Anybody here grow amaranth? I'm very tempted, seems like a great all-rounder of a plant and it's something a bit different. Hard to find info on it, though there does seem to be a few seed suppliers. As regular readers of this board will know, though, I haven't a clue. Anyone with more experience?
For the seeds go to www.greenol.co.uk. £2.57 for 500.
The plants can get pretty big...
If you suffer from gout, don't bother!
Oxalic acid? That's the same as elderly rhubarb, right? Or am I making this up? I don't, but I know someone that does - moo haa haa...
Amaranth has that and some other stuff in its leaves, but the seeds are fine to use. And the rhubarb/spinach doesn't have to be old... I know!
It grows anywhere, as well.
I had heard that, which is one of the things that appeals - I'm still pretty hopeless. I didn't know that spinach had oxalic acid in it. Good job I'm not prone to gout, I eat mounds of the stuff.
When should it be planted? There was a bit on the 'Grow Your Own' magazine website that suggested it should go in now, though all the seed sales places seem keener on spring. I would have guessed spring, so the link (http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/diary/food.php) seems odd...
Every plant has oxalic acid in it to some extent. Levels in different plants can be found near the bottom of this page:
http://growingtaste.com/oxalicacid.shtml
Love the conclusion:
"Summing Up
We think it is nuts for anyone not already under medical advice to select this leafy green over that based on oxalic-acid content."
Well, that told us. Any idea about planting amaranth, John?
i grew the ornamental variety on the allotment and it grew to huge proportions. howerver, the edible variety that i grew which was part of a mix salad pack (i think t&m's niche salad) only grew to about 4 inches before it bolted. nice flavout tho and beautiful colour!
This looks interesting. I'm sure I read somewhere that you can grind the seed to make a sort of low gluten flour. anyone tried that? And what variety?
sounds worth trying if only for its decorative properties ::)
The west indians call one form Amarath, Calaloo. You cook it like spinach. I've got a load of seeds if you want a handful. It doesn't grow very tall - a couple of feet at most. It is much bigger in the west indies.
I'd love some, Sarahr. I really fancy having a go at this.
And you can grind the seeds, Jenny; http://www.vidaverde.co.uk/amaranthprocessing.html shows the process. It's no gluten, which sounds interesting. I'm not on any special diet, but I love trying new foods.
you can buy amaranth cheaply from health food shops and it does germinate ok - I use the tiny seeds as one of my sprouting grains.
A word of warning- if you do grow it don't let amaranth go to seed. Some cvs. can produce 2 million seeds from a single plant-yes, they are small seeds- and can produce huge plants. Our local cv. is commonly called pig weed because it is such a (3 dots) to get rid of. Amaranth, seeds and leaves, was a staple food for the first peoples of both the North and, especially, the South hemispheres over here and has been cultivated for millenia.
We have two or three people who grow this on our site but find that is now appearing almost anywhere so take note of the warning.
Tastes nice though