«Mercado» - Organic Amaranth Seeds

Traditional grain type from southern Mexico. (“Mercado” means market in Spanish.) Apple-green seed heads give way to delicious, tan grain. This lodge-resistant variety is rather long-season for an amaranth, requiring 125 days to yield mature seed.

Amaranth plants grow well in average to rich, well-draining soil with equal amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus. Like many vegetable crops, it needs at least five hours of sunlight a day to do well. While it grows best in moist but well drained soil, it will tolerate somewhat dry soil too. Amaranth seeds are very fine, so generally, the seeds are sprinkled over a prepared area after the risk of last frost has passed.

Amaranth seeds can be started indoors as well about three to four weeks before the last frost date. Once the amaranth seeds have sprouted, they should be thinned to about 18 inches apart. Once established, amaranth needs little care. It is more tolerant of drought than most other leafy vegetable and will tolerate a wider range of soils than other grain crops.