Malabar spinach

Thank you GloriaG for the red malabar spinach transplants. they are doing well. I have them in two location. here's one group below.

has55

Ooh lucky you! Let us know how they develop over the summer. I'm pinning a lot of hope on this crop as a good use of summer garden space.

The Malabar Spinach is growing fast and tolerating the texas heat. It taste great.
Thank you GloriaG for giving me the transplant.

Wow!  It is a spinach vine?

cpl100 wrote:Wow!  It is a spinach vine?

yes it is and it's beautiful . The leaves remind me of indoor plants like jade and the color is a rich dark green. It a keeper. we'll see how it does in August?

went out just prior to nightfall to cover my plants due to cold spell tonight about 32 degrees with wind chill to 22 degrees. it was 65 today. found some malabar spinach sprouting. we have had several days of 65 to 75 degrees. GloriaG told me they would self sprout. I was surprise it would be this early. they should go to plant heaven tonight after tonight freeze. this picture is taken just after dark.

Where did you get the seeds?

sanderson wrote:Where did you get the seeds?

Hi Sanderson. I received 4 transplant last part of June from GloriaG. I talked about it in this thread.

red malabar spinach

Thanks.  I just finished my indoor seeding, but I totally forgot about this one when I ordered my seeds. Not that I don't have enough plants with 8 flats!

sanderson wrote:Thanks.  I just finished my indoor seeding, but I totally forgot about this one when I ordered my seeds. Not that I don't have enough plants with 8 flats!

this one grows very fast and needs harvesting frequently or it will take up a lot of space. It's delicious.

sanderson wrote:Thanks.  I just finished my indoor seeding, but I totally forgot about this one when I ordered my seeds. Not that I don't have enough plants with 8 flats!

I just made a seed order over the weekend and this plant was among them. I don't know how big the seed packet is but I'm willing to share some with you, Sanderson, especially if it self-sows readily.

Has55, do you remember how long it took to flower and go to seed? My growing season is very short & I don't know if this is one I'll need to start indoors, etc. if I want to be able to harvest seeds for future years.

I have some of these seeds and haven't planted them yet, thanks for the reminder!  I can share too, Sanderson.  Let me know and I can send some to you if Molly doesn't have enough to share.

Has55.....you could cover them with some old towels or blankets if you want to protect them for several hours during the night.  That might save them for you.

mollyhespra wrote:

sanderson wrote:Thanks.  I just finished my indoor seeding, but I totally forgot about this one when I ordered my seeds. Not that I don't have enough plants with 8 flats!

I just made a seed order over the weekend and this plant was among them.  I don't know how big the seed packet is but I'm willing to share some with you, Sanderson, especially if it self-sows readily.

Has55, do you remember how long it took to flower and go to seed?  My growing season is very short & I don't know if this is one I'll need to start indoors, etc. if I want to be able to harvest seeds for future years.

Actually don't recall when this happen. . last year I was doing so much, I was just happy GloriaG gave me the transplant and open up a new horizon in a plant with great taste. I remember walking outdoor and noticed how fast it was growing. Later these beautiful flower and then seeds appeared. Ididn't know what it was and took a while before I called GloriaG to see what was happening. That when I found out about the self seeding. I hope she chimes in. Loooking at the red malabar spinach thread again , I noticed I posted about the initiate transplant on june 28, followed by a 2n posting of it growth on 8/1/14. that's 30 days,wow! Hopefully GloriaG will chime in. here another picture on 8/21/14-

quiltbea wrote:Has55.....you could cover them with some old towels or blankets if you want to protect them for several hours during the night.  That might save them for you.

Thanks quiltbea. I actually thought these were a summer crop. they did so well in our 90-100+ weather this summer. So I don't know if it worth trying to keep them alive through our winter. We're not out of the woods yet for ice storms. GloriaG told me to just let them come up on their own and transplant to different location If i desire. she said they will be 100's of seedling. Hope she chime in later. she does many transplant for outdoor winter growing.

Thank you  so much for the offer Molly, but I see Audrey also offered after you did.  Audrey, I would love 4 seeds.

Hi Everyone,

Austin is correct that Malabar Spinach is a hot weather perennial vine.  The hotter the better.  It also like copious amounts of water.  In it's native habitat (tropical Asia and Africa) it grows near streams.

Like all vegetative plants, it puts out abundant growth in early summer - winding down in late autumn and setting tiny little white flowers that are followed by purple fruit in fall.  The fruit looks like little stems of grapes.  There are literally thousands of them on each plant (and they stain)!  The first time the temperature dips below about 40° the plant will start to die back and will be totally gone by the first freeze.

I have found that seeds are not very easy to start in the house.  For me, it was better to start them outside when the weather turned consistently warm. Once started I never needed to re-plant since they continually re-seed themselves.  I also have lots of spare seeds if anyone needs them.

Austin has an interesting situation since his beds warmed-up so fast.  Mine haven't emerged yet.  He shouldn't have to worry however since there will be LOTS more seedlings coming up.  One of the challenges with Malabar Spinach is controlling unwanted sprouts.  In some parts of the world it is considered invasive and is destroyed.

For those living in the north - I don't have first-hand information, but I suspect that growth will be slower.  Our vines easily reach 30+ feet in one season.

Malabar Spinach is a wonderful addition to the garden and I hope you enjoy it.

Gloria

Thank you, Gloria

sanderson wrote:Thank you, Gloria

+1 thank you Gloria. Great info

Sanderson - your seeds were dropped in the mail today, you should have them tomorrow or Friday at the latest :-)

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote:Sanderson - your seeds were dropped in the mail today, you should have them tomorrow or Friday at the latest :-)

Oh, good! I'm glad you were able to get those out. I don't think the ones I bought have even shipped yet.

Audrey,

for different folks.  Our Malabar spinach grows like crazy and is one of those mucilaginous leaf plants that we are not fond of.  We can add a small amount in with other greens but unless we are in a dire food emergency we will probably not intentionally grow it again.

kauairosina wrote:for different folks.  Our Malabar spinach grows like crazy and is one of those mucilaginous leaf plants that we are not fond of.  We can add a small amount in with other greens but unless we are in a dire food emergency we will probably not intentionally grow it again.

Is "mucilaginous" a fancy word for slimey?!  When I used it for juicing, I could have made a green slime any little boy would have loved to use for halloween, LOL!

I just hadn't thought of that.  Does someone have ways in which they like to prepare the stuff?  I'm open to ideas.  Can't kill it here.