|
Post by glen on Apr 12, 2019 15:38:30 GMT -6
It is April 12 today. My malabar spinach is obviously growing and thriving. The seedlings are forming nice big first leaves. The cuttings are sprouting shoots everywhere. I have seperated the cuttings from the mother plant. This is going to be a very good season for malabar spinach I do believe. I will take a picture in a week or so so you can see what is going on.
|
|
|
Post by glen on Apr 27, 2019 16:44:12 GMT -6
Ok, this is just a few observations on Malabar spinach. It is better to start your plants using cuttings. Seedlings come up quickly but take a long time to get any kind of size to them. Once you plant the seed they come up in less than a week if temps are warm. However, it will take you 45 to 50 days to get any size out of the seedlings at all. They seem to grow very slowly when they are 3 or 4 inches tall. In otherwords, for you OK folks, you need to get the seedlings started indoors. Malabar spinach grows vigorously once it gets some size to them. But, not until then. If you plant cuttings in the warm temperatures they quickly take root and begin to grow vigorously. This is a tropical plant so this spinach substitute does the best in the tropics since we have much longer growing seasons for warm weather plants. My biggest issue is nematodes. Malabar spinach can grow with nematodes but not permanently. The plant I used to take cuttings is succumbing to the nematodes. Tomorrow, the plant will be euthanized and I will mix copious amounts of organic material in the soil mix which will set the nematodes back. Then I will plant a new seedling in the pot. Organic material impairs nematodes ability to move around and invade the roots of the host plant. It doesn't kill the nematodes. It just makes it much harder for the nematodes to do what they do. Which is invade the roots of the plant host. The plants try and protect itself from them by isolating them in the swollen roots but the side affect is that it leaves the roots clogged and unable to absorb water and minerals. The plants eventually decline and die. The organic material will protect the plants only for as long as the organic material is present in the soil. And, it leaches quickly from the soil in my harsh, hot, humid, wet climate.
|
|
|
Post by glen on Apr 27, 2019 16:46:16 GMT -6
I am going to have a total of 9-6 gallon nursery pots full of Malabar spinach. The plants now are growing vigorously. There will be lots of spinach this season and hopefully lots of seed. When I get around to buying another camera I will make sure and share them with you.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Apr 28, 2019 4:16:17 GMT -6
I'm looking forward to starting Malabar spinach soon. I have to wait till I return from visiting my parents, as it would be too much to expect that the rest of the family keep track of seeds and seedlings for me. They'll already be watching my sweet potato slips.
I'm excited about growing this type of green!
George
|
|
|
Post by glen on Apr 28, 2019 11:38:47 GMT -6
I hope your season is long enough so you can enjoy this veggy. I grow it because it is one of the few edible greens that really is practical for me to grow where I live presently. In OK, it might turn out to be more of a novelty than anything else. I remember many years ago I tried growing it in Florida with no memorable success. I probably did not add enough organic material to the soil when I planted.
|
|
|
Post by john on Apr 28, 2019 13:37:45 GMT -6
Malabar seedlings are now sprouting in my garden from last years plants that set seed.
|
|
|
Post by john on Apr 28, 2019 13:44:22 GMT -6
I cut and pasted this from the Daves Garden website. " I've encountered two different varieties of Malabar. One is like the picture with more purple stems/vines, and the other has green stems/vines. With the purple stem variety, only the leaves are edible - the vine part is woody. With the green stem variety, it's all edible - leaves and stems. I just saute the leaves/stems in a little oil and garlic. The leaves taste like spinach but they're thicker and don't cook down as much as spinach does. You can also use the leaves raw in salads but they don't taste like spinach when they're raw."
The type I have is the green stem.
|
|
|
Post by glen on Apr 30, 2019 16:48:58 GMT -6
John, what state do you live in? The type I have is the green type also. I have never seen the red type in Panama. They are different species in fact so that probably explains why one has tough stems and the other doesn't. I have seen on youtube video's where China chica's say the stems are just as good as the leaves to eat. They stir fry it like they do the bok choy. I love the bok choy so I a planted some 10 foot rows of it to see if it can grow in my heat. I bought so called tropicalized variety's from a China shop here. All my spinach plants started with cuttings are ready to harvest already. Bercy is the expert at that so she will do that when she gets back from Columbia. She takes the leaves only. All my seedlings are still small. The seedlings are just sitting there doing nothing. Most are only 2 or 3 inches tall and they were planted in March. A couple are 6 or 7 inches tall and just now taking off. Once they get a little thick and about 8 inches tall they take off and you can notice the difference in growth every day. I will have enough this year to eat spinach several times per week.
|
|
|
Post by john on Apr 30, 2019 18:26:45 GMT -6
I live in Connecticut, I have the green type too. The stems don't get woody. I don't remember where I got my original seed from. It does very well here. Every year I have so many seedlings coming up they are like weeds to me. I will save about twenty or so and space them a couple feet apart. They will cover lots of ground before the season is done. Mine are not really climbers, just spreaders.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on May 1, 2019 7:47:42 GMT -6
John, if you would, save me a little seed this fall. I have seed for the red stemmed, which I purchased from Baker Creek Heirlooms. I'm in NJ, right now, visiting my parents. When I get back to Oklahoma I hope to get my Malabar spinach started.
|
|
|
Post by glen on May 1, 2019 18:40:11 GMT -6
If you like to stir fry, I think the green type might be the best so you can stir fry the stems along with the leaf. The China chica's say they like the stem better than the leaf. When I see it for sale, which isn't often, I see the stem packaged along with the leaf. Me personally, I like the leaf the best, steamed. Both variety's are good in that way.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on May 2, 2019 5:34:25 GMT -6
Man! I have seed for the red type. I may have two or three seeds of the green, from an Amazon order which I made. It was an inferior order, they sent 14 seed (mixed red & green) for $3. It was supposed to be 25 seeds and, when it arrived, the seed wasn't cushioned at all. It looked like they had sent the envelope through a rolling pin machine. So, we'll see if any germinates and comes out green.
Do you folks realize that this thread may be the most complete source of info on Malabar spinach anywhere?!
|
|
|
Post by glen on May 2, 2019 9:59:47 GMT -6
It will be much more complete once you get your trial going George. I am also interested in hearing more about John's row of spinach as well. Anyone can grow it in the tropics. Growing it well and cutting nice big harvests of spinach in the US is what is interesting. I should have a camera soon so I can snap some foto's of my spinach growing in pots. Its going to be a big harvest this year for me. Its ready now to cut and steam in fact. It grows so fast if you start it from cuttings. Seedlings take patience though. Mine are still small mostly at 40 days old.
|
|
|
Post by john on May 2, 2019 17:19:13 GMT -6
I find it to be remarkably hardy and it will grow into the fall. It doesn't do much in cold weather but the leaves stay nice and clean. It will keep going right up until a hard frost. It is a great plant for the summer when other greens aren't available. If I were to guess I would say my original seeds came from Pinetree seeds in Maine. I planted them back in 2012 and I even had a trellis for them. They did not grow up it. It is good to know that the green stemmed malabar doesn't climb. I haven't had to re-plant since. They come up on their own. Like a weed.
|
|
|
Post by john on May 2, 2019 17:19:54 GMT -6
|
|