Opopeo - Amaranth

Started mine indoors around end of March. Transplanted outside beginning of May. They were transplanted directly into our sheep pen area which was tilled very well and still a little fresh and not aged much at all. These were planted in between our cucumbers, spaghetti quash, and zucchini. Only one broke during heavy winds. I did use a wood pole for support. Our cucumbers grew right up these beautifully. And no problems with cucumber beetles ! Very heavy yields from these plants. Young leaves are a very tasty addition to a salad or by themselves. Beautiful looking plant as well and very tall.

It's surprising how this huge plant can come from such a tiny seed! I direct sowed as soon as I could (mid- to late-May). The amaranth were flowering by late July, but it took a long time for the seeds to mature. After some September storms, some of the plants bent or broke in the middle of their stem. They survived, but looked a mess. In late Sept I harvested some seeds by putting a bag over the flowers and shaking. I got quite a bit, but could tell they weren't ready yet. By the time they were really ready for harvest, the weather was bad and I was lazy. I didn't have the heart to cut the seed heads from the plants, but I will next year. I thought they'd make a good companion plant to pole beans, providing support for the beans, but the amaranth grew too full and the beans didn't get enough sun. (This was an experiment, so I was able to harvest beans elsewhere.) I did see the resident bunny eating the blooms off the broken plants. She didn't do much damage, but ate a few plumes.

The first year I grew them they were amazing but I had wished for more. This year I planned to grow more and expand the garden row. We have had a very hot humid summer and the plants seem to be growing slow. The bunnies eat the small tender leaves so I grow them in pots and transplant them when too big for bunnies to eat. However now that they are 5' tall and about to start blooming, the deer have come through chomping off the tops. I thought they were deer resistant but it seems the opposite. If I can't prevent the animals from destroying my crop, I wont be able to plant them again. Suggestions would be helpful of how to organically keep these animals away.

Its very striking plant.. We have a drought situation this summer which did not affect its performance...Its about 5-6 ft. tall...Japanese beetles seem to leave it alone.. Which is a big plus...Will definitely be in my garden as a regular... Wish I could upload a photo it fits in very well with my garden....Wow

I love this seed crop: I harvested 150 lbs of A. seed last summer. "Prepper" crop. I intercropped it with Potatoes(early crop) as A. is a late summer crop . Plant when warm. HARVEST: Seed plumes snap off in late summer/early fall Fold seed heads into a tarp Drive over the tarp with a vehicle Shake/bang seed heads in a collection barrel Filter collected seeds and chaff through big holed sieve, get rid of large chaff Drizzle through a winnowing fan into a collection barrel, get rid of small chaff Lay out on table to dry for a few days - with fan to help dry (may see some moth larva) Drizzle through a winnowing fan again Filter through a fine sieve Store in cool or cold place, I used it all year till past the next harvest. Note-how far you take cleaning is up to you, the whole plant can be eaten.