What it is
Molokhia (Egyptian Spinach) (Corchorus olitorius) is in the Malvaceae (Mallow) family. A heat-loving leafy green that grows when summer kills everything else — the silky base of Egypt's famous green soup.
How to grow it
It wants full sun, water it moderate, and give it rich, well-drained soil. Target a soil pH around 6.0–7.5. Space plants about 8 in apart. Expect roughly Leaves in 60. Warm-season annual.
How it's used
Molokhia (Egyptian Spinach) is used: leaves.
🔎 How to identify it
- Narrow toothed bright-green leaves
- Small yellow flowers
- Tall upright stalks
Edibility
How to grow & propagate molokhia (egyptian spinach)
Everything I've worked out about starting this one, keeping it alive through a Texas year, and turning one plant into many — free.
How to propagate molokhia (egyptian spinach)
The mallow family loves heat. Sow the seed once the soil is thoroughly warm — soaking it overnight helps the hard coat — and give it full sun. The perennial members (Turk's cap, rock rose) also root from softwood cuttings taken in early summer.
Growing molokhia (egyptian spinach) in Texas
Give it full sun and rich, well-drained soil. Match the spot to the plant and most of the battle is already won.
This one thrives in heat that flattens other plants, so it earns its space through a Texas summer. Get it established before the worst of July, keep water steady, and it'll produce when little else will.
Keep moisture even, especially while it's young — deep, less-frequent soaks build better roots than a daily sprinkle.
Harvesting
Figure on roughly leaves in 60 before you're harvesting. Harvest at peak and keep harvesting — most vegetables produce harder the more you pick, and one left to over-mature tells the plant its job is done. The part you're after: leaves.
Making more for free
Every seed we sell is open-pollinated, which means you can save your own from the best plants and it'll grow true next year. Let a few of your strongest plants finish and go to seed, dry it fully, and store it cool and dark. That's the whole point of heirlooms — buy once, grow forever.
Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.