The quinoa growing experiment

It seems to me that in order to be able to store any back in large quantities one would need to grow a large plot of quinoa and amaranth too .. I basically split a 1200 foot or so area between the amaranth and quinoa last season. When it was all said and done i got about 5 pounds of amaranth to put back and 3-4 pounds of quinoa.

As i mentioned the winnowing takes a good long while and yes they blow away in the process which could be a problem for some because they will seed where ever they flew the following year.

The quinoa also has saponins which requires that it be soaked before use. Anything you read will say a few rinses or a day of soaking. HA, every time i have tried it here it takes 4-5 days and then a boiling rinse beyond that and it still had the flavor of soapiness. Also tends to make the quinoa gooey in the end.

The quinoa does winnow a bit better than the amaranth , the seeds are heavier. However it still took a few hours of my sitting there doing it and then the prep work to make it useful. It seems to me that most have better things to do than sit n do this for an entire day when if you even paid yourself a buck an hour for your work you would be better off simply buying the quinoa that is already rinsed, work done and ready to use unless of course you have a useless eatter around to give them something to do just to keep them out of your hair.

 

What cultivars of quinoa and amaranth did you grow? And thanks for stating the problem. I've still got some amaranth out there that needs to be winnowed (wrapped up in a sheet under the carport) ... somehow I just keep putting it off ...

 

i planted quinoa aslala
and the amaranth was golden grain and love lies bleeding

hope your amaranth doesnt sprout while its wrapped up out there. A good bit of my quinoa sprouted last fall when it rained down for days and i couldnt get it out of the field it was in once it was ready for harvest. I also had some of bothi drying in the greenhouse and it got very humid and i have been picking amaranth n quinoa out of my carrots and lettuce beds most of the winter

 

Thanks for answering, dilligaf! The amaranth I grew was called Manna de Montana. Only grew a few plants, and they DID produce amaranth; it's just how to winnow the seed?? Without the seed blowing away along with the bits & pieces? The quinoa seed I bought from Peace Seeds is called Quinoa Faro. I really like quinoa, so want to grow it. The saponins sound like a bad problem, though.

 

i have heard that throwing them in a big pillow case and stomping them when good and dry works for the amaranth.

When i did ours i took a big ol flat sheet out and took the stems and rolled them in my hands onto the sheets. Once i got the majority off the stems i dumped the seeds into a wash tub then brought them all inside the shack and used a fan to finish the job off. I used two containers to pour the conents back n forth until i decided it was sufficient . Made a mess but atleast i knew i wasnt going to have seed all over and sprouting in the lawns. I then swept up my messy bits and threw it all in a bag to use for seed next year, i figured the dust n fur ball bits wouldnt hurt the seed and gave me plenty of seed for next year in the process..

I also wish the saponins wasnt such an issue with the quinoa. I am trying to see if different varieties of quinoa have varying levels of saponins but finding info has been hard.

oh and so you know lol,,, hippiehillbilly is the ol man here so when he types it is from the same place n often times me typing but too lazy to sign him out n me in

 

Another grain I'd like to try growing is millet. And chia. Not sure if you'd call that a GRAIN. Or if it can be grown in mid-America. It would sure be nice to grow something that would repel chiggers.

 

i have heard of people growing the chia grass, cant remember its real name. The only plant that i know of that repels chiggers is comfrey. Lay the leaves and stems across the area... or plant all over... of course, comfrey seems to be one helluva plant to have a round as a whole when it comes to gardens n pests

millet is very easy to grow but it does tend to take over so like buckwheat it is often best to simply give it a place of its own to take over and grow forever more

 

Check out this link:
http://chla.library.cornell.edu/cgi...03;didno=5077685_4157_003;view=image;seq=0009

Just had to type that out TWICE ... sheesh!
Another thing I read was that quinoa is adapted to the shorter days near the equator, though being grown in the sierra parts of Peru, it will tolerate temperate climate. So it is interesting and good to hear that your quinoa actually set seed.

BTW ... the kind of chia I've got is called "tarahumara chia," and it's a kind of SAGE. I've never grown it, but from what I'm reading, it may or may not grow as far north and east as here (northern Arkansas). It's better adapted to Southern California (sigh!)!

 

Just found a link/blog with a lot of info on chia:
http://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2007/08/14/salba-chia-seed/

Chia's Latin name is Salvia Hispanica.