Grow AMARANTH now!

3/17/2016

I grew amaranth this year for the first time and I was very pleased with the results. Before planting, I read about how nutritious amaranth is not only in its protein content but in the amount of calcium that the leaves contain.
Amaranth is a warm season crop that requires full sun.

Germination occurs when soil temperatures are between 65° and 75°F. For us here in the Los Angeles county area this means starting seeds early fall and harvesting as I did in February. Another crop can be sown in February and harvested in the beginning of summer.
I grew Amarantus Retroflexus, which has green foliage and green seed heads. Other varieties have more dramatic leaf color and brilliant burgundy and red seed heads.
I was amazed at how many plants I was able to grow in a 4 x 4 raised bed. I sewed 20 seeds, (October 2015) covered them lightly with loose soil and kept them moist. They germinated in 10 to 12 days and grew very quickly. In about 75 days (mid December)the plants had grown over 5 feet tall and definitely needed support although the stems were quite thick. Throughout this time, I harvested the young leafy greens for smoothies and salads making sure to leave plenty of leaves on the plant to keep it healthy. By mid February, the plants and seed heads had begun to turn brown. I waited for a sunny dry day to cut them at the base and let them dry a bit before harvesting the seed.
To harvest the seed, I laid a towel down and with gloved hands rub the seed heads over the towel. I shook the towel a bit and removed most of the big seed head pieces with my hands. Amaranth has no hull, so I just blew off any bits of debris as I shook the towel.

I did this several times, then placed all the seeds in a bowl and continued shaking and blowing.

My yield was about 1/2 a cup. Not much, but don't forget I harvested leafy greens all winter and in a 4x4 bed! Finally, I sprinkled the remaining debris and seeds over a freshly prepared raised bed, this time I will grow triple the amount!
If you are in the Los Angeles area, try growing some now as a backdrop to your summer crop or in a pot in a sunny location.

1 Comment

What is Red Amaranth and why it’s popular as food? link

2/16/2023 08:11:11 am

A long time ago, this flowering plant became a foremost food source for the Native and Central Americans. You can call it blood amaranth, red amaranth, and many other significant names. Among its great history, the Aztec cultivated the red amaranth around 6k-8k years ago. So, it’s an ancient plant

How to Grow Red Amaranth Indoor?
Red Amaranth(Image Source: Canva)
It has a big tag as healthy food. But why is it so? Because red amaranth has dietary fibers, proteins, copper, amino acids, phosphorus, potassium, and so on. It means it is a box of nutrients, isn’t it? People call it phytomedicine and nutritious vegetable plants. This is a finding from the National Library of Medicine. However, this foodie plant is also on the list of fast-growing. So, gardeners love this leafy plant.

So, red amaranth is quite popular as a food plant throughout the world in Africa, America, Southeast Asia and other tropical countries as well. Growing red amaranths indoors in which USDA zone? In all USDA zones, the red amaranths grow well. So, it’s an easy-growing plant.

When all the leafy veggies grow well in winter, the red amaranths love the warm and hot weather to grow. Red amaranths seed love to sprout in the early spring and fall season. The cool season is not for them. Mostly in South Asian countries, the red amaranths also grow well in the winter. You can see red amaranths and green amaranths as well. But today, we are focusing on the red amaranths.

However, the red amaranth from the seed to the table is a fantastic journey and the result from this leafy vegetable is something you will love. The ancient Greek name amaranth means the eternal flower. Finally, red amaranths are popular for making delicious dishes and the grains allow flour and pasta manufactured for high nutrient value, which is gluten-free. So, a lovely and multi-tasking veggie plant is red amaranth. Each and every part of this plant is edible.

Moving on to the plant description- this typical red-colored leaves plant can grow up to 150-200cm tall. If we focus on the leaves, it has hairy edges and mostly oval-shaped broad leaves. Red amaranths are annual species. There are 60-70 species available as an amaranth variety. In the USA, the common varieties are the redroot pigweed, tumble pigweed, green round leaf, white pigweed,

Grow AMARANTH now!

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