In article , will
writes
Growing spinach for the first time this year, and the plants are doing
well. In the last couple of days, the plants have started to develop
small spikes which I presume will be flowers. Someone suggested to me
that this might be a bad thing ie that I should remove the spikes. Is
this correct?

The appearance of spikes means that your spinach is trying to develop
seed heads - i.e. bolt. That is a perfectly natural thing for the plant
to do as part of its life-cycle, but it does not help your aim of having
spinach for culinary use. Take off the spikes as they show and you can
extend the cropping life of the plant/s, but eventually nature will have
its way and your spinach will go to seed. You may have started your
spinach seed too early. If you manage your spinach carefully by sowing
seed late in each spring, you can have fresh green leaves all year
round. You could save seed from your own plants, but purchased certified
stock usually gives more reliable results.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.