I find that the bought varieties of spinach just don't last long
(except the organic ones). I've become fed up with this whole thing
so I started planting spinach indoors in peat pellets. I live in a
bachelor apartment and there is no way for me to have a garden so this
has raised a few questions (which I wouldn't worry about at all, of
course, if I had access to a garden and could plant that way).

Just how does spinach grow?

Does it become bush-like? or is it a stalky type of plant with many
leaves?

I don't know what to expect as I've never grown spinach at all before
(or any other type of lettuce, fruit or vegetable lol).

Also, probably my biggest concern is how many plants will I need to
furnish me with a couple of handfuls of spinach a day for a salad??
The next concern is how long any given plant may last ... is it a
perennial, I believe the term is? In other words, will one plant just
keep going and going ... that way, if I knew that that was the case,
it would just be a question of finding out over time how many plants
I'd need going at the same time in order to rotate "harvesting" leaves
from each one.

Thanks so much! I appreciate any info anyone can provide this garden
vegetable newbie!