender Carrots hardy Cucumbers tender Green beans tender Peas hardy Garlic very hardy Chilli peppers tender Sweetcorn tender

Growing spinach in Bitlis

Can I grow spinach in Bitlis?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. Average daytime highs reach at least 32°C in July, August. 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 Bitlis?

Aim for 26 Mar - 9 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 26 Mar - 9 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

Can I plant spinach earlier in Bitlis?

The historical frost estimate is 13 Mar. For Spinach, an air-temperature model estimates soil warmth of about 4.5°C (40.1°F) around 26 Mar. This is not a soil measurement or a forecast. Check your bed at sowing depth; cold, wet conditions can slow growth and increase decay risk.

When might spinach be ready to harvest in Bitlis?

The estimated period is 5-15 May, 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?