Malabar spinach: planting, harvesting & winter hardiness of Indian spinach

Malabar spinach, also called Indian spinach, is grown both as a vegetable and as an ornamental plant.

Since Malabar spinach (Basella alba) requires lots of heat and is mainly cultivated in the tropics, it has rarely been found in English gardens. But all things considered, Indian spinach can also grow here, given the right location. Read on to discover the ideal conditions for Malabar spinach, whether it is hardy and how to harvest this unique vine.

Malabar spinach: origin and properties

Malabar spinach, also known as Indian spinach, Ceylon spinach, vine spinach, climbing spinach, and alugbati, belongs to the Basellaceae family, which likely originated in Southeast Asia. Currently, it is cultivated as a crop in tropical regions worldwide. In warmer regions, Malabar spinach grows perennially but this is not possible outdoors in the UK. However, it is possible to overwinter Indian spinach here in suitable winter quarters; we will explain how later in the article.

The herbaceous Malabar spinach plant forms twining, richly branched stems that grow up to 2m high in our latitudes. The bare stems bend back and forth and are coloured green or red, which generally helps to distinguish Malabar spinach varieties. The stalked, fully edged leaves are alternate and slightly fleshy. The leaf shape is broadly ovate with a slight heart-shaped base and a pointed or bluntly tapered end. Sometimes, the green Malabar spinach leaves have a reddish tinge.

The white, pink or purple flowers bloom on spiky flower heads from May to September. They are quite small and hermaphroditic. After fertilisation, a thickened, fleshy fruit about 6mm in size forms from the perianth. The alugbati fruit berry is black, dark red or white and noticeably shiny. The vine produces these fruits from July to October.

Tip: the Basella alba ˈRubraˈ variety, also called Ceylon spinach, is particularly popular because of the vibrant red colour of its stems. Even the flowers and leaves have a slightly red hue, making this variety an ideal ornamental plant. International and specialist seed dealers do offer other varieties, but they are not so easy to find – if you happen to come across the rare ‘Baselle Blanche’ and ‘Green Stem’ varieties, they are worth getting.

Grow Malabar spinach: location and procedure

Looking at Basella alba’s native habitat and distribution areas will quickly reveal its preference for a very warm, sunny and humid location. Wine-growing regions and greenhouses, for instance, offer ideal conditions for growing Malabar spinach. Be sure to protect the chosen location from wind and excess sunlight. Even a balcony, terrace or other warm outdoor location are suitable for your Malabar spinach. Provide the plant with a steady water supply and nutrient-rich soil, for optimal growing conditions. However, Indian spinach also tolerates less optimal soils, resulting in only moderate growth.

Sow Malabar spinach:

• Start seeds indoors: late April – early May
• Sowing depth: approx. 2cm
• Fill the pot with substrate and place the seeds in it
• Keep soil moist
• Germination temperature: approx. 24 °C
• Germination period: 8 – 10 days
• Plant outdoors or in a greenhouse from late May onwards
• Spacing: 40 x 20cm

When planting your climbing Malabar spinach, consider using a climbing aid. There are many possibilities for this: taut wires, ropes, trellises or climbing arches; even a wicker teepee would support your edible vines.

If you want to grow Malabar spinach on a balcony or terrace, choose a container with at least a 10-litre capacity and drainage holes for excess water. Place a drainage layer of horticultural grit or pebbles in the bottom of the pot to increase drainage. Fill the pot with a permeable, nutrient-rich potting compost. Our peat-free Plantura Organic All Purpose Compost, for example, offers the ideal structure thanks to its mixture of coconut fibres, wood fibres and enriched compost. Plus, our compost is enriched with lime, magnesium and organic fertiliser to provide the perfect starting conditions for your Malabar spinach. Our compost can even be used to improve your garden soil when planting outdoors.

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Malabar spinach companion plants: as it quickly develops in size, it is not the best direct companion plant for some crops. Planted separately, it can flourish without shading or crowding other plants.

The right care

Under the perfect conditions, Indian spinach grows rapidly and produces a bountiful harvest. However, the plant actually tolerates less optimal conditions; only cool weather slows growth rate. It is important to provide a steady water supply, while avoiding waterlogging. Water Indian spinach according to the weather conditions. If a drought persists, the plant could flower prematurely as well as develop bitter leaves. In this case, it is necessary to water more often. Check the soil daily in the summer: water Malabar spinach if the upper layer has dried out.

As a medium feeder, Indian spinach craves nitrogen fertiliser. Once the soil’s nutrients have been consumed, simply fertilise the soil with some fresh compost.

If your climbing spinach is growing too rampantly, you can safely prune off unwelcome shoots. Of course, the removed parts can still be harvested afterwards.

Is Malabar Spinach Hardy?

As it is a tropical plant, Malabar spinach reacts quite sensitively to temperatures below 10 °C, and is likely to die at temperatures as low as -5 °C. Thus, it is best to grow Malabar spinach as an annual in the UK. If you want to try overwintering your Malabar spinach vines, prune them significantly and bring them indoors. Keep the winter quarters bright and cool but not below 10 °C.

Propagate Malabar spinach

It is possible to successfully propagate Malabar spinach both with seeds and tip cuttings. Furthermore, you can obtain Malabar spinach seeds from your own plants. After harvesting the berries, place them in a fine-meshed sieve and separate the pulp from the seeds by rubbing the fruits through the sieve. Wear gloves during this process due to the highly staining fruit juice. Then, soak the seeds in cold water for 24 hours and then rinse them. Place small portions of the seeds into coffee filters to dry.

To propagate Malabar spinach via tip cuttings, cut off a shoot tip 10 to 15cm in length. Remove all of the leaves except the top two, then place the cutting in a dark glass of water until new roots form. Transplant the young vine into a pot until the next season.

Harvest and prepare Malabar spinach

Harvesting Malabar spinach begins about 2 months after sowing. The most useful parts of the plant are the young leaves and shoot tips, which may be harvested until flowering begins. They are eaten raw in salads or as cooked vegetables. Typical Indian spinach dishes also use the leaves to thicken soups, stews or sauces due to their slimy consistency that results from cooking.
Alugbati spinach berries taste slightly sour and are mainly used to colour food with their intense, dark red juice.

Can Malabar spinach be eaten raw? It is actually beneficial to eat raw Malabar spinach, since it contains many nutrients; some of which are lost during the cooking process.

Are the Malabar spinach fruits edible? The Malabar spinach fruit berries are also edible but are often used for other purposes since they do not have much flavour.

The various names referring to Malabar spinach might suggest that it is related to common spinach (Spinacia oleracea) but this is not the case. Discover whether the plants have anything else in common in our spinach fact sheet.