By Alex Batson, 2019-2022 FFAR Fellow
Spinach, one of the most popular dark-green leafy vegetables in the American diet, is grown across the United States and the world. Yet spinach seed only can be produced in a few regions that share specific climatic conditions: summers characterized by long days, mild temperatures and low humidity with little rainfall. Consequently, the ideal climate in western Oregon and western Washington makes this the only spinach seed production region in the United States and the home of up to one-fifth of the global spinach seed supply.