I Need Advice for Planting Amaranth, Quinoa and Hull less Oats!

[baymule]

I just got my seeds in and I am dying to try planting my own grains. The oats will have to be planted in the fall, like NOW! haha I don't think they will be a problem to grow. I have read that quinoa likes cooler weather, so I think I will have to plant in early spring. Amaranth supposedly likes heat and we sure have heat in abundance in the summer. I have small beds and I am making 2 new beds that will be 4'x8' to plant grains in. So it isn't like I will grow a year's supply of grains, but I want to try them. Please, anybody that has any experience with these, do you have any tips for me?

 

[897tgigvib]

I grew all 3 of these this year.

Amaranth is easy, almosrt too easy. It likes it warm, does not mind hot or cool spells, can't freeze though, and only needs to be harvested carefully so you do not spill the seeds and let them turn into weeds.

The Oats are also easy. I suggest a kind of corral around and maybe through them of twine and stakes to make sure they don't lodge. Only a few of mine flopped over. I do not know when the best planting time for oats in your area is. Might try some now, and planting some more every 6 or 8 weeks to discover the best time unless someone else knows for sure.

Quinoa. My May 5th plantings did real well. The variety I grew was supposedly the most forgiving variety, called Colorado Quinoa. By Late July and August my pole beans were providing some afternoon shade for them. Oh. A few of them kind of leaned over. A corral setup might have been good for them. You have a hotter earlier season down there...thinking...If you plant Quinoa 3 months before it hits 90 degrees for a high, and make sure it gets afternoon shade by then, and if it is the forgiving Colorado Quinoa, I'd think you can grow it to seed. Oh, Quinoa gets thirsty, and will need watering every day when it gets hot. That also helps Amaranth grow tall.

Don't plant Amaranth any closer than a foot apart, or else the plants will be shorter than their potential. My Colorado Quinoa grew about the same whether it was a foot apart or 10 inches apart. Tall Amaranths maybe could use some staking, but I didn't.

Oh yes, Hulless Oats are still hard to thresh. Mine are still in the box waiting for me to figure out how to thresh them. I got a good crop of them, the Quinoa and of the Amaranth too.

Next year more kinds of Quinoa, and more space devoted to it. No Oats next year, and will add one more variety of Amaranth.

Best of luck, and, photos. Quinoa in south Texas. I think it is possible! Water them on the hot afternoons, and set them up for afternoon shade on those hot days over 90 or so.

 

[digitS']

I used the end of a 2 by 4, a sheet of heavy plastic, and a concrete floor for threshing the oats, Marshall. After tossing them in a flat basket . . . or, did I pour them from the top of my ladder onto a tarp (?) . . . I still had quite a job picking thru them to remove chaff .

It was worth it, tho'. A cup of whole oats in the rice cooker made a nice little meal - with the addition of some veggies. I can't quite remember what I put in it but I'm sure it was not mayonnaise and no ham. Oil and vinegar, I believe & just diced veggies.

Oats can take a frost early in the season but I'm not sure about late, Baymule. Temperatures in the spring down in the teens will take a field of oats out.

Steve

 

[baymule]

Oats are quite hardy here. They are planted for winter deer plots and if not mowed down by teeth, survive into the spring and set seed. I have also seen them planted along new highway construction in the fall and they go through the winter and set seed. So I don't think I will have a problem planting them now.

The quinoa I will try to plant in February, it will still be a little cold and there is more than a chance of frost. The place I have selected is on the east side of the house, on the garage wall, with the neighbor's house about 30 feet away. It is a sheltered spot and I plan on having cover for the plants in case of frost. We'll see!

Amaranth should really love it here. It is hot hot hot! And did I mention it's HOT?

Thanks for the responses!!!!!!

 

[lesa]

I was on the amaranth kick, a few years ago. So pretty, and great for animal feed. I did not have Marshall to give me advice then- and in all my innocence let my amaranth go to seed all over the place. Please take my advice- do not let this happen!! I do not think I will ever eradicate it from my property. If I am constantly weeding I can keep my garden area pretty clear, but my more "wild" spaces are absolutely taken over by it. Good luck!

 

[baymule]

Lesa, how did you feed amaranth to animals and what animals did you feed? Can horses graze it and will they eat it? If it goes that wild and crazy, and horses ate it, WOW it would cut down on the hay bill!

 

[897tgigvib]

Hey BayMule, does it get hot there?



Sounds like you'll be more than alright with the Oats and Amaranth.

I don't think the Quinoa seedlings would survive a light frost, but I'm not sure.

What variety of Quinoa are you planting? I did some plant moving transplanting with a few of mine, to my nearest neighbor's garden, something like a mile and a half away. They did a slight setback but were ok. I've got tons of experience transplanting though. What I'm thinking is you might want to start some inside in gallon pots extra early, and then later start some in 4" pots, followed by your planned on outside planting time for the rest, and then put those in the pots out when they are darn good and safe from frost. Indoor started seeds and seedlings should do well with something like the same conditions as Tomato seeds and seedlings. They start out kind of slow and pokey, and seemed to hit stride about 6 or 8 weeks old.

Though the leaves look different, Quinoa plants have the same, or close to the same, architecture as Amaranth, but that could be different with different varieties.

If you like garden munchies, the young leaves at the growing tip are extremely good for you, maybe the most nutritious raw greens there are. They just taste "green" to me, or about like Spinach.

The family is usually called Chenopodiaceae, but botanists keep changing names with this family. Same family as Spinach, Beets, Swiss Chard, and Amaranth, and also Pigweed and other weeds are in this family.

 

[baymule]

Yes Marshall it gets hot here. We plant potatoes in February so they will make before the heat makes underground french fries. I read with amusement how others in much cooler climates harvested their potatoes just recently. So i thought since the quinoa likes cooler weather I would treat them like potaotes. If there is threat of a frost, I will cover them with sheets. That is usually enough to keep tender foliage from getting frost bit. I ordered Faro quinoa from Bountifulgardens.com

I am looking forward to planting my grain crops and we'll see how I do.

 

[digitS']

www.bountifulgardens.org

They are associated with this group: www.growbiointensive.org

Willits, California is just down the road from Marshall, so to speak.

Steve

 

[897tgigvib]

Bountiful Gardens have been my gardening heroes since the '70's, and that was before the way they are now.

They are the ones who invented BIOINTENSIVE, and BIODYNAMIC gardening methods, and they are the ones who promoted worldwide SUSTAINABLE gardening and farming.

They certainly have some of the best books, and they write books and publications.

They promote growing a certain percentage of the garden for compost cropping, most of which are at least dual purpose besides for compost. Things like fodder radish to grow for compost makes a root that goes deep and picks up nutrients from the subsoil, or comfrey that concentrates Potassium.

Mmmm, Digit, I'd say it is up and down a bunch of rough canyon roads, down the dirty 13, past Potter and Redwood Vallies, down 20, then up 101, into Willits, and a left turn into Evergreen center. A splendid ride.