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Description

If you want to grow amaranth as a grain Amaranthus retroflexus is a good option. Seeds are eaten raw or cooked. They can be ground into a powder and used as a cereal substitute, and also can be sprouted and added to salads. Young leaves have a mild flavour and can be eaten raw or cooked as a spinach. It is eaten in Mexican markets as Quelite quintonil. Common names include: red-root amaranth, redroot pigweed, red-rooted pigweed, common amaranth, pigweed amaranth, and common tumbleweed.

Amaranthus retroflexus is a ANNUAL growing to 0.9 m .
It is frost tender. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The species is monoecious and is pollinated by Wind. The plant is self-fertile.
Suitable for: light , medium and heavy soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Cultivation

Prefers a well-drained fertile soil in a sunny position. Requires a hot sheltered position if it is to do well. Plants should not be given inorganic fertilizers, see notes above on toxicity. A good companion for potatoes, onions, corn, tomatoes, peppers and aubergines. A deep rooted plant, bringing up minerals from lower levels of the soil. Formerly cultivated as a food crop by the N. American Indians. Most if not all members of this genus photosynthesize by a more efficient method than most plants. Called the 'C4 carbon-fixation pathway', this process is particularly efficient at high temperatures, in bright sunlight and under dry conditions.

HabitatsA casual of cultivated land and waste places in Britain.
HabitatsCultivated Beds
HabitatsCultivated Beds
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