06/16/2022
A GREAT CHOICE FOR SUMMER SALAD
Eating lightly in the hot summer months is a part of living in Florida. Maybe because we drink so much to try and stay hydrated, we lose some of our appetite. And so often, food just isn't as appealing when the heat index soars. The leafy greens once in abundance through much of spring are now on hold until year's end. Wouldn't it be nice to have a fresh-picked green for your summer salad?
So here's my next suggestion for you to consider in your summer garden-Red Malabar Spinach (Basella rubra, and not a true spinach). Perfect for salads, stir-fries, omelets and also used for smoothies. Pick often. The smaller leaves are tender and better tasting than larger leaves. Larger leaves are less tender, slightly bitter. But an ornamental in its own right, too, Red Malabar Spinach ia a colorful addition to the summer garden with its dark green leaves contrasted with red stems and bright, purplish berries.
My wife, who is a green-leaf-lover and crazy about spinach, is responsible for me growing Red Malabar Spinach. She kept after me to grow something once the spring lettuces were spent. I would tell her to just go to the health food market, but after getting spoiled to the fresh taste of the garden, she would have nothing to do with that. So finally, I discovered Red Malabar Spinach and she became a fan immediately. As a matter of fact, she announced to me that she preferred it over true spinach!
Native to the Indian sub-continent, tropical SE Asia and New Guinea, it has become naturalized in the West Indies, tropical South America and tropical Africa. It is also commonly referred to as Ceylon Spinach or Indian Spinach. As you might guess, this leafy green could be a hot prospect for the Florida summer garden, and you are so, so correct. It grows vigorously in 90 plus temps, and when the wet season starts it's like Christmas to this spinach!
Red Malabar Spinach grows as a vine. So you will need to provide support to grow it well. I have used the fence for support, creating a trellis arrangement with nails and twine stretched laterally across the inside of the fence. Then you just train the vine upwards as it grows. Don't be surprised to find the spinach vine wanting to grow over the top of the fencing and encroaching on the neighbor's yard. Inform and educate them on this wonderful summer green and they will be able to enjoy it, too.
Planting tips: soak your seeds over night in water before planting out. Plant seeds about 1/2 inch deep every 6-8 inches. Seeds sprout in 7-14 days. Red Malabar spinach loves moisture. And this is a good thing for Florida summers are usually wet. However, if you find there's a period of dry days happening (as can be the case particularly in June), why, you will need to help out with a little watering. Sufficient moisture keeps the vine growing and producing dark green, succulent leaves just perfect for your salads. Given insufficient moisture, however, and the vine will commence blooming which usurps energy away from leaf production.
Extremely rich in Vitamin C-three times greater than regular spinach-Red Malabar spinach is also rich in calcium, potassium and iron.
So if you are a fresh-leaf salad lover, plan on making a spot in your next year's summer garden for Red Malabar Spinach. Oh, by the by, there is also a Green Malabar, too. I have grown that as well, but it couldn't shine the shoes of its red cousin.
Best of all, Red Malabar spinach reseeds itself. So plan carefully where you give it a home and it will become a life-long summer salad treat.
ADDENDUM: Since posting this I have had a couple of people ask why their Red Malabar was not producing, or why it died. Just to be clear, Red Malabar needs plenty of rick, organic matter in the soil and supplemental watering during dry periods of summer. This is mostly in June before the wet season sets in. Given this, Red Malabar should flourish. But also, it seems that some have thought Red Malabar would just keep growing year after year as a perennial. It is not a perennial; it is an annual in Florida. If you lived in the tropics you would be able to maintain it year after year since that is from where it originates. But in Florida, the temperature swing from summer to winter is enough to prevent it from thriving. So make sure that you resow saved seeds you collected (the berries that you dried) or till the plants into the soil in the fall before mulching. Treat it as you would any other leafy vegetable such as lettuce, etc..
