Have you heard of any spinach which is a perennial? It keeps giving its leaves permanently. A wonderful plant which teaches you how to handle it.
I had not heard much about this plant till recently. When I did hear of it and realised that it is native to India, I decided to experiment with it. I brought the seeds and soaked it overnight. The next day, I planted it in the pot with red soil, kept it in the shade since it had not yet sprouted and forgot all about it assuming that it will sprout. There was no movement at all for few days. I then decided to go against everything I knew about growing plants and placed the pot on the sill in direct harsh sunlight.
Believe it or not, up came a sprout the very next day. I was sprinkling water once in a while when it was in a shaded area. Now that it was in the sun exposed to high heat, I started pouring water after checking whether the soil was moist or dry. It started shooting up with leaves and becoming taller everyday. The days I felt that the water was not required, I would skip the watering.
Suddenly one day, I noticed that all its leaves were drooping and curling inwards. I tried pouring water, and within few minutes it perked up. I realised that this was its special way of signalling that it needed water.
Then, one morning I noticed that the main plant had bent down completely. It taught me that it needs a strong trellis. I put up a trellis next to it and trimmed some of the branches at the top. That was my first harvest. It is very slimy and has a special earthy taste to it.
One of the branches I replanted into the soil and lo and behold, it is growing well.
Now I have three plants of Malabar spinach and all of them give me signals for watering, for pruning etc. One easy method to ensure adequate water for this plant, is to have a bowl of water placed underneath it. This plant guzzles water and it requires harsh sunlight. That is it. It grows and keeps growing and you will always have spinach.
I wish you all success in growing this spinach and happily eating very clean homegrown spinach.
Do try growing it and send in your comments.
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