I find the pursuit of spinach dull and I dislike slugs. These two factors inform a great deal of my gardening. I understand why spinach rules in the kitchen – 60 seconds’ worth of wilting and the green part of your meal is sorted – but it is a bit of a bore to grow. If the slugs don’t get it, it bolts at the first opportunity, unless you offer it a steady stream of water (which encourages more slugs). Which is why I give you the Chinese mallow, Malva verticillata: a doddle to grow, pretty to look at and far more slug-resistant.
The Chinese or vegetable mallow has been in cultivation for more than 2,000 years, long enough to testify that it is delicious. Sadly, it’s not easy to get hold of outside China, although I have found a company on eBay that sells seed to tortoise owners. (Tortoises, it turns out, love Chinese mallow leaves.)
Thankfully, the very pretty cultivar ‘Crispa’ is more readily available. Its leaf edge is folded and frilled so that it looks like the daintiest of handkerchiefs. It is sold by the Real Seed Catalogue and once you’ve got your own, it’s easy to save seeds or, as I’ve found, do nothing at all and let it self-seed as it pleases.
Start the seed off in trays or sow direct, thinning plants to 30cm apart. You can also sow in modules, planting out when seedlings are 5-10cm tall. Mallow will grow well in pots and containers – though, as it grows tall, make sure it’s not in a windy position. It flowers from July to September and sets seed from August to October. If you sow now, you may have to uproot the whole plant and bring it indoors to dry the seed properly, particularly if we have a wet autumn.
Traditionally, mallow is sown until late spring, but I find you can carry on to the beginning of July and still have plants big enough to survive into the frosts. It’s surprisingly hardy, and mature specimens will make it well into winter. The plant grows to 4ft high, so it’s a useful filler towards the back of a mixed border. The flowers are insignificant pink things, but the masses of light green frilly leaves make up for that.
Pick the leaves when they are the size of your palm or larger. You can also pick the young shoots and stems. Add them to soups, wilt them with butter, boil, steam or, better still, try them fried in tempura. The flower buds and young leaves can be used in salads, the leaves making a particularly pretty garnish. They have a rich, pleasant taste and I’ve not found a spinach-lover who doesn’t like them.
