Growing Amaranth: The Complete Guide to Plant, Grow, & Harvest Amaranth

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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.

You often hear amaranth called an ancient grain because it was once grown and harvested by Aztec and Inca civilizations. Technically, while we think of amaranth as one, it’s not related to true grains such as corn or wheat. Amaranth is related to spinach and swiss chard.

I first started growing amaranth because I was taking the plant’s vibrant red flowers to the farmers market. Then one year, time got away from me, and the flowers went to seed. My family and I had so much fun popping the seeds and adding them to cookies that I decided to grow the plant for food as well.

Understanding Amaranth Varieties

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.

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.

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.

How to Plant Amaranth

Amaranth grows well in zones 5-9. You can start them inside 6-8 weeks before the last frost or direct seed outside once the danger of frost has passed.

If you direct seed outdoors, wait for soil temps to reach 65°F. Indoors, plant seeds one-fourth of an inch deep and keep moist.

Seeds aren’t fussy to start and will germinate in under a week in temperatures between 65-80°F. Thin seedlings 10-12 inches apart after they’ve sprouted.

Caring For Your Amaranth

Once it gets going, growing amaranth doesn’t require much in the way of maintenance. Amaranth likes nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, so a garden with lots of compost manure will make them happy.

It is important to keep up with weeding as young plants are easily smothered by encroaching weeds. Amaranth has shallow roots so take care when you’re hoeing or cultivating.

Amaranth is drought tolerant. However, to produce nice leaves, make sure to keep the soil moist at the root level.

Companion Plants for Growing Amaranth

Plant amaranth next to corn to shade the ground and help retain moisture. A study found that marigolds are helpful in nematode protection.

A few other plants that work well with amaranth include potato, onion, tomato, eggplant, pepper, and catnip.

Harvesting and Storing Amaranth

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 two months.

Amaranth leaves are ready to harvest in about 30 -45 days. Clip the leaves from the plant with a sharp pair of scissors. Seeds are ready when the leaves drop off naturally from their stalks.

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