How Do You Grow Amaranth at Home?

Growing amaranth at home is a rewarding and relatively simple process, allowing you to cultivate this versatile plant for its nutritious greens or its grain. Amaranth thrives in warm conditions and can be a vibrant addition to your garden.

Essential Steps for Growing Amaranth

Cultivating amaranth from seed involves a few key stages, from initial planting to ongoing care.

1. Site Selection and Soil Preparation

Amaranth prefers a location that receives full sun throughout the day. While it's adaptable to various soil types, it performs best in well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter. Ensure your chosen spot has good air circulation to prevent fungal issues.

2. Planting Amaranth Seeds

Sowing amaranth seeds directly into your garden is the most common and effective method.

• Timing: Plant amaranth seeds from mid-spring to early summer, once the danger of frost has passed and soil temperatures have warmed up sufficiently. Amaranth is a warm-season crop, so patience until warmer weather arrives will yield better results.
• Sowing Technique: Sow the tiny seeds directly into your prepared garden bed. They should be barely covered with soil, as they need light to germinate. Plant them in uniform rows to make subsequent care easier.
• Initial Watering: After sowing, keep the soil consistently moist until the seedlings sprout. This is crucial for successful germination and early growth. Avoid letting the soil dry out during this critical period.

3. Early Care and Thinning

Once your amaranth seedlings emerge, a bit of attention will ensure strong, healthy plants.

• Weeding: In their early stages, young amaranth plants can be outcompeted by weeds. Weed by hand around the seedlings until they reach a height of about 4 inches (10 cm). This manual weeding protects the delicate young plants from competition for nutrients, water, and sunlight.
• Thinning: As your plants grow, you'll need to thin them to ensure adequate space for development. Gradually thin plants until they are spaced approximately 18 inches (46 cm) apart within the rows. Proper spacing allows each plant to develop a strong root system and ample foliage or grain heads.
• Natural Weed Control: A beneficial characteristic of mature amaranth plants is their ability to suppress weeds. As the plants grow larger, their broad leaves will create a dense canopy that effectively shades out most summer weeds, significantly reducing the need for continuous weeding.

4. Ongoing Maintenance

Amaranth is relatively low-maintenance once established, but a few practices can enhance its growth.

• Watering: While mature amaranth is quite drought-tolerant, consistent watering, especially during prolonged dry spells or flowering/seed set, will promote healthier growth and better yields.
• Fertilizing: Amaranth typically doesn't require heavy fertilization if planted in fertile soil. However, if your soil is poor, a balanced organic fertilizer applied once or twice during the growing season can be beneficial.
• Support (for grain varieties): Taller grain varieties may benefit from staking, especially in windy areas, to prevent them from falling over as their seed heads mature and become heavy.

5. Harvesting

Amaranth offers two main harvests: leaves and grain.

• Leaves: For tender greens, harvest young, tender leaves regularly throughout the growing season, similar to spinach or kale. Consistent harvesting encourages more leaf production.
• Grain: If growing for grain, allow the plants to mature fully. The seed heads will dry out and turn brown, and the tiny seeds will be visible. Harvest by cutting the entire seed head and drying it further indoors before threshing to separate the seeds.

Quick Growing Facts

By following these steps, you can successfully grow amaranth at home, enjoying its beauty and its bounty. For more detailed information on gardening techniques and specific plant care, consider consulting reputable gardening resources like The Old Farmer's Almanac or your local university extension office.