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Post by raymondo on Feb 23, 2013 19:14:33 GMT -5
I'd like to try growing some grain amaranth. If anyone has grown this, I'd love to hear about it, especially any preferences for varieties.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Feb 23, 2013 19:46:50 GMT -5
Hi Ray,
I am doing some amaranth this season. I'm planning to grow Hot Biscuits, Copperhead, Opopeo, and one other one that I forget at the moment. I will get them to you should I acheive success. Otherwise I'll mail you my leftover seed.
Tim
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greltam
grub
Everything IS a conspiracy :]
Posts: 59
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Post by greltam on Feb 24, 2013 10:48:23 GMT -5
I grew it in 2011, but only managed to get 2 specimens growing. I believe the variety was hot biscuits.
If you've done your research you'll know it's a C4 plant like corn and likes hot weather. If they don't get off to a good start in cool weather, they will certainly make up for it when it heats up.
I gave mine pee fertilizer 4 or 5 times and they grew super big. The stems get thick and are hollow. I had trouble with high winds blowing them over. They were on the ground half the season.
Insects will swarm them. I had large spiders living in the flower clusters. The flowers don't all mature at the same time. Check the plants by shaking them and seeing if seeds come out easily to know when to harvest.
I harvested before frost came and got a decent yield, about 1 lb for 2 plants. After harvesting the flower clusters, shake/rub the seeds out. Tons of chaff will come with the seeds. After winnowing, there will still be lots of junk with the seeds(especially spider webs).
I used the water cleaning method that I think joseph told me they do with onion. You put your dirty seed in a bucket, filled from a quarter to half way perhaps, and run water to the top. I agitated the seed to get webs and junk loose which then floated to the top, let the good seed fall to the bottom, and then poured off the garbage. I did this quite a few times to get near store quality seed. Then the seed must be allowed to redry before storing away. I failed to do so and had my seed mold over during the winter.
Preparation, I feel, is most important. Amaranth seed is very planty tasting. I tried it as a ground flower and as a pourridge. Both were abominable. The key to success is learning how to pop them. Use a stainless steel pan with lid, get to medium/high heat, pour in a small amount of amaranth(NO OIL), cover and shake. The seeds will pop. As long as you keep shaking and the heat is not too high, they will not burn. Wait until nearly all are done and pour it out. Keep doing so until you have the amount you desire. I can pop 1/2 cup in about 12-15 minutes. The taste is very plain and delicious at the same time.
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Post by davida on Feb 24, 2013 11:57:57 GMT -5
I'd like to try growing some grain amaranth. If anyone has grown this, I'd love to hear about it, especially any preferences for varieties. Ray, According to the book "Homegrown Whole Grains", --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three species of amaranth are grown for their grains. Amaranthus hypochondriacus is the most common. It originated with the Aztecs. A. cruentus, which originated in Mexico, is the next most common. A caudatus, from the Andean valleys, was once a popular garden flower. You'll run across another species in catalogs, A. tricolor. This amaranth is strictly ornamental so pass on this one for grain. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David |
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Post by raymondo on Feb 24, 2013 16:39:11 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. I've grown leaf amaranth as a summer spinach alternative but prefer other greens. I thought it might be interesting to try amaranth as a grain but the leaf ones I have all have black seeds, which I've read are more bitter than the white or brown seeds. I've bought rolled amaranth to use in a porridge mix which is okay but I haven't tried it on its own.
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Post by 12540dumont on Feb 25, 2013 1:56:53 GMT -5
Ray, they grow here...a little too much.... Attachments:
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Post by raymondo on Feb 25, 2013 5:43:44 GMT -5
Now that's a plant. My leaf amaranths are all puny by comparison.
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josh
gopher
Posts: 14
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Post by josh on Feb 25, 2013 5:58:50 GMT -5
I have Mercado, green plant of mexican origin which has a tan coloured grain, they are tiny seeds but it does produce a lot of seeds.
Although i do find everything loves to eat the leaves !!
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Post by davida on Feb 25, 2013 8:38:31 GMT -5
Ray, they grow here...a little too much.... Did you eat the seed or feed it to the chickens? Is grain amaranth worth growing to really enjoy on the table? |
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Post by Walk on Feb 25, 2013 16:55:59 GMT -5
Only if you like to eat it.  It yields almost as well as sorghum for us and can get by on scant water. Helps diversify the menus, especially if a person doesn't eat gluten grains. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2013 0:03:48 GMT -5
I want to order some different colors, someday.
My problem has been overcrowding with the second and third generations. On the first try, I got giant, lighter pink seedheads, like the one Holly is showing. Not fussy plants, they can be put at the bottom of a hillside in arid areas, and that can be enough water for the whole season.
This was just an experiment from the healthfood store. White seeds had been kept in the freezer, until I rescued them from the trash.
By the second season and third and fourth season, they leave a fine moss of seedlings on the ground. The few which survived were drastically stunted until I lost my seedstock.
I recommend extreme discipline in planting them separately, as in distinct compartments in seed trays, and burying them as far apart as seems reasonable.
I really hate the idea of culling something, which seems to have the potential to be fruitful, but I suppose it's part of agriculture (like thinning the peaches, so the few reaming get huge.) IMO, this would definitely be an issue in the following season.
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Feb 27, 2013 0:27:58 GMT -5
I've tried. Seems pretty easy in my limited experience. The only thing is to bury the seeds only very slightly under the soil. Too deep and they wont germinate. I got both varieties from NativeSeeds/SEARCH. I believe the puny red-leaved ones are Hopi Red Dye, and i'm not sure about the tall green ones. Probably Paiute, since i do remember ordering that one too. But the picture looks like it could be Alamos, but i can't remember if i ever ordered that one. Both have black seeds.  shop.nativeseeds.org/collections/amaranth Thinning them out when they are small produces a nice crop of salad greens. Taste is about like spinach. ...and using commercial amaranth flour for the first time awhile back i can say that the flavor of the grain is certainly unusual. Kind of nutty, but different that anything I've ever tasted before. Not to say one couldn't get used to it, but different than one might expect. |
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Post by castanea on Mar 1, 2013 11:02:47 GMT -5
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Post by davida on Mar 1, 2013 17:22:45 GMT -5
Castanea, Thanks. What a great way to buy in bulk. Will order with my next Amazon order and get free shipping to boot. David |
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Post by Walk on Mar 2, 2013 8:54:55 GMT -5
We plant our amaranth by putting a tiny pinch of seeds every foot down the row, with 3 rows running the length of a 4' wide bed. When they are big enough, they are thinned down to 1 plant per clump. This gives a a lot of thinnings which we dehydrate for a winter chicken feed addition. Using the thinnings helps to justify pulling the extra plants and gives the remainder plenty of room. We grow a golden variety which helps in terms of weeding in subsequent years as the native "pigweed" amaranth weed is red stemmed as a seedling. If one of the domestic seedlings comes up in a good spot, we may let it be. These solitary plants can get quite huge with multiple heads on many side branches. The plants in the bed that only have 1' of space tend to just have a large central head.
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It yields almost as well as sorghum for us and can get by on scant water. Helps diversify the menus, especially if a person doesn't eat gluten grains.
