10 Reasons You Should Fall In Love With Spinach

Afrane-spinach can sometimes be grown in very high elevations when it is too hot down in the bottom land to grow spinach. I live right at about sea-level. We do have mountains not far away. When I take rides up into the mountains the first thing I notice is how cool it quickly gets the higher we are. Here in Panama, lots of produce is grown in this higher elevation. Its too hot to grow much where I live except tropical vegetables. Like okra and malabar spinach. In fact, it is so hot where I live that tomato’s will not even ripen red. They ripen pink. Most plants will not even bear fruit.
The blooms fall right away. I can only grow cherry tomato’s and a special variety of italion tomato. The list is short for vegetables to grow in my province unless you like the normal tropical plants like yucca, yam, plantain, pineapple, coconuts, etc. Oh, and the price for canned goods is prohibitive so that is not a good option for me. This is one of the reasons I am so interested in okra. Okra grows in our climate well and it provides most of the benefits that other green vegetables would provide us in cooler, milder climates.

Glendon, reports show that there are some true spinach plants grown in Ghana. However, from the one I saw, I would agree it is difficult to grow them here. The Malabar spinach does way better. I will personally try it to confirm.

Lizzy, thanks for the scientific name for Malabar spinach, Basella alba. I will keep it.

Thanks for your input.