Growing and Harvesting Quinoa & Amaranth
by Lynda Prim

Quinoa was so vital a food for the Incas that it was referred to as chisiiya mama or "mother grain" in the Quecha language. The grain was so sacred that each season the first seed was planted by the Inca king using a golden spade. Today, quinoa is still a staple crop grown by farmers throughout the highlands of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. For the people of this region, quinoa is an important source of protein–a protein of such high quality from a nutritional standpoint, that it often takes the place of meat in their diets.

Note: Quinoa is especially well adapted to high altitude areas with warm days and cool nights and may not produce ample seed in areas with warm summer nights.

This year at the Seeds of Change Research Farm we grew trial plots of four varieties of quinoa: 'Dave (Four-O-Seven),' 'Faro,' 'Isluga,' and 'Temuco.' Quinoa plants are tall with broad leaves and large seedheads. Plants range in color from green to red to purple. Quinoa is in the same plant family as wild lambsquarters and appears very similar with larger, more developed seedheads. The quinoa seeds are usually pale yellow, but seeds can vary in color from ivory to pink, orange to red, or brown to black. The seed is round with its embryo forming a ring around the outside edge.

Nutritionally, quinoa is rich in protein (16 to 23 percent) and contains an amino acid balance high in the essential amino acids lysine, methionine, and cystine. Quinoa is traditionally toasted or ground into flour. Quinoa grain has a nutty flavor and can be ground into flour for baking unleavened breads or combined with other flours in leavened breads. It can also be popped like popcorn, prepared as a grain dish, breakfast cereal, or in soups and salads. The seeds of most quinoa varieties contain bitter-tasting saponins in the outer layers of the seed coat. Because of this, quinoa needs to be washed in water several times to remove the saponins. Quinoa can also be harvested as a green leafy vegetable when its leaves are young.

Amaranth is one of the most beautiful crops that we grow at the Research Farm. The broad leaves, stems, and spectacular flowers of the amaranth plants–in purples, reds, green and gold–create a blaze of color across the fields. This year we grew eight varieties of amaranth: 'Mercado,' 'Burgandy,' 'Warhiho,' 'Golden Giant,' 'Greek,' 'Manna de Montana,' 'Hopi Red Dye,' and 'Merah Coleus Leaf.'

Amaranth grows vigorously, tolerates drought, heat, and pests, and adapts readily to a wide range of environments. A staple grain of the Incas, Aztecs, and other pre-Colombian peoples, amaranth was once as widely dispersed throughout the Americas as corn. When I was a graduate student doing field studies in ethnobotany at the Pot Creek site near Taos, New Mexico, my research on the prehistoric agricultural fields at the site turned up fossilised amaranth pollen together with corn pollen indicating that the ancient inhabitants grew both crops.

Amaranth grains are slightly larger than poppy seeds with the flower heads of a single plant containing more that 100,000 seeds. Seed colors range from black to red to ivory. The seed is shiny with the embryo curved around the seed like quinoa. Unlike quinoa, however, the amaranth seed coating does not contain bitter saponins.

Nutritionally, amaranth is a very valuable food–higher in protein than the major cereal crops (13 to 18 percent as compared to 10 percent in corn and wheat) with a high level of the amino acid lysine, an essential amino acid that is usually deficient in plant protein. Amaranth is also a good source of calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, vitamin E, and B vitamins.

Planting quinoa and amaranth is easy. After danger of frost is past, the seed can either be broadcast and raked into the soil or sown in narrow, shallow rows. Amaranth and quinoa seeds can germinate in as little as three days. Be sure to keep the beds of new seedlings well weeded until the plants are established so that the new plants are not overcome by weeds that grow at a similar rate (including their wild relatives-lambsquarters and pigweed). Once established, quinoa and amaranth grow vigorously and can compete well with the weed species. Most quinoa varieties mature in 3 to 6 months and in some varieties, the plants mature at varying rates. Most amaranth varieties mature in 4 to 6 months. Usually, quinoa and amaranth are harvested just before the plants mature because the seeds are not held tightly in the seedhead and will scatter on the ground as the seedheads dry out.

Harvesting quinoa and amaranth is a simple process. Cut the seedheads just before they become dry and brittle. Lay the seedheads on a cloth or place them inside paper or cloth bags with heads down and leave in the shade to finish drying. When the seedheads are dry, the seeds can be removed in several ways: by rubbing gently with your hands (wearing gloves is recommended), by enclosing the seedheads between two cloths and treading on top without shoes on, by beating the seedheads inside of a bag, or by beating seedheads together over a cloth. Once the dry seeds are removed they can be placed into a shallow bowl and swirled around until the large pieces of flowers rise to the top where they are easy to remove. By tipping the bowl you can rake out much of the chaff that is left. Any small particles of flowers, chaff, or dirt that remain can be removed by shaking the seed through a small mess screen about the size of window screen. Winnowing the seed in a light breeze will also remove the flower and chaff effectively. The seeds are very light so it is important to winnow carefully in light breeze only.

Storage: Once the quinoa and amaranth seeds are dried and cleaned, it is a good idea to keep the seeds for several days at the temperature at which they will be stored, before putting them into a storage container. If the seeds do not feel damp and do not stick to each other during this time they are probably dry enough for storage. The length of time to dry seeds varies greatly depending on the air humidity, drying conditions, seed size, and how clean the seeds are. Store quinoa and amaranth as you would any type of cereal or grain in a sealed, airtight container out of direct sunlight and away from sources of heat.

Try growing Quinoa and Amaranth for their delicious, nutritious grains and greens and you'll be further rewarded with a garden steeped in the ancient cultures of the Americas.