Amaranth growth stages

Red amaranth is a plant that is easy to grow. It is perfect for beginners and expert gardeners alike.

Quick Care Guide

When you grow amaranth, you get beautiful plums of flowers. Source: Melinda Young Stuart Common Name(s) Red Amaranth, Prince’s Feather, Love Lies Bleeding, Copperhead, Hopi Red Dye, Hot Biscuits, Red Root Pig Scientific Name Amaranthus hypochondriacus, Amaranthus cruentus, and Amaranthus caudatus Days to Harvest: 150900 Harvest Days: 1-2 times per week Rich, well-drained soil Fertilizer Only once when she is planting the amaranth seeds Pests Bug tanned plants, amaranth weevils, flea beetles DiseasesDamping off, root rot

There are many types of amaranth plants that grow commonly, however Prince’s Feather (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) and Red Amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) are grains.

Where to Grow Amaranth

Amaranth is a summer-tolerant green that is often called vegetable amaranth to distinguish it from the similarly named but different landscaping amaranth . In the Caribbean, it goes by the name calaloo. The smaller varieties grown as ornamentals will not produce any usable seed but can still be eaten as salad greens. Unlike most salad greens, this one thrives in hot weather, so if you grow amaranth – or tetragonia, Malabar spinach, orac, or purslane for that matter – you can keep the salads coming all year round. Amaranth Greens deliver a salad when lettuce and spinach have long since bolted. In addition to tasting a little like spinach, amaranth is healthy: Lots of protein, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. In addition to growing for salad greens, it is (perhaps more popular historically) grown for its grain. Amaranth is a grain very similar to quinoa or couscous. It is very healthy for you and is often found in health food stores.

• Red leaf vegetable amaranth: medium green leaves with a burgundy-red overlay create an attractive splash of color for summer salads.
• Amaranth varieties with black seed tend to remain quite gritty when cooked and are best suited to their greens.
• The golden or lighter colored seeds tend to cook better, and they all have nice greens.
• Tampala is one of the tastiest varieties grown for its greens.

From the Seed

The seeds are very small and measure about twenty-one-fifth of an inch in diameter. They usually sprout in 3-5 days; however, the time from germination to flowering is between 60 and 110 days.

You can get a good jump on the growing season by starting seeds indoors in a well-drained potting mix eight to 10 weeks before the last average spring frost.