I don't know about you, but I have never tried growing spinach before.  I thought they are harder to grow especially in Vallejo where the temperature starts to warm up after the last day of frost. My good friend Darren Goon gave me some spinach seeds a few years ago and I never planted them.  I buy spinach from the store and before I know it the leaves quickly turn mushy.  Oftentimes, I end up throwing the bunch in the compost pile.

The good news is, now I am growing Malabar spinach, Basella alba.  According to the California Master Gardener Handbook, New Zealand and Malabar spinach “are not true spinaches. New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonoides) resembles regular spinach in leaf shape and tolerates warm weather better than regular spinach. It is produced all season and can be cooked or used raw in salads, although the leaves are tougher than true spinach.”  We grow New Zealand spinach at the Vallejo People's Garden where I volunteer.

What got me interested in the Malabar spinach was when I saw this lovely potted plant at my sister's walkway porch. The plant has many branching stems some of which are green and burgundy; the leaves are dark glossy green and oval in shape.  When I asked her for the plant's name, she said she wasn't sure; a friend gave it to her; the leaves are edible she said and she puts them on her salad to eat. I asked if I could get a cutting and she gladly cut two stems for me.

I put the cuttings in a small vase, added water to it, and voila! the roots started coming out in less than two weeks. Meanwhile, I started to do some research on the plant and found that the edible plant is called Malabar spinach, Basella alba. There is a similar plant in the Philippines which we call ‘Alugbati.'  I found out that ‘Alugbati' is Malabar spinach in English!

Malabar spinach leaves are used as a vegetable, either raw in salads or cooked in soups (I use the leaves in Mung Bean Soup, Tinolang Manok (chicken soup), Sinigang (Sour Soup), Lentil Soup, etc.; salads, and stir-fry. Because of their mucilaginous texture, the leaves can be used to thicken soups and stews.

Here are some interesting facts about the Malabar spinach from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Horticulture Division of Extension, and the North Carolina Cooperative Extension,  North Carolina State University:

Cultivars/Varieties: ‘Rubra', Red Leaves

Genus:  Basella Species:  alba Family:  Basellaceae

Common Names: Basella; Ceylon Spinach; Indian Spinach; Vine Spinach; Alugbati

Malabar Spinach is a vigorous climbing vine, a frost-tender perennial grown as an annual, and native to tropical regions in Asia (Ceylon, India, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines). The plant typically grows to a six-foot vine often reaching 30 feet in length. The dark green, glossy, oval to heart-shaped leaves are thick and semi-succulent with a mucilaginous texture.

Recommended Propagation Strategy:  Seed, Stem Cutting

Malabar cuttings: stems can be planted directly in moisture retentive rich soil or in pots or they can be rooted before planting. They root quickly.

Malabar cuttings:  stems can be planted directly in moisture-retentive rich soil or in pots or they can be rooted before planting.  The cuttings root quickly.

Planting Soil Requirements:

Requires well-drained moisture-retentive soil rich in organic matter and a warm sunny location.  The plant does much better in rich soils. Side dress with compost. The plant is well adapted to high temperatures; it will produce in weather too warm for other spinach varieties, but the soil must be kept moist.

I planted my Malabar spinach in a 5-gallon plastic container and placed the pot on the east side of the house where it gets morning sun and a warm afternoon sheltered location.  It likes its warm sheltered location. I noticed that the more I cut the stems the more prolific it grows. My research recommends pruning the plant as much as needed by cutting off the leaves and stems to keep the desired shape or to promote dense growth.

Now that the weather is a lot cooler, Malabar spinach is still thriving and the leaves are thicker in texture (as a protection against the cold weather). I have not seen flowers on the plant but I read that once the plant starts flowering, the leaves become bitter. I am starting to see buds on the plant but I am not sure if they are flowers or developing leaves.

Cultural Conditions

Light:  Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day). My plant likes the morning sun and filtered light in the afternoon.

Soil Texture:  Clay, High Organic Matter, Loam (Silt), Sand

Soil Drainage:  Good drainage; Moist

Available Space To Plant:  12 inches – 3 feet

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:   9b, 9a, 10b, 10a, 11b, 11a

My Spinach plants. The green pot with green and purple Malabar spinach leaves was a cutting from the mother plant I potted a year ago. I’ve made several cuttings from both of them.

Leaves: The leaves are thick, semi-succulent, fleshy, glossy, pointed at the tip, and arranged alternately along the vine or stem

Leaf Color:  Green; Red/Burgundy

Stem Color: Green; Red/Burgundy

Whole Plant Traits:

Plant Type:  Annual; Herbaceous Perennial; Perennial, Vegetable; Vine

Habit Form:  Climbing; Spreading

Growth Rate:  Rapid

My Spinach plants. The green pot with green and purple Malabar spinach leaves was a cutting from the mother plant I potted a year ago.  I've made several cuttings from both of them. 

Diseases, Pests, and Other Plant Problems:

No known diseases or pests. Dry soil or extremely high temperatures will cause flowering, which leads to bitter leaves. Confession:  I have not really watered the plants after the heavy rains we had in December.

Ornamental Uses

This is the cutting I gave to one of our volunteers at the Vallejo Peoples Garden. She planted the rooted stem in December and it is thriving even in cold weather.

As ornamental, Malabar spinach can be planted in hanging baskets or large containers. I planted my rooted cuttings in one container initially and now I have Malabar Spinach in two containers. I have not planted cuttings in a hanging basket yet; maybe next time. I have pruned the stems several times last year and gave away lots of rooted cuttings to friends.  

This is the cutting I gave to one of our volunteers at the Vallejo Peoples Garden.  She planted the rooted stem in December and it is thriving even in cold weather. 

Since the plant can grow rapidly if planted in-ground, it should be anchored on a sturdy trellis or fence.   Malabar spinach can be a decorative focal point in a bed or for screening.  Because of the plant's color, Malabar spinach is a good companion plant with beets, Swiss chard, kale, ornamental kale, and red and purple flowers.

So if you haven't tried growing Malabar spinach, give it a try and let me know what you think of this vegetable.

References:

California Master Gardener Handbook, Second Edition

North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox; www.plants.ces.ncsu.edu

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Horticulture Division of Extension