my garden is in Riverdale, Toronto; my spinach plants have now spiked into flowers/seeds. The plants are between 6 and 24 inches tall. When is the best time to harvest these seeds? When harvesting, do I pull the whole plant out by the root and put it in a bucket to dry?
Thank you for contacting the Toronto Master Gardeners with your question concerning harvesting your spinach seeds.
Spinach, a super–cold-hardy leafy green is one of the first plants many gardeners plant in the spring as well as in the fall, however once the temperature heats up spinach quickly bolts.
Once you see the seed forming, just let that plant keep growing. Eventually, the spinach will die and turn yellow. At this point you can either carefully pull the seeds from the stalks and heads, or you can just put the whole stalk/head in a bag upside down. Allow the seeds to completely dry out in a cool, dry location. After the stalks have dried and turned brown, start collecting the seeds.