For The Best Spinach Plants, Grow Them Next To This Fruit

Spinach is a powerhouse green. It's a must for a spinach, avocado, and apple smoothie, and that summertime spinach and strawberry salad just wouldn't taste the same without its presence. It's full of so many great nutrients without adding calories to your daily intake; however, if you are adding it to your home garden, it is important to know that everyone needs a bestie or buddy who makes us better, and that includes spinach plants. If you want to grow glorious, leafy greens, give them a companion: the tomato plant. 

These two plants have a mutually beneficial relationship. Spinach likes cooler weather. It's more of a spring and early fall crop. If it gets too hot, spinach plants bolt. Bolting is when the spinach plant sends up a flowering stalk that produces seeds. When it gets too warm, it can do so before it is supposed to. But this is where tomato plants come in. They like it a little warmer, grow vertically, and can provide shade for this iron-rich favorite plant, so you can enjoy it in the summer. 

Of course, tomato plants get something out of this relationship as well. While those red, juicy fruits that you will use in a tomato caprese salad are growing, a friend like spinach, which grows low to the ground, will serve as a protective blanket that prohibits weeds from taking over — something that can destroy your garden endeavors. Simultaneously, spinach plants help to keep that moisture locked in the soil by spreading and creating what amounts to a living mulch. This helps prevent evaporation, creating a habitat that allows tomatoes to thrive. 

What about water and food competition? Tomato plants and spinach are like the main characters of the English nursery rhyme, Jack Sprat and his wife. Their nutrient requirements are complementary. Spinach roots don't grow that deeply into the soil. The roots of a tomato plant, on the other hand, grow deep in the ground in search of water. What this ultimately means is that spinach plants will not be competing with tomato plants for water or nutrients.