Annual vegetable
Malabar Spinach plant profile
Basella alba
An annual vegetable for full sun.
Last updated .
When to plant
When to plant Malabar Spinach
Start seeds indoors
8 weeks before your last spring frost to 6 weeks before your last spring frost
Growing conditions
- Sun
- Full sun
- Lifecycle
- Annual
- Spacing
- 12 in apart
Evidence trail
Evidence behind this profile
Original extension and institutional publications behind the planting, care, and safety facts on this page.
- Malabar spinach, Basella alba
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension (Wisconsin Horticulture). Supports indoor seed-starting timing (direct) and planting season (normalized). Checked 2026-06-18.