Malabar spinach experiment

Bought more malabar spinach from the wet market this morning, cut off the big leaves for soup tonight, planted the cuttings along the fence. Posting it for the record here so that I can see how long it will be before I get my first harvest. Then found a little leftover cutting. Decided to do a little experiment. I put it in a glass of water to see if left like this, the cutting will grow roots. If so, I will replant it in the garden later. Just for fun.

UPDATE: Tuesday 8th November 2005

The cutting has sprouted 2 strands of white roots. Only 1 week. Very fast.

Nutrient content of Malabar spinach

Since I am planting Malabar spinach, I might as well post some information about the nutrient content found in Malabar spinach for my own as well as readers benefit. The information was taken from http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/742/4902.pdf which gives the nutrients per 28 gm and per 90 gm for the fresh and boiled Malabar spinach. I have edited the content to per 100 gm for both for comparison purpose.

Table: Nutrient Content of Malabar spinach

Nutrient	unit	per 100 gm (fresh)	per 100 gm (boiled)
Calories	kCal	21	21
Protein	gm	1.8	1.7
Carbohydrate	gm	4.3	4.3
Fat	gm		1.2
Calcium	mg	168	56
Potassium	mg	143	228
Sodium	mg	46	16
Vitamin C	mg	36
Thiamine B1	mg	0.07	0.06
Riboflavin	mg	0.07	0.012
Niacin	mg	0.07	0.12

Malabar spinach is a good source of vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron. (Evaluation of Tropical Leaf Vegetables in the Virgin Islands)

Malabar spinach can be grown from cuttings!

Posting photo of the new leaves sprouting from the freshly planted cutting. Somehow, it is really pleasurable to watch your efforts grow. And it is only 10 days ago when I planted the cutting and it is already grown so vigorously! Looked like I'll have to transplant the cuttings soon. If nothing else, there is one thing I learned, Malabar spinach can be grown from cuttings!

Here are the photos I promised

Here are the photos I promosed:

Compost bin converted from a dustbin. The lid has been replaced by a heavy flower vase because our Beagle is too inquisitive and is able to topple the bin if it is only covered by a light plastic lid. Note the numerous holes drilled into the side for ventilation.

COMPOST BIN


MALABAR SPINACH CUTTING


BACKYARD GARDEN

First attempt - planting malabar spinach

Although I have said that I am putting off organic farming for a while for the dengue fever outbreak to blow over, I decided to try to plant the Malabar spinach, yes that maintainance free plant, as it will not involve me spending much time in the garden. As mentioned in my previous post, I have been trying to get my hands on some malabar spinach berries (or seeds), without much luck. This morning, I decided to try my luck at the wet market to see if I can get some seeds, also because I heard it can be grown from cuttings (vegetative propagation). Couldn't get any seeds, but the vegetable seller confirmed it can be grown from cuttings. So I purchased some (RM1.60 or about USD0.60 worth). I have cut off the leaves and planted the stems into pots. Time spent in the garden - 10 minutes. Will put up some photos when I get my hands on a digital camera. In the meantime, if you are curious how the Malabar spinach looks like, plus a brief description, follow the link below:

Malabar Spinach or Indian Spinach - basella alba, b. rubra, b. cordifolia