Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a cool-season leafy green that belongs to the Chenopodiaceae family, along with Swiss chard and beets. Native to Asia, spinach has been cultivated for over 2,000 years. Known for its nutritional benefits, popularized by the Popeye the Sailor Man cartoon in the United States, spinach is grown for both fresh market and processing. The United States is the second largest producer of spinach in the world, annually harvesting 960,600 pounds of spinach from 62,850 acres with a value of over $529 million.

This publication features a number of spinach cultivars and their differing characteristics, facts on planting and harvesting, pest management and disease prevention.