Amaranth, the Showstopper

Amaranth is once again being touted as the next big thing - a superfood even - but it has been around since before the Aztecs and the Incas lost out to the Spaniards. In the 70's, the Rodale Institute tried to pitch amaranth as the grain of the future, but without much success. This summer I just had to try it: not so much for the superfood aspects, but because I had never tried growing any kind of grain before, and this was a very easy place to start.

Amaranth starts really small - the seeds are so tiny that they cook down into a porridge. When they were still young and tender, we ate the leaves - think "mild spinach." Even better, think "Greek diet."  I convinced the neighbors to try some, and they thought the amaranth was alright, although they found the stems a little tough. (Yeah right, try rainbow chard if you want tough stems.)

Some people apparently add the young leaves to the salad mix, but do not try this at my home. Nor rainbow chard in any form, for that matter.

But amaranth sure knows how to grow. Within a few weeks, the plants were no longer suitable for greens (the seed heads were already forming). Instead they became the Purple Sensation on the block. I met more people over the question of just what the heck was growing up front. And the queries only increased as the number and size of the flowering seed heads expanded.

Ultimately, the plants topped out at about 6 ft., with at least a 3 ft. spread (naw, once again, we couldn't use the walkway. So whose dumb idea was this anyway?)

Be aware that those tiny seeds easily drop from the flower heads, so if you plant amaranth, expect to find many, many, many seedlings coming up next year - just in time for a spring "mess o' greens." No worries, though, they are very easy to pull out.

Many gardeners grow amaranth for the wonderful, long-lasting bouquets they produce. The flowers can also be dried for year-round floral arrangements. (Can be, but not by me. I already have enough things that suffer from a lack of dusting.)

So eat the leaves and share the bounty with your friends and neighbors.