FINCHforum

I am fixing to grow some red stem Malabar spinach, apparently (I've never grown it before) it is extremely productive and does well in the heat. I have searched around on some bird safe food lists but have not seen it listed. It is very nutritious and it would be nice if the finches could eat it. Anyone have any experience with it?

Lucille

Sorry Lucille, but I've never heard of it.

Malabar spinach isn't actually spinach - it's an Asian vine with leaves that are similar in texture/taste to spinach and chard when very young. The leaves are edible by humans and birds, but you have to get them while they are young and tender. It gets tough and bitter REALLY fast. The vines will grow to 8-10 ft, if you let them, and it will flower and produce berries the wild birds love. It's not going to be edible for you at that point though.

Just be sure to stay on top of it, pruning often.

D

Thank you. I've read the berries are so purple they are actually used as stain, so I'll leave them for the birds in the fall because I don't need to stain anything purple.
I'm also planning on okra so will be out there harvesting every day. One plant can be huge, so I will blanch, freeze and use extra greens as cooking greens.

Lucille

Are you already thinking of gardening???

We are still keeping the snow shovels close to the door for the next snowfall.....

lovezebs wrote: Lucille

Are you already thinking of gardening???

We are still keeping the snow shovels close to the door for the next snowfall.....

Depending on where she is in Texas, she may be able to garden year round. We lived in St Pete, FL for 7 years and gardened all the time. Dec through Feb were our best months for tomatoes and peppers! It was so hot and humid in the summer... we tried a lot of different veggies then, but had really bad luck with various molds, fungus', and blight caused by heat stress.

We're in North Carolina now.... I miss my winter garden.

Yes, southern Texas can be quite mild in the winter, though quite hot in summer. In northern Texas, we have two growing seasons, spring and fall, as we get too many freezes for a winter garden, and it gets too hot in the summer for much to grow. I've heard of malabar spinach being grown in my area as a replacement for spinach in the summer, since spinach will not grow in our heat. I should try this, it sounds quite interesting.