Amarant.md
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-Growing Amaranth: The Complete Guide to Plant, Grow, & Harvest Amaranth
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-By Ame Vanorio
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-Print
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+= Amarant
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+image::bilder/Growing-amaranth-plants-800x600.jpg[]
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If you’ve never tried growing amaranth before, now is the time. Amaranth is a wonderfully versatile plant that’s a beautiful flower, a delicious vegetable, and a nutritious grain all in one. It even has medicinal qualities. In other words, it’s the ideal plant for edible landscaping.
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The flowers themselves can be 2-feet tall and are a brilliant burgundy color. They’re perfect as the centerpiece in bouquets. Humans aren’t the only ones who love the flowers. Amaranth attracts bees and butterflies as well.
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-Growing amaranth plant with a bee on it
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As a food, the seeds make a delicious grain substitute that is gluten-free and packed with protein. The leaves make a nutty, sweet alternative to kale. If you have livestock, your chickens and hogs will also appreciate your growing amaranth.
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-Chickens foraging around growing amaranth plants
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-Amaranth Varieties
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+== Amaranth Varieties
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Different species of amaranth will produce different qualities of leaves, flowers or seeds. There are over 70 different varieties, so there are plenty of options depending on your goals. Below are a few types to help you pick.
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-Amaranth cruentus plants growing
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- Burgundy (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) – This is an all-around variety that has tender young leaves for salads and grows six feet tall to produce a stunning crop of flowers. It also produces tasty seeds. It matures in 50 days for a salad crop and 90-100 days for flowers and seeds. Burgundy also makes a nice microgreen with a subtly sweet flavor.
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- Love Lies Bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus) – This variety is primarily ornamental, but you can still eat it. The flower blooms in a cascading waterfall of color. You may think of the birds as pests, but if you enjoy feeding your local songbirds, such as goldfinches, this is a great variety for them.
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- Plainsman (Amaranth hypochondriacus x hybridus) – This is a popular commercial variety you should pick if your goal is to harvest the grain. It grows 5-6 feet tall with a single, unbranched stem which was developed for mechanical harvesting. The maroon flowers are not as colorful as some other varieties.
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- Opopeo Amaranth Grain (Amaranthus cruentus) – This is my favorite variety because it is easy to grow and versatile. Opopeo takes 65 days to flower and 125 days to produce seed. It can also be used for leaf production until the plant is 2 feet tall. After that the leaves get bitter, and you can let the plant go to seed.
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- Mercado (Amaranthaceae Amaranthus hypochondriacus) – This variety takes a long time to mature, at least 125 days, but apple-green seedheads yield a particularly tasty seed. Ideal for drought-prone areas. It will self-seed and return if you let it.
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- Joseph’s Coat (Amaranthus tricolor) – Joseph’s Coat is known for its stunning foliage, which develops into a tri-color riot of red, yellow and green. The blossoms are fairly innocuous, so don’t pick this variety if you want showy flowers.
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- Juana’s Orange (Amaranthus cruentus) – Pick this variety if you want a taste of an heirloom seed preserved by a woman and her family in Guatemala.
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- Pigweed – Pigweed is in the amaranth family. You may look at pigweed as a delightful wild edible or as an obnoxious weed. It can be both. This variety is not as tasty as the domestic ones. Pigweeds don’t get as tall or produce as much grain as the domestic amaranth, but if you struggle to get amaranth to thrive, you might want to give it a go. Or you can always forage it because it grows wild practically everywhere.
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+Burgundy (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) – This is an all-around variety that has tender young leaves for salads and grows six feet tall to produce a stunning crop of flowers. It also produces tasty seeds. It matures in 50 days for a salad crop and 90-100 days for flowers and seeds. Burgundy also makes a nice microgreen with a subtly sweet flavor.
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+Love Lies Bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus) – This variety is primarily ornamental, but you can still eat it. The flower blooms in a cascading waterfall of color. You may think of the birds as pests, but if you enjoy feeding your local songbirds, such as goldfinches, this is a great variety for them.
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+Plainsman (Amaranth hypochondriacus x hybridus) – This is a popular commercial variety you should pick if your goal is to harvest the grain. It grows 5-6 feet tall with a single, unbranched stem which was developed for mechanical harvesting. The maroon flowers are not as colorful as some other varieties.
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-How to Plant Amaranth
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+Opopeo Amaranth Grain (Amaranthus cruentus) – This is my favorite variety because it is easy to grow and versatile. Opopeo takes 65 days to flower and 125 days to produce seed. It can also be used for leaf production until the plant is 2 feet tall. After that the leaves get bitter, and you can let the plant go to seed.
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+Mercado (Amaranthaceae Amaranthus hypochondriacus) – This variety takes a long time to mature, at least 125 days, but apple-green seedheads yield a particularly tasty seed. Ideal for drought-prone areas. It will self-seed and return if you let it.
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+Joseph’s Coat (Amaranthus tricolor) – Joseph’s Coat is known for its stunning foliage, which develops into a tri-color riot of red, yellow and green. The blossoms are fairly innocuous, so don’t pick this variety if you want showy flowers.
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+Juana’s Orange (Amaranthus cruentus) – Pick this variety if you want a taste of an heirloom seed preserved by a woman and her family in Guatemala.
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+Pigweed – Pigweed is in the amaranth family. You may look at pigweed as a delightful wild edible or as an obnoxious weed. It can be both. This variety is not as tasty as the domestic ones. Pigweeds don’t get as tall or produce as much grain as the domestic amaranth, but if you struggle to get amaranth to thrive, you might want to give it a go. Or you can always forage it because it grows wild practically everywhere.
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+== How to Plant Amaranth
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Growing amaranth plants with red blossoms
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-Zones
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+=== Zones
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Amaranth grows well in zones 5-9.
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-Planting Amaranth
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+=== Planting Amaranth
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You can start them inside 6-8 weeks before the last frost or direct seed outside once the danger of frost has passed
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Growing amaranth plants need full sun with at least 6 hours per day.
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Caring For Your Amaranth
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-Growing amaranth leaves
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+=== Growing amaranth leaves
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Once it get’s going, growing amaranth doesn’t require much in the way of maintenance.
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Fertilizing
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Rotation/Succession
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Rotate plants from year to year to avoid diseases. Don’t plant where you’ve had brassicas the previous year. If you want to make sure you have a continuous supply of leaves and flowers, you can plant amaranth 2 weeks apart. Keep in mind that if you want seeds before frost hits, be sure your last planting takes place 100 days before the first frost in fall.
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-Amaranth Problems, Pests, and Diseases
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+== Amaranth Problems, Pests, and Diseases
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While it can be susceptible to some problems, growing amaranth isn’t such a challenge that you should forgo planting.
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Tarnished Plant Bug
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Plant amaranth next to corn to shade the ground and help retain moisture. A study found that marigolds are helpful in nematode protection. Below are a few other plants that work well with amaranth.
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- Potato
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- Onion
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- Tomato
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- Eggplant
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- Pepper
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- Catnip
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+* Potato
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+* Onion
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+* Tomato
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+* Eggplant
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+* Pepper
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+* Catnip
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Bad Companion Plants:
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Don’t plant amaranth with crocus plants.
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-Harvesting and Storing Amaranth
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-Amaranth plant with a branch going to seed
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+== Harvesting and Storing Amaranth
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When growing amaranth, harvest time depends on what you are growing the plants for. Leaves can be ready a month after planting, while flowers take about 2 months and seeds up to 3 or more months.
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-Harvesting Leaves, Seeds and Flowers
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+=== Harvesting Leaves, Seeds and Flowers
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Amaranth leaves are ready to harvest in about 30 -45 days. Clip the leaves from the plant with a sharp pair of scissors. Plants will keep growing until frost.
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Seeds are ready when the leaves drop, and you can gently roll the head between thumb and fingers. If the seeds fall out readily, then it’s time to harvest. If you’re having wet weather, you can cut the stalks and hang them to dry over a clean sheet. Give them a good shake after they’ve dried.
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-Each flower spike gives you 4 to 8 ounces of seed.
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+Each flower spike gives you 4 to 8 ounces of seed. (100g - 200g)
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When harvesting flowers, cut the flowers before they go to seed and get them in water quickly.
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-Storing Seeds
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-Amaranth seeds in a bowl
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+==== Storing Seeds
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After harvesting, dry the seeds for a day or two and then store in a dark, dry place in an airtight container. Seeds will last for a year or more this way.
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-Eating Amaranth
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+==== Eating Amaranth
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Amaranth is often considered a “super food” because it is high in vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, and amino acids including lysine. It’s also packed with protein, about 16 percent compared to 10 percent in most other grains. It’s comparable to quinoa in that way.
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In Mexico, they mix popped amaranth with honey for a granola bar-like a snack. You can also pop the seeds like popcorn or ground them up as a wheat flour alternative.
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-Amaranth bar snacks
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+==== Amaranth bar snacks
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Amaranth seeds can be boiled like oatmeal to make a tasty porridge. I like to mix seeds with eggs, bread crumbs, and garlic, form them into patties and then fry them in a pan with butter. Amaranth flour makes a killer pancake.
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Don’t ignore amaranth leaves, because they’re also delicious. Smaller leaves are more tender and larger leaves are more flavorful. Young amaranth leaves can be eaten raw in salads. Older leaves are best cooked like spinach or chard because they can get bitter.
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-We all have plants we like to grow for “fun.” Amaranth is one of those fun plants for me. The leaves and seeds are an excellent source of nutrition, but I love just to watch the plants grow. The tall stalks are an impressive addition to the garden, and when the wind blows the flowers wave back and forth like vibrant, fuzzy flags.
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+We all have plants we like to grow for “fun.” Amaranth is one of those fun plants for me. The leaves and seeds are an excellent source of nutrition, but I love just to watch the plants grow. The tall stalks are an impressive addition to the garden, and when the wind blows the flowers wave back and forth like vibrant, fuzzy flags.
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+image::bilder/Amaranth-and-chickens-600x437.jpg[]
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+Källa
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+https://morningchores.com/growing-amaranth/[Morningchores]
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