Malabar Spinach, scientifically known as Basella alba, belongs to the Basellaceae family. It is available in green and red varieties - the stem of the Basella alba is green and the stem of its cultivar Basella alba 'Rubra' is reddish-purple. Despite the color of their stems, both plants produce green leaves that are extremely healthy to consume.
Malabar Spinach is very healthy because it provides a lot of proteins. It is an excellent vegetable for health enthusiasts, often beloved for being a great vegetarian protein option. Additionally, it is also high in Vitamins A & C, iron, and calcium; and considerably low in calories by volume.
This spinach variety is different from other spinach types because it's perennial spinach. It keeps growing as long as you look after it. The plant's lifecycle pans throughout the year. Malabar Spinach is an easy-to-grown, healthy, and delicious spinach variety that can be savored both raw or cooked.
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• How to Grow Malabar Spinach
Malabar Spinach can be grown as an annual as well as perennial in a warmer climate. You can start your Malabar Spinach by seeds, any time of the year. It is a vining spinach, so it needs some support to grow.
It can be grown in a big-sized pot or on a permanent raised bed. With the right care, it will grow to about 5 to 6 ft easily. Plants can grow quite dense & they will continue to grow this way.
The plant needs regular moderate watering & well-drained soil. It can flourish in ready-to-use potting mixtures like the Ugaoo Potting Soil Mix, with a good amount of Coco Peat and Perlite for drainage.
• Climate for Malabar Spinach
Malabar Spinach is a summer-loving spinach as it's a warm weather crop; in fact, it is one of the best leafy vegetables for summer; unlike conventional spinach varieties that grow better in the cooler season.
So, the best time to sow your Poi Saag seeds is during the spring months or towards the end of the winter. This will allow the seeds enough time and a good climate to germinate well, thus ensuring a healthier harvest for you and your loved ones!
• Sunlight for Malabar Spinach
Malabar Spinach needs at least 4 to 6 hours of sun each day. The plant does very well in full sunlight and can even tolerate some shade.
However, remember that it must have enough sunlight for most of the day.
• Fertilizing the Malabar Spinach Plant
Malabar Spinach needs a lot of nitrogen-rich fertilizers. Lots of vermicompost & cow-dung manure should be provided to the plant to produce thick, big fleshy leaves.
• Pests To Watch Out For
Watch out for slugs and snails that like to consume Malabar Spinach leaves at night. You will have to remove them physically from your garden.
• Harvesting Malabar Spinach
You can start harvesting leaves from your Malabar Spinach plant quite early in the growing season as and when you need them. You can also harvest by trimming down the vine and using all the leaves that are growing along with it. That way you can keep plants down to sizable proportions as well.
The leaves are larger and fleshy compared to regular spinach. When eaten raw it has a little pepper-like taste unlike spinach, but if you cook them, they taste like regular spinach.
After about 100 days at the end of the growing season, the white flowers of Malabar Spinach will turn into small berries. The black seeds will fall and produce even more plants! You can harvest seeds, dry them, and plant them in the next season. It's a perfect cycle that goes on in a loop when the plant is cared for the right way!
