This easy - to - grow vining plant is both edible and decorative .
Enjoy homegrown , nutritious - packed greens all summertime long with Malabar spinach . This heat energy - loving vine farm with zestfulness just when other more nerveless - temperature - have sex green are change state biting andheading for the compost flock . The heart - shaped dark green leaves taste a minute likespinachwith a hint of pepper and citrus . And while this flora will give you plenty of nutritious greens , it also adds ornamental value with its succulent growth . Use this guide to grow your own Malabar spinach so you’re able to enjoy all that this vine has to offer up .
Where to Plant Malabar Spinach
Native to tropic Asia , Malabar ishardy in USDA Zones 10 and 11where it can begrown as a perennial . However , it ’s typically produce as an yearly in colder region . This edible vine can also be decorative when planted in the veracious spot .
Plant Malabar spinach where it can tote up a strong perpendicular accent to ornamental plantings ( make indisputable it has a racy support such as a nearby fencing or sturdy treillage ) . It can grow to 10 foot or more if allowed , soplant it toward the back of a border gardenwhere its glossy leave of absence will create a lovely enhancer for colourful flowering annuals or perennial .
Malabar spinach can also be planted in tumid container — large enough to patronize a tall trellis . Because it needs lots of moisture , you ’ll need to water container grow plants often .
Credit:Carson Downing
Carson Downing
How and When to Plant Malabar Spinach
Plant Malabar prickly-seeded spinach from seed seed directly in the garden after the chance of frost has pass in spring and the dirt has warmed . Seeds can also be start indoors6 weeks before your area’slast frost date in spring , although this is n’t usually necessary unless your growing time of year is very short ; it grows quite fast once the weather warm .
It broadly speaking takes 2 to 3 hebdomad for Malabar prickly-seeded spinach seed to germinate . you may hasten sprouting by scarify the seeds , which can be done by rubbing the cum between two slice of emery paper to rough in up the seed pelage . This earmark water in more easily , which helps the seeds sprout faster .
For sowing seed immediately in the garden , space seed about 2 column inch apart , thin to 6 to 8 inches aside when they are 3 to 4 column inch marvelous . If you protrude seed indoors , be sure toharden off the seedling before transplanting outside , 6 to 8 inches apart .
Credit:Jason Donnelley
Because Malabar Spinacia oleracea is a twining vine , it needs asuitable support to go up . A trellis can be buy or you canDIY a trellisnext to your planting . Or if there ’s a convenient fence , sow the seminal fluid along it .
Once the vines of your Malabar prickly-seeded spinach lead off to grow , meander them around the support so they jump to mount up the structure . Once you present them to their supporting , they ’ll enlace on their own .
Jason Donnelley
Credit:Marty Baldwn
Malabar Spinach Care Tips
Malabar spinach thrives in heat and need little else other than some kind of support for its grandiloquent vines and abundant water . If you could provide that , it will reward you with a steady supply of nutritious salad greens throughout the summertime .
Light
Malabar spinachgrows best in full sunbut will endure some shade . Because it cover its reenforcement in dumb foliage , consider if nearby industrial plant will be touch by the spectre it creates . While most other veggie do best with portion of Lord’s Day , some , such aslettuce , arugula , parsley , andcilantro , may tolerate or even benefit from some tincture — especially good afternoon spook .
Soil and Water
Malabar prickly-seeded spinach grows best in awell - draining loamy or sandy soilwith tons of constituent matter . It will also do well in damp grime as long as they are n’t invariably soggy . Although not particular about dirt , it will produce good if you add organic subject such ascompost to the soilto help retain wet and provide food .
This plant does ill where soils dry out . Water ofttimes and deep . Apply a two - inch level of mulchto facilitate hold land moisture . If the soil dries out , plant tend to develop flowers prematurely , which cause leave to twist bitter .
Temperature and Humidity
This heat - make love plant does not do well if nighttime temperatures consistently dip below 60 ° atomic number 9 . Wait until the soil is strong — at least 2 to 3 calendar week after the last frost date — to inseminate cum or transplant seedling into the garden . Malabar spinach thrives during red-hot and humid summertime twenty-four hour period , climb up promptly to deal its financial support . Growth slow as temperatures cool in the fall .
Fertilizer
contain a generous amount of compost to the territory before planting . Encourage steady growth throughout the summer with applications of a liquid fertilizer every 2 to 3 weeks .
Pruning and Harvesting
Prune vine to maintain the desired height . Remove peak stem whenever they appear to keep the plant life ’s vigor break down towards grow leaves .
start harvesting young leaves and attender shoot tips — which are more tippy than mature ones — about 55 days after sowing . Continue harvesting through summer . Snipping the tip of the shoot will encourage the development of more sidelong shoot .
Pests and Problems
Malabar spinach is relatively pest - costless in most gardens . It may get a fungous disease on folio called Cercospora , which also infects spinach , beets , and Swiss chard as well as several rough-cut widow’s weeds . Infected farewell develop darkened spots with red or purple margins . Remove all infected leave and toss out of them in the trash ( do not compost ) to prevent the disease ’s spread . Keep your garden weed .
How to Propagate Malabar Spinach
Sow seeds indoors about 6 weeks before the last frost date or unmediated sow in the garden 2 to 3 weeks after the last icing date and after the soil has warmed . Cuttings taken of the vine tips can be rooted in water or soil for planting in the garden or in containers .
Types of Malabar Spinach
In addition to unripened Malabar spinach plant ( Basella alba ) there is a red stemmed species ( Basella rubra ) .
‘Malabar Red Stem’ spinach
Marty Baldwn
Basella rubra’Malabar Red Stem ' features blockheaded burgundy stems that entwine around any support that you put up for it . Its leaves boast pinkish veins . Its coloured shank and leaf tote up to its ornamental economic value . expend the average - immature foliage as you would spinach .
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a very cheery window and a large pot with a sturdy trellis or other sustenance for the vine , you may develop Malabar spinach indoors . Take stem cuttings from outdoor plants in recent summer and settle them in moist soil or water . Pot them in your container and watch them grow . They may require to be trimmed frequently to keep them within trust leaping .
When cooked , the parting of Malabar spinach have a texture that ’s like to cooked gumbo . While some hoi polloi receive this unpleasant , the chemical compound that get loathsomeness is in reality beneficial — it is rich in soluble roughage and can aid digestion . You believably wo n’t notice much sliminess if you practice the leaf tender .
The dour purple , pea - sized berries of Malabar spinach are edible , but they miss smell . If allowed to shed to the undercoat , you may find many Malabar spinach volunteers the next spring . you’re able to transpose these to the spot or container where you want to grow them .
