It is also called foxtail and has come to our latitudes from South America. As a nutritious pseudo-cereal, it is popular in whole foods and tastes good in many different ways. How do you harvest it?

The amaranth is ready to harvest when you can shake it out easily

Recognize harvest maturity: signs

The foxtail pods are ready to harvest when they have dried and the grains inside rustle when shaken. It is best to examine individual grains. Are the grains still glassy? Then they are not really ripe yet.

Usually ready for harvest in September

Depending on when you sow your amaranth and when it starts flowering (between July and September), the right time to harvest varies between early September and mid-October. In cool regions, the grains often do not fully ripen. Therefore, you should only grow amaranth in warm regions.

Don't harvest after rain

In general, you should never harvest amaranth if it has rained just a few days before. It should be dry. Otherwise you will have difficulties with harvesting and drying later. It can also rot or mold more quickly.

How do you harvest amaranth?

Anyone who has only grown a few plants for their own use does not need any special machines to harvest amaranth. Then it is sufficient to cut off the fully ripe infructescence. However, if you have grown more than one hectare of amaranth, you may need a combine harvester to harvest it. There are special machines here that are designed for harvesting amaranth.

What are the yields?

In today's industry, yields of up to 1,200 kg per hectare of land are possible (amaranth grains). But usually only around 700 kg per hectare are harvested. In addition to the grains, individual leaves can also be harvested at an earlier point in time. They can be prepared like spinach.

Dry, clean and store after harvest

This is how it continues after the harvest for personal use:

  • Hang fruit stands or place in a cloth bag
  • let dry
  • thresh or beat out the ears of corn
  • to clean
  • Storage: in paper bags, cloth sacks or in wooden boxes

tips

Warning: Amarath tends to spread like weeds if harvested too late!

Category:

Vegetable garden