When to Plant Malabar Spinach in Melbourne, Cool Temperate Guide
Soil temperature is modelled from Open-Meteo forecast (Melbourne), not a live sensor.
What this month normally looks like in Cool Temperate
In October the Cool Temperate zone normally runs 19°C by day and 8°C overnight, with about 67 mm of rain over 9 or 10 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was -3.0°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 28 postcodes, SILO.
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This Malabar Spinach guide is written for the Cool Temperate zone, which takes in Melbourne, Hobart and Geelong. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Sydney Canberra Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
- Planting window
- Sep to Jan
- Days to harvest
- about 9 weeks
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Regular
- Spacing
- 20 cm apart
Malabar spinach (Ceylon spinach) is a fast climbing vine with thick glossy leaves that thrives in heat and humidity when true spinach will not grow (Green Harvest).
Published · By GardenBuddy.au
Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Planting Calendar for Cool Temperate
- Jan D
- Feb -
- Mar -
- Apr -
- May -
- Jun -
- Jul -
- Aug -
- Sep S
- Oct S
- Nov T/D
- Dec T/D
S = Seed Tray T = Transplant D = Direct Sow
Want a nudge when it is sowing time?
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How to Grow Malabar Spinach in Cool Temperate Australia
- Soil
- Rich, moist, well drained soil with compost (Green Harvest, The Seed Collection).
- Salt
- Moderately sensitive. Copes with a little salt, but the harvest drops on salty bore water.
- pH Range
- 5.5-6.7 (Green Harvest); Daleys gives 5.5 to 8.0
- Sunlight
- Full sun, 6 or more hours; semi-shade in the hottest areas (The Seed Collection, Green Harvest).
- Spacing
- 20cm apart, 60cm between rows
- Watering
- Evenly moist; water at the base (The Seed Collection).
- Grow before it
- Legumes (Beans - Dwarf, Peas, Broad Beans)
- Grow after it
- Fruiting crops (Tomato, Capsicum, Zucchini)
Give the bed 3 turns before leafy greens go back in. Leaf crops want the nitrogen the legumes left behind.
Cool Temperate Growing Tips for Malabar Spinach
Recommended Varieties
- Green stem
Key Challenges
- Short warm season
Pro Tips
- Start indoors; grow in a 40 L pot
Pests and problems for Malabar Spinach in Cool Temperate
Harvesting Malabar Spinach
When ready: Leaves large enough to pick, from about 60 days (The Seed Collection).
How to harvest: Pinch leaves and shoot tips; tip-pruning keeps it bushy (The Seed Collection, Green Harvest).
Storing and preserving malabar spinach
How to keep it
- Blanching and freezing. Blanch, cool, drain and freeze (The Seed Collection). Keeps: 6-12 months.
What members get
- Soil and weather from your nearest station
- An email when it's time to sow
- Your own garden plan, including planning from a photo
- Price history and price alerts
- Pest risk alerts for your area
- Full salt and canning detail
Common Questions About Malabar Spinach
When do you plant malabar spinach in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): all year
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Jan to Mar, Aug to Dec
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Jan to Feb, Sep to Dec
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Jan, Sep to Dec
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): not recommended
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Jan to Feb, Aug to Dec
- Mediterranean (Perth): Jan to Feb, Sep to Dec
Can you grow malabar spinach all year round in Melbourne?
No. In the Cool Temperate zone the planting months are Jan, Sep to Dec. Outside that window it either bolts, sulks or gets cut down by the weather.
When should I plant Malabar Spinach in Melbourne?
You might be able to grow it here under the right conditions. The Seed Collection cool listing gives January and September to December; start seed indoors 6 weeks before the last frost and plant out after it (The Seed Collection). Melbourne growers treat it as a summer annual. Overwinter a pot or tip cuttings indoors (The Seed Collection).
What soil temperature do Malabar Spinach need?
Malabar Spinach germinate best when soil temperature is between 22°C and 30°C.
How do I know when Malabar Spinach are ready to harvest?
Leaves large enough to pick, from about 60 days (The Seed Collection).
What are the best Malabar Spinach varieties for Melbourne?
Recommended varieties for the Cool Temperate zone include: Green stem.
Are malabar spinach salt tolerant?
Only a little. Malabar spinach are moderately sensitive to salt, so the harvest drops on salty bore water. Mix salty water with rainwater, and mulch the bed.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box near the top of the page and it tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Cool Temperate zone, Melbourne is its reference city.