Red Malabar Spinach Specialty Green is a heat-loving climbing green that thrives where ordinary spinach wilts. Despite its name, it's not a true spinach but a tender perennial vine in the Basellaceae family, prized for its succulent stems and leaves that taste far milder than garden spinach. Ready to harvest in just 50 days, it grows vigorously in warm zones (10-12) and rewards gardeners with continuous pickings throughout the season when given trellis support and consistent moisture. This cultivar shines as a stir-fry green and salad ingredient, handling heat and humidity that would defeat conventional spinach.
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10-12
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Red Malabar Spinach grows as a compact, heat-loving vine that produces tender stems and leaves for 50 days from sowing through the entire warm season. It tolerates poor soil and even poor conditions better than most greens, yet truly thrives in slightly acidic, moist, fertile soil kept between pH 6.0 and 7.0. The real charm lies in its versatility: grow it on a trellis for vertical harvests, root stem cuttings indoors to overwinter as a houseplant, or pinch the tips regularly to encourage bushier branching and more leaves.
This variety excels as a heat-loving salad and stir-fry green. Pick young leaves and tender stems throughout the growing season, enjoying them raw in salads or cooked in quick stir-fries where their mild flavor and succulent texture shine. The stem tips are especially tender when pinched regularly, making them a gourmet addition to fresh preparations during the warm months.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Sow seeds indoors in flats 5 to 6 weeks before your planned transplant date. Sow 1/4 inch deep, spacing seeds 1/4 inch apart, or place 3 seeds per cell in 50-cell or 72-cell flats. Keep soil warm at 70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit for best germination.
After all danger of frost has passed, transplant seedlings to the garden spaced 6 inches apart in rows 36 inches wide. Choose a location with full sun and provide sturdy trellis support at planting time.
Pick young leaves and stems throughout the season as they reach tender size. Regular harvesting, especially tip pinching, encourages continuous branching and new growth. Harvest young and tender for the best flavor and texture in both salads and cooked preparations.
Pinch off the growing tips throughout the season to encourage branching and denser foliage production. This technique increases your overall leaf and stem harvest and creates a fuller, more productive plant structure.
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