Divisi
How to grow Jute mallow
Corchorus olitorius · Malvaceae
Photo: Colesman25 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius) — known as ewedu, molokhia, mrenda, murere, gusha and bush okra — is a fast, hot-season leafy vegetable grown for its tender leaves and soft shoot tips. Cooked, the leaves turn pleasantly slippery — this "draw" is what thickens molokhia and ewedu soups. It races from a dust-fine seed to your first pot of greens in just a few weeks, and — kept young by regular cutting and by pinching off its flowers — one sowing gives you cut after cut of soft leaf. Two things make or break it: cracking the hard seed coat so the whole bed comes up together, and keeping the plant leafy before the shortening days push it to flower and turn woody.
Dinesh Valke from Thane, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 
Abdeldjelil Souleyman · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Days to maturity
- 40–60 days
- Row spacing
- 47 cm
- Plant spacing in the row
- 12 cm
- Sowing depth
- 0.5–2 cm
These are general figures for the crop, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. The right choice for your field depends on your soil, rainfall and the yield you are aiming for.
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Other names for Jute mallow
molokhia · mulukhiyah · jute mallow · bush okra · Jew's mallow · Egyptian spinach · lalo · ayoyo · ahinghara · nyenje · gusha · mlenda · mrenda · murere · ewedu · idelele
Working in buckets, bags or paces? The farming glossary turns the measures growers actually use into kilograms and hectares — what a 20 litre bucket of each crop really weighs, and how to size a field by walking it — alongside the Shona, Swahili, Ndebele and Yoruba words used in the field. Open the glossary →
Growing jute mallow, stage by stage
Your jute-mallow (ewedu / molokhia) season, step by step — crack the hard seed for an even bed, feed and weed for soft leaf, then cut tender greens again and again while pinching off every flower, and save your own seed to sow next time.
- Get ready — seed and seedbed
- Sow and raise an even stand
- Thin, feed and grow tender leaf
- Cut and come again — keep it tender
- Save your own seed
- Keep the leaf fresh to market
14 step-by-step tasks in the app
Every task for jute mallow — what to do, when to do it and why it matters — with the amounts worked out for your own field, reminders as each one falls due, and warnings before extreme weather.
Pests and diseases that attack jute mallow
Divisi tells you which of these is a risk on your jute mallow right now, when to walk the field looking for it, and what to do the moment you find it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does jute mallow take to grow?
Jute mallow takes about 40–60 days from sowing to maturity, though the exact length varies with variety, temperature and how the season runs.
What spacing should I use for jute mallow?
Space jute mallow rows about 47 cm apart, with roughly 12 cm between plants within the row.
How deep should jute mallow be planted?
Sow jute mallow at about 0.5–2 cm deep. Shallower risks drying out; deeper wastes seed energy before the shoot reaches light.
What pests and diseases attack jute mallow?
The ones covered in this guide are Jute semilooper. Each has its own page explaining how to identify, scout for and control it.
Grow jute mallow with a plan, not a guess
Divisi turns this guide into a dated plan for your own field — what to do each week, reminders as tasks fall due, and warnings before extreme weather. Free for farmers, works offline.
Or check your field first