Oh man, the seedlings look like amaranth weed family.
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My first, direct seeded planting of quinoa had very poor germination; possibly due to dry weather and/or the numerous cutworms. (They are now all turning into moths and flying away.) So have made a second planting in soil bricks, which will hopefully allow me to avoid any problems with the plants becoming pot-bound.
Going forward, Iāve been thinking about how chenopods generally seem to be fussy about conditions for germination, and yet self-seed prolifically. I wouldnāt want to select for self-sowing in quinoa, since this would be selecting for heads that shatter easily. But I was thinking that maybe I would try planting out seeds in February and letting them come up at their own timing, which would require some combination of frost tolerance/soil temperature induced dormancy.
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Thatās because they exactly are in the same exact Amaranthaceae Family, along with Spinach, Beets, Swiss Chard, Lambsquaters, etc.
Also is anyone growing Quinoa for the Greens themselves? Spinach is EXTREMELY Closely related Chenopodium Species (Which explain why the greens taste so good). Grocery Store Quinoa has a hard time surviving seedling stage, lambsquaters get eaten by bugs in the forrest environment (Maybe Soils too Fungally Dominant be playing a role here?).
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quick update on my GTS Quinoa.
A few days ago I found most of them had been beheaded by an unidentified animal .
I was very upset . I still am. However, they seem to survive the āpruningā and develop again.
anyone experinced that ? any ideas about which animal would have tested the heads of 80% of the seedlings and not finish the plate ?
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I started my quinoa in soil blocks in mid April in an unheated greenhouse here in Michigan. I had good germination. Started a little more in May with not good germination. I guess they like it cooler.
Planted them in the garden in mid May. They seem to be doing pretty good. About a foot tall. Iāve never tried to grow quinoa before so Iām not sure what to expect. I donāt amend my soil with anything but compost. Been getting lots of rain. Lambsquater grows like crazy in my garden so Iām hoping it works out.
Thanks to everyone who donated seed!
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Iām not sure; I would guess it would be a larger animal; do you have deer or anything like that?
Quinoa is good at growing side-shoots, so you should still get a crop. In fact, some people harvest the main seed-head first, then come back to harvest the side shoot heads in a couple of weeks.
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Sounds great!
Indeed they did grow side-shoots pretty quick.
only a handfull could not do that because their cut was too severe.
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So it looks like my quinoa growing year is going to be a wash. The first planting didnāt germinate, so I started a bunch of transplants; but right after I planted them out, the weather became scorchingly hot, and most of the little transplants were eaten by bugs of some sort.
Next year, Iām going to try planting much earlier and see what happens; it might be better to risk a late frost than the plants not getting established before hot, dry weather sets in.
(Here in Denver, weāve been abnormally dry for a couple of months now.)
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I feel you! Iāve had this happen with the Lambsquaters I Planted. Itās Groundhogs & Rabbits that often do this where I live. (They know whatās good). A rabbit also ate all my tomato seedlings exactly like this (Caught him in the act), I didnāt even know tomato green were edible to rabbits, I thought the leaves were super toxic, guess not.
Are you gonna try crossing Quinoa with Lambsquaters?
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I wasnāt planning on crossing the quinoa with the lambsquarter but if it happens it happens. It looks like some amaranth spinach I planted last year crossed with either pigweed or lambsquarter and reseaded itself. More likely the pigweed since itās the same genus. Interesting looking but havenāt tasted it yet.
Iām really hoping the quinoa works out. It would be nice to have a low maintenance grain crop.
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I hope it does, Iād love to try them greens or turn quinoa into a broccoli type crop.
Impossible!? HOW!? If you Truly have Crossed a True Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) with a Lambsquater (Chenopodium spp.), you deserve a Scientific achievement Reward!
You 100% sure you had an Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.)? If not take a picture & I can confirm the ID. Iām really good at Identifying Amaranth vs Quinoa & Lambsquaters.
I see, your focus is the grains but not the greens? Are the grains better than the greens? Iāve treated Qunioa & Lambsquaters as a Greens Crop & Ignored Qunioa as a grain crop cuz Iāve always see them appear in my poop, undigested properly. Is this normal?, Does it happen to you?
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This is the suspected hybrid. After looking at it more closely, Iām pretty sure its an Amaranth Spinach/Pig Weed cross. Itās much larger than either parent.
Heres the Amaranth Spinach (Amaranthus viridis)
And hereās the Pig Weed (Amaranthus retroflexus)
Please correct me if any of this looks incorrect.
I have plenty of greens crops. I grow tons of kale, parsley and chard. Plus all the wild greens like lambsquarter. I was hoping for a grain crop from the quinoa. Iāve never noticed quinoa in my poop lol. Maybe you donāt chew enough?
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Oh by Pigweed I thought you mean (Chenopodium spp.). Yea pigweed is a redicuiously generic name that applies to any amaranthacea weed. Yea that definitely looks like a Hybrid between 2 amaranths species (Both in the Hybridus complex, 100% Amaranthus). Also ooh, a wild Amaranthus retroflexus, super nice! If you can save seeds from all 3 amaranths, Iād love to trade some seeds for those, DM me. They look incredible! How do they taste? Iāve heard they make excellent Cooked Greens.
Awesome! Weāll have plenty to trade. Iāve got lots of diverse Squash, Melons, Corn, Wild edibles, etc.
Maybe, It also could be that they are hard to chew. Itās usually not a problem with Quinoa is mixed with rice or beans. Just only when itās a bowl on itās own. How do you eat Quinoa?
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My GTS quinoa are now well developped, between knee and elbow heigh . starting to set heads
my own mix from previous years, that I sowed later than the GTS are slowly catching up.
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Anyone have any more progress reports on their quinoa?
Deer & Ground Hogs ate all my Quinoa & Lambsquaters. So I just gave up On the garden & continued researching Chenopodium instead.
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todayās status : just blooming. They change color every day, it is a great pleasure to contemplate the variety of colors and sizes.
We had a heavy rain yesterday, so a few of them started bending and 2 folded. I try to help them with a stick and a string,
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Oh wow! I think I See a green stink bug pollinating your quinoa? Do they change color when they are ready to flower or when fruit begins to form?
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