When to Plant Malabar Spinach in Cairns, Tropical Guide
Soil temperature is modelled from Open-Meteo forecast (Cairns), not a live sensor.
What this month normally looks like in Tropical
In October the Tropical zone normally runs 34°C by day and 23°C overnight, with about 53 mm of rain over 5 or 6 wet days. Averages 1991 to 2026, 37 postcodes, SILO.
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This Malabar Spinach guide is written for the Tropical zone, which takes in Cairns, Townsville and Darwin. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Canberra Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
- Planting window
- All year
- 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 Tropical
- Jan D
- Feb D
- Mar D
- Apr D
- May D
- Jun D
- Jul D
- Aug D
- Sep D
- Oct D
- Nov D
- Dec D
S = Seed Tray T = Transplant D = Direct Sow
You can sow malabar spinach in any month in Tropical, but the months are not equal. Summer heat brings faster bolting and heavier pest pressure, so pick a heat tolerant variety, sow little and often, and give afternoon shade from December through February.
Want a nudge when it is sowing time?
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How to Grow Malabar Spinach in Tropical 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.
Tropical Growing Tips for Malabar Spinach
Recommended Varieties
- Green stem (Green Harvest)
- Red stem
Key Challenges
- Self-sowing
Pro Tips
- Pull unwanted seedlings early
Pests and problems for Malabar Spinach in Tropical
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 Cairns?
Yes, every month is on the calendar for the Tropical zone, though not every month is equally easy. Sow direct in any month; The Seed Collection lists every month for tropical areas and says it grows year round in the tropics. Green Harvest gives late March to August as the main tropical sowing. Give it a trellis at sowing and tip-prune for bushy growth (The Seed Collection, Green Harvest).
When should I plant Malabar Spinach in Cairns?
Sow direct in any month; The Seed Collection lists every month for tropical areas and says it grows year round in the tropics. Green Harvest gives late March to August as the main tropical sowing. Give it a trellis at sowing and tip-prune for bushy growth (The Seed Collection, Green Harvest).
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 Cairns?
Recommended varieties for the Tropical zone include: Green stem (Green Harvest), Red 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 Tropical zone, Cairns is its reference city.