Scottish growing tool

Spinach Variety Selector: Which One For Your Garden

Every recommendation below traces back to our full Spinach varieties comparison — this page is the fast route to one answer for your specific situation, no clicking through required.

If: I want to sow in late summer and carry a crop through winter under cover

AmazonAGM

The only one of the six with an explicit statement that it can be overwintered under cover, on top of resistance to both bolting and downy mildew in its variety description, though that mildew claim isn't repeated on its own individual plant page, so treat the bolt resistance as the reliable part and the mildew resistance as unconfirmed.

If: I'm growing in containers or pots

MissouriAGM

Named directly as ideal for quick crops in containers, and it's slow to bolt, which matters more in a pot where roots have less buffer against stress.

If: My site is damp or sheltered, downy mildew is the bigger worry

ApolloAGM

Its individual listing and the general variety blurb agree with each other on mildew resistance, which isn't true of every variety here, making it the safer bet on a damp, sheltered plot or the west coast, where humid conditions favour the disease.

If: I want maximum yield, not the last few weeks of bolt resistance

LazioAGM

No specific bolt claim is made for it, but it's reliable and high-yielding with smooth, rounded leaves, a reasonable choice where cropping volume matters more than squeezing out the last few weeks before bolting.

If: Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice

MikadoAGM

The strongest general-purpose choice: slow to bolt with good bolt and mildew resistance, and it carries an H5 hardiness rating, the highest of the six AGM varieties, a real margin over the other five's H2 rating since a Scottish row surviving into a hard frost is a live possibility most winters.

Answer these as a quick wizard instead →

Spinach growing guide →Full Spinach varieties comparison →