This is the local feral amaranth. I have a little growing now in my garden but these photos are from the neighbor. What you are seeing is the population that remains when they run the mower between the rows of corn. There’s no fertilizer or herbicide or pesticide in this field.
Would seeds from this population be right for the group effort? I will go back and harvest seed soon and I know I will get some for my garden. I’ll plan to set aside some of that seed for the serendipity seed swap box. It will not be a problem to also get more for the exchange. Flavor of the greens is good, although the foliage is relatively small. Maybe that is partly to do with them growing in the shade of the corn but worth mentioning.
I’m new to these plants so I suppose I’m being extra cautious that I’ve got the right thing to contribute.
I’m selecting in my community garden plot for the largest pigweed amaranth each season. The one I didn’t pull this year is over 6’ tall 6’ wide and should give me second gallons of grain.
I justify it as being a food source for birds that I want hanging around to eat bugs the rest of the season. Plus food for me. I eat all the wild amaranth as salad when I pull them.
I have an abundance of “redroot pigweed” every time i tear up a piece of my lawn for gardening. It annoyed me at first but now that I’ve been feeding it to my pigs, I’m starting to appreciate it. I also grow the tall red amaranth with the giant seed heads it’s delicious as a sprout, makes lots of fodder and seeds can be used as a cover crop that happily drills down into hard packed clay soil. I’m going to start letting some of the feral pigweed go to seed in hopes that it will cross with the bigger giant red stuff and self seed everywhere. Is this possible?
