How to grow amaranth at home. How to grow amaranth in a summer cottage: personal experience in planting, care and pest control. Outdoor care for amaranth

Amaranth is an annual blooming almost all summer with beautiful red-purple leaves and interesting inflorescences, which can vary greatly depending on the variety. In most cases, this plant is planted with seedlings, but amaranth can be grown from seed photo. The second method can be planted in regions with early, warm spring.

Planting amaranth seeds

Amaranth growing from photo seeds can be started in the fall, sowing them before the soil freezes, or in early spring, since this plant germinates for a long time (which is why it is most often planted with seedlings). Podzimny sowing allows you to get early shoots, while in spring sowing, the main thing is to choose the right time - the soil should warm up to 6 ° C and be saturated with moisture.

Then you need to plant the kohiyuya too. Amaranth is very similar to castor oil plant. Amaranth is an unpretentious plant that does not impose special requirements on the composition of the soil, although it responds well to the introduction of additional nutrients.

For example, it is worth fertilizing the site for planting with humus or compost, or nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus fertilizers, or nitroammophos according to the instructions. The seeds of an annual plant are sown in lightly rolled soil in rows at a distance of 45 cm, retreating between the seeds of 7-10 cm.

Since the seeds are small, for convenience it is recommended to mix them with sand before sowing. They are planted to a depth of 1-1.5 cm, then rolling the soil. After germination, the seedlings are thinned out, leaving the strongest at the recommended distance.

Due to a denser planting, amaranths will grow low and not as branched.

Amaranth care

In the process of growing amaranth from photo seeds, the first shoots appear after 8-10 days. Since this branchy plant grows poorly for the first month, during this period, special attention should be paid to weed control, thinning of plants and regular loosening of row spacings with moisture as needed.

Growing amaranth seedlings

For seedlings, amaranth seeds are sown in suitable containers in March. Usually amaranth cultivation from seeds of photo seedlings is carried out in boxes or pots 10 cm high. Germinated seedlings with three full-fledged leaves are seated in separate containers.

They are planted in open ground in May, when frosts pass and warm weather sets in. It is recommended to grow amaranth from seedlings if the goal is to get seeds. When sown directly into open ground, the seeds may not have time to ripen.

This is especially true in the northern regions with early autumn.

Check out similar articles in the section: Flowers

If you sometimes like to stroll through the squares and parks of your city, you must have noticed plant with lush foliage and red garlands... This plant is called amaranth... For quite a long time, amaranth in agriculture was considered a weed and animals were fed with it, only recently it was discovered decorative and medicinal properties.

Amaranth plant

Amaranth is an annual plant that is most commonly planted with seedlings. due to the fact that it rises for a long time. Although in regions with a warm climate, amaranth is grown in open ground In total, there are almost 900 species of amaranth and 65 genera. In Russia, 17 species of this plant are grown, of which the most common are tricolor amaranth, tailed, crimson, paniculate, upturned, common squid.

Growing amaranth from seeds

If you are thinking - is it worth growing amaranth, then do not hesitate - it is worth it! This plant really has beneficial properties.

• Any soil is suitable for growing amaranth. Seeds should be sown into it when the temperature of the earth at a depth of half a meter is about 6 C °, it is at this temperature that the soil is able to absorb the necessary amount of water for the normal development of seeds.
  If this condition is met, then there will be no need to weed the beds, because greens will grow much faster than weeds. early shoots of amaranth, then the seeds should be sown before the ground freezes. With late shoots of this plant, weeds should be constantly weeded and watering should be monitored. Also, do not forget about pests - various insects from which amaranth must be constantly protected. You need to sow amaranth with a row spacing of 45 cm, the distance between the seeds should be 10 cm. If this condition is not met, the plant will grow small and the yield will be small.
• You need to plant seeds in moist soil, at a shallow depth.- about 1-1.5 cm. Since amaranth seeds are very small(1000 grains of amaranth weigh only 0.6-0.9 g), then before planting they should be mixed with river sand or ordinary sawdust in a ratio of 1:20, the resulting mixture should be uniform. Also, before sowing, do not forget to level the soil and fertilize the soil. The first shoots will appear within 8-10 days after sowing. The upper part of the amaranth develops rather slowly at first, so once every 10 days it is necessary to thin out the plant, as well as loosen and weed the soil. When the amaranth reaches a height of 20 cm, fertilizer must be added to the soil, this must be done before precipitation falls or before watering. amaranth will increase in growth every day by 6-7 cm.
  This plant fully ripens 100-110 days after planting. If you live in the northern region of the country, it is better to plant amaranth seedlings, otherwise it will not have time to develop properly before the onset of cold weather. it needs to be removed. This phenomenon, as it were, gives a sign that the plant has collected the maximum amount of nutrients. The panicles must be harvested at a time when the seeds have just begun to ripen.... After harvesting, they take some time to ripen. To do this, the seeds must be spread in a room with good ventilation for 7-10 days. So that small rodents, for example, mice, do not destroy your crop, spread elderberry branches around the seeds. peel amaranth seeds, pass them through a sieve with very small meshes and then dry. After these steps, amaranth seeds can be planted for about 5 more years. amaranth consumption in winter time, it can be frozen, dried or pickled.

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How to dry amaranth?

Exists several ways to dry amaranth... You can cut the plant into small pieces and spread it out in a well-ventilated area, stirring occasionally to prevent the plant from caking. You can also collect the leaves of the plant in a small bunch and hang them.

It remains only to periodically check the amaranth for readiness - rub a leaf of the plant between your fingers - if it crumbles, then the amaranth has dried up.

1. If you want to keep as many nutrients as possible in amaranth then dry it in the refrigerator. To do this, cut the plant into small pieces, lay it out on a cutting board and refrigerate, but not on the top shelf. With this method of drying, the plant remains not only as useful as possible, but green and beautiful. Amaranth is usually stored in a dark, ventilated, non-humid room in a suspended state. The plant is frozen in bunches, previously washed and dried, by removing the bunches in the freezer. pickling amaranth you can fill it with brine made from water, sugar and salt, or simply put it in a container and fill it with salt.

Useful properties of amaranth

Amaranth contains many substances useful for our body. Many experts claim that amaranth protein is even better than milk protein.

Amaranth protein is recognized as a dietary protein, it is often used to prepare baby food. Amaranth also contains more lysine than other plants. Amaranth also contains elements such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and potassium.

This plant is very rich in dietary fiber, which is very beneficial for our health. Amaranth contains 18% sugar, 14% fiber and 18% protein.

Amaranth oil for health

Oil is squeezed out of amaranth, which has a lot of useful properties and is easily absorbed by our body.... Oil is obtained by cold pressing the seeds of a plant, much less often stems and vegetation are used for this.

Amaranth seeds contain squalene, with its help it is very good to treat tumors, it also helps to increase immunity. Amaranth oil tastes like a nut, which is why it is still used in cooking.

And with all its many advantages in growing, amaranth is unpretentious and undemanding. One of the main advantages of this vegetable crop is that almost all parts of the plant are suitable for food: both leaves and stems, and (especially valuable) seeds. It turns out that it is a sin not to allocate a piece of land to such a profitable amaranth in your summer cottage. And we will tell you everything you need to know and take into account to get an excellent harvest of valuable amaranth.

Growing technology of vegetable amaranth

Amaranth is a light-loving plant, thermophilic and responsive to watering. It grows in almost all types of soil, including sandy, rocky and salt marshes. Greens ripen 60-70 days, seeds - 100-120 days. Amaranth is an excellent green manure and green fertilizer.

Therefore, you should pick off leaves, stems and tops for food, leaving roots in the ground. The summer resident receives a vitamin salad, and soil microorganisms - the necessary organic matter. And everyone is good! Amaranth can be grown in two ways: seedling and seedless.

As a rule, amaranth grain varieties are planted on seedlings to accelerate the growth and maturation of seeds, or decorative varieties for early flowering. Growing amaranth for the sake of leaves is quite possible by direct sowing of a seed into the ground.

Growing amaranth through seedlings

Amaranth seeds are planted on seedlings in late March - early April. First, the seeds are sown in a common box and sprinkled with wet soil. Then they are covered with foil and sent to a dark, warm place.

After 7-12 days, shoots appear, then the box is rearranged on the windowsill. With the appearance of the first true leaf, amaranth seedlings dive into pots. He tolerates transplanting well, so there should be no problems. After the threat of frost has passed (in late May or early June), the seedlings are planted in a permanent place.

Growing amaranth by direct sowing

The seeds are planted one at a time in moist soil. They can be sown in late April-early May, when the soil has warmed up to + 6 ° C. Any distance between bushes and rows is allowed and depends on the immediate purpose of cultivation.

If you need powerful plants, with a large number of panicles and seeds, a 70x30 cm scheme is used.If preference is given to delicate greenery, then you can thicken the planting and use the 15x15 cm scheme.Those who decided to plant a large area with amaranth, it will be more convenient to mix the seeds with sand, ash or sawdust in a ratio of 1:20, sow in rows, and then thin out. It is not necessary to deepen the seeds too much, it is enough to sprinkle them with a layer of soil of 1-2 centimeters and roll them a little for better contact with the ground. Under favorable conditions, seedlings appear in 7-10 days.

Amaranth care and harvesting

Amaranth requires care only in the first month of growth. At this time, its ground part grows so slowly that it is difficult to believe that these little blades will soon turn into powerful tall bushes.

Therefore, you need to periodically weed the garden bed, mulch with mowed grass in order to prevent drying out, if you wish, you can feed it with infusion of mullein and ash (or liquid fertilizer from grass). Starting from the second month, amaranth starts to grow rapidly and adds 5-7 centimeters per day. Now he himself is able to drown out any weed, and all that he needs from a gardener is regular watering. Amaranth is cut for greens when it reaches a height of 20-25 centimeters.

After cutting off the tops, new shoots begin to grow from the lateral sinuses. Seeds ripen in early September. At this time, the panicles begin to turn brown, and the lower leaves begin to dry out and fall off.

Amaranth seeds ripen unevenly and crumble very quickly, so it is preferable to cut the panicles in advance and dry in a dark place. At the same time, the seeds ripen perfectly.

Amaranth varieties

There are a great many varieties and varieties of amaranth. Vegetable, grain, fodder, decorative ... As gardeners, we are primarily interested in universal varieties (which are grown both for greens and for "grain"), leafy and grain varieties. Valentine.

An excellent early vegetable variety with a lot of shoots along the entire length of the stem. The leaves and stems are purple, the flowers are erect purple. Seeds are translucent, light brown, with a red border.

It grows in height up to 1.7 meters. Ripening period of leaves 45-60 days, seeds - 110-120 days. Giant. A fodder variety that can be grown for grain. The leaves are dark green, the flowers are red or yellow, the seeds are white disc-shaped. It grows 1.6-1.9 meters in height.

The period from germination to seed ripening is 115-127 days. Strong guy. Early ripening vegetable variety, grown for the sake of fresh herbs. The leaves are green, juicy and delicate, the flowers are brown with red spots. Seeds are light yellow. It reaches a height of 1.3-1.4 meters.

The growing season is 70-80 days. White Leaf (White Leaf). Vegetable dwarf variety, grown for greens. It is cut off when it reaches a height of 18-20 centimeters.

The leaves and stems are light green, very tender and delicious. This variety can be grown on a windowsill in winter. Kharkov-1. A versatile variety, one of the best for grain cultivation. The leaves are green, the inflorescences are erect yellow, the seeds are light.

It reaches a height of 1.7-1.9 meters. The growing season is 90-110 days. In memory of Kovas. A universal mid-season variety. The leaves are dark green in color, very juicy and tender.

Inflorescences are erect, red with a brown tint. The plant is 0.9-1.1 meters high. Voronezh. Early maturing grain variety. The leaves are green, the panicle is long, erect, yellow-green, the seeds are light.

The average plant height is 0.8-1.2 meters. Grain ripening period is 90-100 days. Helios. Grain early ripening variety.

Leaves are light yellow with orange veins, erect orange panicles, white grain. It can grow up to 1.5-1.7 meters high. The seed ripening period is 105 days. Kizlyarets. It is considered a forage variety that can be grown for grain.

The leaf is large, light green. Inflorescence - a straight panicle of yellow-green color, when ripe it turns red. Seeds are round, light yellow.

Plants reach 1.2-1.6 meters in height. Grain ripening period is 80-120 days. Remember that vegetable and grain varieties of amaranth should have a light seed color. If the seeds are dark, this is an ornamental amaranth, which is grown for its beautiful bright panicles.

The grains of such plants are not recommended for food, but the leaves can be added to summer salads in any case. We wish you success and big harvests!

An unfading flower is called a tailed amaranth ( Amaranthus caudatus). The ancient Greeks saw in him a symbol of immortality.

And it is not in vain: amaranth inflorescences look spectacular both in the garden and in winter bouquets; when dried, they retain their beauty for a long time. Amaranth came to Europe from the East Indies in 1596. The colorful waterfalls of its luxurious inflorescences made such a strong impression that the Order of the Knights of Amaranth was founded in Sweden by Queen Christina in 1653.

And to this day, despite the rather demanding nature, these flowers are loved by gardeners. It is far from being as exotic as its “close relative”, the Australian endemic bird poultry, but its cultivation does not cause perplexing questions or bitter disappointments.

External data

Tailed amaranth is an annual plant. In favorable conditions, it reaches a height of one and a half meters. Amaranth grows slowly at first, therefore it is grown exclusively by the seedling method; The optimal time for sowing seeds for the Non-Black Earth Zone is mid-March. The uniqueness of this plant lies in its unusual paniculate inflorescences, consisting of many small burgundy-red or yellow-green flowers.

Amaranth blooms about two and a half months after shoots appear. Appearing at the top of the plant, the inflorescences gradually grow, drooping and hanging down; the length of the inflorescences can be up to 80 cm.

Growing amaranth seedlings and choosing a place in the garden

Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out to a depth of one and a half centimeters. The optimum temperature for seedlings is from +20 to + 24 * С; in such conditions, the first shoots appear already on the 4th - 5th day.

It is important to protect the seedlings from the cold; when placing containers on the window, take care to protect the roots from hypothermia. The recommended air temperature for seedlings is from +19 to + 21 * C. Seedlings need good lighting.

So that the plants do not shade each other, the seedlings are thinned out, removing weak plants, and when 1 - 2 true leaves appear, they dive into pots 6 x 6 cm in size. In the garden for amaranth, you should also choose a light area. potassium permanganate solution.

Treatment with bioregulators (for example, immunocytophyte or epin) is useful in order to increase the resistance of plants to adverse conditions. It is advisable to limit fertilizing, given the slow growth of seedlings. Soils for growing amaranth are preferable loamy or sandy loam, well-drained.

It is advisable to prepare the site in the fall; digging up the soil, add humus (at the rate of 5 kg per square meter), potash and phosphorus fertilizers. Planting plants in open ground is possible after the threat of late frosts has passed.The optimal planting scheme is 40 x 70 cm. with which adult plants are tied up.

Care features

During the summer, amaranth requires regular feeding. 1 - 2 times per season, organic fertilizer is applied to the soil; full mineral flowers are fed up to three times a summer.

It is necessary to monitor the moisture content of the soil: an adult plant is able to withstand drought, but at the same time it almost completely stops growing. Timely care should be taken to protect against pests. Amaranth inflorescences are often affected by aphids.

To get rid of it, it is recommended to treat with biological preparations acarin or fitoverm. Grown amaranths must be tied up. In June, pinch the tops so that the plants do not stretch; amaranth planted in the ground grows quickly enough. At the end of August, the inflorescences are pruned for winter bouquets and quickly dried with hot air to maintain their shape and color.

Growing amaranth. Video

Description of the plant

Amaranth is a very beautiful plant that can become a real decoration of a summer cottage or lawn. It is an annual crop, reaching 2-3 m in height, has a fleshy stem and leaves in red, purple and green colors.

Amaranth belongs to weed crops, so it is not afraid of prolonged droughts, is little susceptible to diseases and pests, but at the same time it loves light and warmth. Amaranth is absolutely picky, grows on any soil, except swampy, and in all weather conditions, with the exception of perhaps the desert and the extreme north.

It feels best at an air temperature of 25 to 30 ° C, calmly tolerates light frosts and heat at 45-50 ° C. In addition to its decorative properties, amaranth is used in animal husbandry and poultry farming. This plant serves as the most efficient and environmentally friendly food in comparison with other forage crops.

It contains 18 out of all 20 amino acids in existence. Amaranth is not only a fortified and nutritious food, but also replaces some drugs. Besides, the plant is actively used in human nutrition.

Grain and flour from it is used in bakery products, in conservation and as an additive in vegetable salads. Bread made with amaranth flour does not stale for a long time.

Leaves and inflorescences are used for cooking medicinal tea capable of removing harmful salts and radionuclides from the body. Leaves can also be added to fresh salads instead of spinach. And amaranth oil is considered more useful than even sea buckthorn oil.

It is widely used in the food industry and in cosmetology.

Amaranth varieties

There are many varieties of this beautiful and useful plant. Get to know the most popular types:

1. Decorative variety "Krasnolistny" - its height can reach up to 1.5 m in height. Inflorescences of dark purple color in the form of "tails" hang down almost to the ground. The leaves have a deep red color. The decorative variety "Gulliver" is a low-growing crop, reaching a height of 50 to 70 cm. This variety is unusual because of its appearance - flowers form from the ground to the top of the plant, forming a beautiful ear of small flowers of dark purple or almost black. "Gulliver" is very similar to an exotic cactus. The decorative variety "Elbrus" is a low-growing plant about 70 cm in height. Unusual 15 cm pyramidal inflorescences are white with a greenish tinge. "Argentinian" variety is a classic bush amaranth variety, reaching a height of 1.5 m. It has a large number of purple-lilac "tails". It is from this type of amaranth that decorative bouquets are made. The Belosemyanny variety is a very valuable type of amaranth, which is used to feed pets. The plant reaches 2 m in height, has large grayish leaves. Pyramidal inflorescences in the form of panicles have a bright red or green color. The "Tailed" variety is a classic type of amaranth, which is used to decorate bouquets. It has inflorescences of various colors. The Emerald variety got its name for its beautiful green color. Amaranth grows up to 70 cm in height. The "Helios" variety is a grain type of amaranth. Its leaves are light green, "tails" are orange. The largest percentage of amaranth oil is extracted from this variety. The Aztec variety is a fodder type of amaranth. In addition to fodder for livestock, it is used to make amaranth oil, and grain is used for baking bakery products. The height of the culture reaches 1.5 m. It has red-green leaves and a red panicle. Variety "Sem" is a fodder species of amaranth. Used to make amaranth oil. Has a high protein content. Stem, panicle and leaves of red color. Grade "Kharkiv 1" - a universal variety of amaranth (food, fodder, grain and medicinal). It has green leaves and a panicle of the same color. Variety "Lera" - predominantly grain variety of amaranth is also used to make oil. It has a green stem and green leaves with red veins. The panicle is always red.

Getting amaranth seeds

In order to grow amaranth, seeds can be bought at any specialized store. And yet, many people choose to grow a crop from their plants. Getting amaranth seeds is easy:

1. Cut off the amaranth at the very base and fold the panicles on a table or any other surface to dry completely for another 2 months. The room in which the amaranth will dry should be dry and well-ventilated. After 2 months, sift the panicles using a sieve with very fine meshes. Put the extracted seeds on the surface in the same well-ventilated area and leave for another 7-10 days. Stir the seeds periodically, making sure no rodents can reach the seeds. To do this, spread elderberry twigs around the seeds and put dried seeds in paper envelopes or boxes. They can be stored for 4-5 years.

Germinating amaranth from seeds

Germinating amaranth from seeds for seedlings does not require much effort, but some recommendations are still worth considering:

1. You can start germinating seeds for seedlings in March. Prepare a special soil - mix humus and sterile sand in a 3/1 ratio. Do not forget to warm up the soil to destroy pests and various fungi. The container in which you plan to grow seeds should be at least 10 cm high. These can be pots or wooden boxes. The pots must have holes to drain excess moisture and water. If there are no such holes, make them yourself. This is a prerequisite, otherwise the seedlings may rot. Place the seeds in moistened soil to a depth of 1.5-2 cm. Then cover the boxes and pots with plastic. The pots and boxes with seeds should stand in a warm and bright place. It is best to moisten the soil with seeds. from a spray bottle. If you do decide to water the soil, do not overdo it, otherwise the seeds will rot. Provided that the room temperature is 22 ° C, the seeds will germinate in 3-4 days. If the air temperature is 16 ° C or lower, then you will have to wait for sprouts no earlier than 10 days. It is advisable to thin out the seedlings so that they do not grow too densely. Leave only stronger and healthier sprouts.
2. When 3-4 leaves appear on the sprout, each seedling must be transplanted into a separate pot. The diameter of the pot should be at least 12 cm. Fill each pot with soil. It will be correct to use the same soil in which you germinated the seeds. Moisten the soil in which your seedlings grow, and only then carefully remove each sprout. Make depressions in the soil and plant the seedlings in it. Water the plant. After transplanting each seedling into a separate pot, pin the top of the sprout. This will help the roots of the plant to grow stronger. You can plant seedlings in open ground in early May, when the average air temperature will reach 4 ° C. By this time, the soil has already warmed up enough, and there is no danger that frosts will hit.

Amaranth transplant in open ground

Choosing a place in the garden

Before transplanting seedlings into open ground, you need to choose a place where the plant will be comfortable. Amaranth is absolutely not picky and takes root anywhere. And, nevertheless, there are some points that must be taken into account when choosing a place for transplanting seedlings:

1. Amaranth loves a lot of sunlight and warmth. In such conditions, it will grow much more actively, and its inflorescences will have a brighter color. Amaranth does not like too wet and marshy soils, but prefers loamy, sandy loam with good drainage. The soil for planting seedlings must be prepared in the fall: dig up, add humus and mineral fertilizers (potassium and phosphorus). Amaranth feels good and looks great in the neighborhood of any other plants. It is advisable to plant amaranth in the background of a common flower garden in the garden. This will well emphasize its unusual beauty.

Preparing seedlings for transplanting

In May, when the average air temperature rises above 4 ° C, you can start planting seedlings in open ground. Since the seedlings have been in greenhouse conditions all this time, before transplanting it must be prepared - hardened and accustomed to outdoor conditions:

1. 7-8 days before the planned transplant, reduce the watering of the seedlings. Start taking the seedling pots outside. It can be a balcony, a loggia or a garden. For the first days, leave the seedlings outside for 2-3 hours. And in 3-4 days it will be possible to give the seedlings to spend the night in new conditions.

Planting seedlings

If you have already hardened the seedlings enough, the soil is completely ready to accept the seedlings, and there is no threat of frost, it's time to start planting plants in open ground:

1. Moisten the soil with the seedlings in advance so that you can easily extract the flowers. Make depressions in the soil. If you want to plant amaranth in rows, then the distance between them should be at least 80 cm, and the distance between the bushes is 40-50 cm. Remove the seedlings from the pots and transplant them into the grooves. Amaranth must be planted slightly at an angle and deepened to the first leaf. The best time to transplant amaranth is cloudy weather. If you do decide to transplant the seedlings in sunny weather, wait until the evening, when the sun is not so bright. After transplanting, water the plants well.

How beautiful amaranth grows from seeds can be seen in the photo:

Features of caring for amaranth

Amaranth is completely unpretentious to care for, it does not require a lot of moisture and any special conditions. But in order for the plant not to die and give a good harvest, you must adhere to the following recommendations:

1. Throughout the summer, amaranth needs to be fed with organic and mineral fertilizers. Although amaranth is resistant to drought, in a very hot summer it must be watered regularly, otherwise it will simply stop growing. Amaranth can be affected by aphids. To avoid this, for prevention, it is necessary to treat the plants with biological preparations - acarin and phytoverm. Weed and spud the plants as needed. Be sure to tie up the amaranth so that its branches do not break under the weight of flowers. In June, pinch the tops of the plants, then the bushes will be more lush, the stems are resilient and the number of ovaries on the branches will be more. In the fall, you can harvest a new crop of seeds and grow seedlings from them for the next planting.

Amaranth diseases

Some pests and diseases can be dangerous for amaranth:

1. The greatest danger to the plant is aphid. She is able to completely destroy the harvest of young amaranth. Most often, aphids are activated in very rainy and damp weather. To combat this pest, it is necessary to use special pesticides. Another dangerous pest is the weevil. Its larvae settle in the stems and multiply there, thereby retarding the development and growth of amaranth. In the fight against weevils, special pesticides are also used.

So, you have already learned everything about amaranth, growing it from seeds and about the features of caring for this crop. As you can see, growing amaranth from seeds is absolutely easy. He is completely unpretentious, calmly tolerates dry weather.

The main thing when growing to adhere to the following recommendations is to create special conditions in the room where the seeds will germinate, to moisten them in time, to choose the right place and prepare the soil for transplantation. After the seedlings are planted in the ground, it is necessary to periodically weed and huddle amaranth bushes. If you do not forget all these rules, amaranth will give a good harvest and will delight you with its beauty all season.

Growing amaranth. Video

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Description: varieties and varieties of tricolor amaranth

The large family of Amaranths has more than 100 species. Among them there are weeds and varieties that are valued for their beautiful flowers. Among this variety of "relatives", the tricolor amaranth stands alone. In the countries of East Asia, it is cultivated as a vegetable, and cultivation for decorative purposes is practiced because of the foliage, which is a unique combination of red, yellow and green shades. At the top, this splendor creates the effect of a blazing fire. The spectacle is mesmerizing even in the photo, what can we say about the contemplation of an annual in your own garden!

Outwardly, the plant resembles a pyramid. The leaves are elongated, often with wavy edges. It grows up to 0.4-1.5 m. Flowers are like small panicles and adorn the bush from the beginning of summer until late autumn, until the first frosts come. In the open field, tricolor amaranth bears fruit abundantly.

The culture has several varieties as well as decorative varieties. The most popular are:

• Illumination - as they mature, the red-yellow leaves acquire an orange and then a bronze tint. Plant height - about 70 cm;
• Aurora - the leaves at the top have a beautiful golden yellow tint;
• Earley Splender - the top leaves of the variety are painted in a raspberry tone, and the lower ones are almost black in color.

Planting a plant in the garden: the preparatory stage

Growing amaranth in the open field and caring for it are not difficult. However, it is worth remembering that frosts in early spring can destroy a young crop. Therefore, the planting of seeds is carried out only after the risk of a return of low temperatures has passed. With a combination of favorable conditions and proper care, the seed will germinate at a rate of + 4 ... + 25 ° C. Some gardeners advise waiting for a stable level of + 10 ° C. The place for the seeds should be lit and sunny.

Attention! To get early shoots, plant seeds before winter, before the soil freezes.

If you are breeding annuals as a vegetable crop, make sure that the soil is fertile. Although sandy, acidic and even rocky ground is quite suitable. The only exceptions for growing amaranth are wetlands and stagnant water. It is necessary to prepare a site for planting a plant in the fall. First, dig up the soil to a depth of 0.2 m. After that, apply fertilizer: compost, rotted manure or ash, superphosphate.

Plant breeding and growing methods

Since the tricolor amaranth is an annual, of all the breeding options, only the seed method is possible. Having prepared the beds for the winter, dig up the soil again in the spring. Remove weeds, debris. Re-add the fertilizer, this time the mineral complex. Deepen the seeds 1 to 2 cm and don't forget about watering. After 2 weeks, you need to thin out the shoots so that the strongest seedlings have room for development.

Residents of the southern regions can afford to plant material directly in open ground. Those who are engaged in the cultivation of land in a cooler climate should take care of the propagation of tricolor amaranth seedlings. It's easy to get it:

1. Prepare drawers or pots in April.
2. Fill them with nutritious soil.
3. Mix seeds with sand and deepen them 1 cm.
4. Then cover the containers with foil or glass.
5. Place in a warm, bright place.
6. After waiting for the first leaves to appear on the shoots, dive the seedlings.
7. Plant them in a permanent location outdoors in May. The interval is 10-15 cm.

Amaranth care: watering, fertilizing and feeding, other procedures

At first, even with proper care and favorable conditions, the plant develops slowly. He needs watering only on dry days, although amaranth is already well adapted to drought. Young specimens usually need sufficient water. As they grow older, you can simply moisten the soil a little in the late afternoon.

Attention! Amaranth loves warmth, therefore, with proper care, it will firmly endure the summer heat. But it will react badly to stagnant moisture in the ground.

Throughout the season, the plant will only need 3 feedings. As a fertilizer, you can use a ready-made mineral complex or mix ash with cow dung. The amaranth plantation should be regularly rid of weeds. Weeding is important in the phase of active development of the bush. The soil around the stem can be mulched.

Diseases and pests of amaranth. Combination with other plants on the site

Errors in care can provoke the appearance and rapid reproduction of aphids on the plant. Experienced gardeners usually make a correct diagnosis by examining the leaves. Newbie gardeners may need a photo to compare signs of ailment. The predisposition to aphids is high humidity, so first of all, adjust the watering mode.

A rainy summer often causes rot. Otherwise, the annual demonstrates good immunity.

Because of the bright external data, it is difficult for a tricolor amaranth to pick up "neighbors". Nevertheless, its combination with alissum, yaskolka, iberis is considered successful. This variegated plant looks good against the background of lush lawn grass and evergreen bushes. Planting tall varieties should be done in the background of a flower garden or along fences, and curbs can be arranged with undersized varieties.

Tricolor amaranth may well become a bright spot and the center of any garden composition. It will decorate even an inconspicuous corner of the garden, but only on condition that the sun constantly looks in there.

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How to sow amaranth seeds in the ground and for seedlings

1. Sowing amaranth in open ground

It is quite simple to sow a plant: the seeds are very small, it is enough to scatter them over the surface of the beds and close them into the ground with a rake. If in mid-April the soil at a depth of 5 cm has a temperature of 10 ºC, you can place the seed directly into it. The soil is first fertilized with mineral mixtures (30 g per square meter) or complex, according to the instructions.

When choosing fertilizers, take precautions, since amaranth converts nitrogenous components into toxic nitrates. Therefore, you should not use mixtures containing a lot of nitrogen. For successful germination of seeds, it is very important to complete all stages of work on time. So, if the sowing is done on time, the weeds will not have time to grow and drown the plants.

So, at the end of April, the earth is moistened and grooves are made in it with a depth of 2-3 cm... Seeds are carefully sown in them, which are mixed with sand in a ratio of 1:20 for convenience. The interval between the grooves is 45 cm wide, and between the plants inside the groove - 10 cm. Since the seeds are very small, one cannot do without thinning.

Amaranth emerges after 8-10 days, after which it is thinned out, and the soil is also loosened. When planting seedlings in May, remember to get rid of the weeds. When amaranth reaches a height of 20 cm, it is fed with nitrogenous fertilizers in half the dose required by the instructions. Ripening of a plant, be it a vegetable or ornamental amaranth, occurs in 3-3.5 months.

2. Seedlings of amaranth at home

It is also easy to grow amaranth in this way.

• Seeds are sown in advance in a container in March. This can be a plastic container or short pots.
• Planting is carried out as follows: the soil is moistened and small changes are carefully scattered over the surface of the substrate, only slightly then covering them with earth (just spilling it from above).
• The container is placed in a bright and warm place. As soon as the moisture in the ground decreases, water is sprayed onto the surface with a spray.
• If the room is cool, the container is heated to 22 ºC. If all these conditions are taken into account, amaranth will germinate in a week.
• As soon as the shoots have appeared, they are thinned out, leaving only strong shoots. After the appearance of three real leaves, young amaranths are planted in individual small pots with a diameter of 12 cm. Remember that this should be done very carefully so that the seedlings take root. it is better to use a toothpick or fork to replant the plant with a clod of earth.
• Amaranth grows quite quickly, and in three weeks a full-fledged seedling with a growth of 15-20 cm is obtained.

How to sow amaranth, we look at the video:

3. Planting amaranth

Amaranth seedlings are planted in late spring, when it is already very warm, and frosts do not pose a threat. As a rule, this time is the end of May. Choose a well-lit area with light soil and reliable drainage. Even if the soil is not well prepared, this is not critical. This plant is unpretentious and grows in different conditions. It is only important to provide it with the optimal temperature and prevent the accumulation of excess moisture in the soil.

How to plant amaranth. Seedlings, ready for planting, are placed in the soil in a flower bed at a distance of 10-30 cm in a row and 45-70 cm between rows. Then it is regularly watered, since the seedlings take root for a long time and sit without growth. If cold weather comes at this time, the seedlings are covered, since they cannot stand the low temperature.

Amaranth care

You do not need to take special care of this plant. All care activities are carried out before the growth period, that is, in the first month of growing. At this time, they need to be watered, removed weeds, and cultivated. During the growth phase, amaranth develops very quickly, so it does not need special care. There are days when amaranth increases in size by 7 cm per day. Water the flower only for the first month, until the roots go deeper. Then water is added only during severe drought.

Top dressing is carried out 3-4 times a year with ash in a ratio of 200 g per 10 liters of water or mullein in a ratio of 1: 5. Fertilize plants in the morning, immediately after watering.

Informative video about growing and caring for amaranth:

Amaranth after flowering

After flowering, amaranth may be of interest to those who want to collect seeds from it. For this, the largest plants are selected and their leaves are preserved after flowering. When the underlying greens turn red and dry, the stem turns whitish - this is the time to harvest. Seed collection is carried out in dry time, cutting off large inflorescences. Then they are dried indoors until seeds spill out freely from the capsules in panicles. They are collected in a box or paper bag and saved for the next year. Their shelf life is more than 5 years.

Wintering amaranth

Description of amaranth

The flower has both simple and branched stems, on which whole leaves are alternately lanceolate, diamond-shaped or ovoid. The base of the lamina smoothly passes into the petiole, and its apex is pointed and notched. The flowers sit in the axils, have a red, golden, green or purple color, are arranged in bunches or spike-shaped panicles at the tops. The fruit of the plant is a box, inside of which many small seeds are collected. The entire plant is purple, green, or purple in color. In some cases, all colors are present in one plant. Amaranth can grow from 30 cm to 3 m, depending on the species. In flower beds, it is cultivated as an annual plant.

Pests and diseases

With an excess of moisture in the soil, fungal diseases can also appear. To get rid of them, fungicides are applied to amaranth by spraying. The most successful remedies are colloidal sulfur, copper oxychloride, and copper sulfate.

Types of amaranth and its varieties

Amaranth paniculata (Amaranthus paniculatus)

The most popular type of this plant, which is grown in a flower bed, for cutting for bouquets and for other purposes. Grows up to 150 cm in height. It has elongated ovate leaves of a red-brown color with characteristic pointed tops.

It blooms with small red flowers that form erect inflorescences. Flowering time - from June until frost. Cultivated since 1798, it has several varieties, combined into three groups. So, the nana group - low-growing plants up to 50 cm in height, cruentus - amaranths with drooping red inflorescences, and sanguineus - erect inflorescences.

As a rule, flower growers use small amaranths, in particular, the following varieties:

• Rother Dam, Rother Paris - amaranths 50-60 cm high, distinguished by pleasant maroon flowers and foliage of the same color;
• Zwergfakel, Grunefakel - the height of these varieties is only 35 cm, and the color of the inflorescences is purple and dark green;
• Hot Biscuit is the tallest amaranth, which grows up to a meter in height, has green leaves and orange-red flowers.

Dark amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus)

A medium-sized, low-branched bush with pointed oblong-lanceolate leaves of a characteristic purple-green color. It blooms in dark red color, inflorescences - vertical spike-shaped panicles. It was cultivated in 1548. Also bred is a bright red form of amaranth - sanguineus, which has hanging inflorescences.

The most popular varieties are:

• Pigmy Torch is 60 cm tall, with dark purple flowers that turn into chestnut in autumn, as well as colorful leaves;
• Green Tamb is 40 cm tall with emerald-colored flowers and leaves, which makes it popular with florists.

Amaranth tricolor (Amaranthus tricolor)

Another decorative medium-sized species, which is distinguished by special branching, as a result of which the bush has a pyramidal shape. Its leaves are ovoid, elongated, often with a wavy edge, yellow, red and green in color, which is extremely attractive to gardeners. The flowering time is from June until a cold snap.

There are such varieties of it:

• willow (salicifolius) - has narrow wavy bronze-green 20-centimeter leaves;
• red-green (rubriviridis) - the leaves are ruby-purple, covered with green spots;
• red (ruber) - blood-red leaves;
• bright (splendens) - dark green leaves with brown spots.

There are also several decorative varieties, namely:

• amaranth Illumination - a large plant, reaching 70 cm, has large leaves of different colors. So, the youngest leaves have a red-yellow tint, then it darkens to a red-orange color, finally turning to bronze;
• Aurora - differs in golden-yellow wavy apical leaves;
• Earley Splender - The uppermost leaves are crimson, and the lower ones are purple-green, almost black.

Tailed amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus)

The species is native to Africa, South America and Asia. It has a large upright one and a half meter stem, on which there are large leaves of an elongated ovate type. Their color is purple-green. During flowering, forms long hanging panicles, in which small crimson or dark red flowers are collected in globular glomeruli. Flowering time is June-October. Cultured in 1568.

There are such forms of this amaranth:

• white-colored - has green-white petals;
• green - flowers popular with florists are pale green;
• bead-shaped - her inflorescence is in the form of a whorl, which in itself resembles beads.

There are also two varieties of caudate amaranth:

• Rothschwants - distinguished by red inflorescences
• Grunschwants - has light green flowers.

Any of these varieties is a large shrub 75 cm high, taking up a lot of space in the flower bed.

The benefits and harms of amaranth

Many modern technologists note that amaranth is a plant that can solve the problem of hunger on Earth. Of course, these are exaggerated claims, but partly true. First, amaranth is completely edible. Any part of it is good for the body, has a lot of nutrients, especially seeds. So, in their composition there are many fatty acids necessary for normal metabolism, namely oleic, linoleic, stearic, palmitic. It is not surprising that various diet products and supplements are made on the basis of amaranth. This plant also contains squalene, rutin, steroids, carotene, vitamins B, D, P, C and E, pantothenic and bile acids, and other substances.

Amaranth leaves are just as healthy as spinach, but there is much more protein, which contains lysine. And this is an essential amino acid, which is absorbed from amaranth much better than from other products (soy, corn, wheat). According to the Japanese, green leaves of amaranth are somewhat similar to squid meat, since they have a rejuvenating effect, and also restore the body well after a tired day at work.

All types of amaranth are useful and rich in biologically active substances even decorative. But this does not mean that it is worth eating decorative amaranth, since its target cultivation is completely different. This can be seen from the external feature of the seeds - decorative species are darker.

Vegetable oil is made from amaranth seeds, which is several times more useful than sea buckthorn. Therefore, it is used for cosmetic purposes (for skin rejuvenation, creating masks and creams, antibacterial protection of the skin).

And if amaranth germinates, its sprouts will have no less benefit than mother's milk, therefore they are actively used in cooking and medicine. So, obesity, neurosis, atherosclerosis, dysbiosis and other diseases are treated with amaranth. Amaranth seeds are used to treat kidney and liver, prostate adenoma, cardiovascular problems, urinary system diseases. Moreover, there is confirmed data on successful treatment of malignant neoplasms with amaranth.

One way to harness the benefits of amaranth is by adding its leaves to salads.... Flour obtained from grains can be mixed with wheat flour, thus changing the taste of cooked dishes and improving their properties. Amaranth seeds can often be found on bread and rolls. And so that the canned cucumbers are crispy all winter, an amaranth leaf is added to the jar. Let's look at a few recipes using this plant.

Dessert with nuts and amaranth... The honey and butter are heated, amaranth seeds and nuts are added to them, everything is poured into a mold and cooled in the refrigerator. Then take out and cut into pieces.

Amaranto salad m. 200 g of green amaranth is mixed with 50 g of young garlic and 200 g of pre-scalded nettle leaves. All this is crushed, cut, salted and seasoned with sunflower oil.

Sauce... Boil 300 g of cream, then mix it with 100 g of soft cheese and 200 g of chopped amaranth leaves. Heat the mixture over a fire until all the cheese has melted.

Cypriot soup... Prepared with chickpeas, a glass of which is pre-soaked overnight and boiled. Then saute the carrots and onions and grind them in the chickpea broth in a blender. For 25 minutes, boil amaranth seeds separately in an amount of 0.5 cups, then mix them with the previously obtained puree. To the mixture add sweet canned corn, lemon juice to taste and bring to a boil.

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Sowing amaranth: tricks and subtleties of gardening

It is not at all difficult to grow a flower like amaranth, having certain knowledge. In those places where the soil warms up to 10 degrees Celsius by April, at a depth of 5 centimeters, amaranth can be planted. Experienced gardeners advise to cultivate the land before planting, fertilize the soil with mineral fertilizer or a complex mixture, according to the instructions.

If you sow the seeds of this flower in time, it will germinate quickly. The best time to do this is at the end of April. Also, planting a plant during this period will save you from the problem of weed control. The grains must be planted in a hole 1.5 cm deep. A distance of 35-40 centimeters must be observed between the rows. If you mix the seeds with sand, then planting will become more convenient. After a week or a little more, the plant will grow and must be thinned out.

How to plant amaranth in open ground correctly

Growing this flower in seedlings is not a troublesome business. Gardeners recommend sowing amaranth seeds for seedlings at the end of March. You can use plastic buckets or regular pots up to ten centimeters high as a container for planting the plant.

The seeds should be poured into moist soil two centimeters deep, then the pots should be placed in a bright place. Crops should be watered with a sprayer. If you fulfill all of the above requirements, amaranth seeds will sprout in a week. When the young grows up, it should be thinned, tearing off the weak stems. After you see more than three leaves on each sprout, you can plant the plants in small pots, which are about 12 cm in diameter.

When is the best time to plant amaranth

If you decide to grow amaranth, growing from seed and when to plant depends on many factors. It is best to plant flowers when the soil in the area warms up enough. You should look at the weather forecast so that frost is not foreshadowed, then you can transfer the amaranth to open ground. This period usually occurs in mid to late May. The place prepared for the plant should be well lit, the soil should be nutritious, with the required amount of lime.

Simply put, amaranth itself is unpretentious, but it absolutely does not tolerate cold weather and abundant moisture in the ground. The flower is planted at a distance of 10-30 centimeters between the plants, and a gap of 45-65 cm is required between the rows. Until the seedlings take root, it needs regular watering. If it's cold outside, you need to shelter the plants from the low temperatures.

Amaranth care

You need to take care of this flower until the time the plant begins to grow. In the first month, amaranth seedlings grow rather slowly, for this reason they need watering and weeding. Then it accelerates in growth to such an extent that sometimes a plant can grow up to 7 centimeters in height per day. Additional feeding of amaranth should be carried out 3-4 times per season. It is better to fertilize the flower with a mullein solution, in the morning after you have carried out the main watering. Amaranth rarely suffers from pests and diseases. But sometimes aphids or weevils can infect a flower. Weevils are located in the stems of the plant and slow down its growth. Aphids attack amaranth only at the beginning of its life and in a rainy summer, at an "adult" age, the flower is not afraid of aphids. You can destroy pests with Aktellik or Fufanon. These methods give good results and permanently rid the plants of the attack of parasites.

The very tall stems of amaranth are perceived by many as weeds, although this flower is cultivated and even used in cooking.

Let's figure out what is special about this plant and how to grow amaranth in your own flower bed.

Amaranth: description of the plant

In appearance amaranth is a very tall plant with a rather thick stem, which is covered with many leaves and crowned with a paniculate straight inflorescence (in some amaranth varieties, the inflorescence can bend downward).

The average height is 120 cm, although decorative varieties rarely stretch even up to a meter in height. The stems can be branched, and the leaves can be oval, diamond-shaped or elongated.

When amaranth was introduced to European countries, it began to be used as a forage crop for animals and as a decorative flower that can please with a huge variety of flowers:

• golden;
• Red;
• purple;
• green;
• purple;
• a mixture of all the above shades.

After flowering on amaranth, fruits are formed that are in the form of bolls that contain seeds. Once fully ripe, the seeds are harvested and used either for sowing the next year or for food. In warm climates, self-seeding of amaranth is possible.

Did you know? Amaranth is an excellent raw material for teas and salads, but adult garden plants are not suitable for this purpose. For food purposes, it is necessary to create separate dense crops, which, upon reaching a height of 20 cm, are completely cut off and sent for drying or cooking.

Climatic conditions for the successful growth of amaranth

Amaranth is an undemanding plant in planting, but not all climatic conditions are suitable for growing it. In particular, most varieties in hot Asian countries, located at the equator level, are able to grow as a perennial plant that does not require annual sowing.

But in the climatic conditions of our region, this plant is grown only as an annual, since neither it itself nor its seeds are able to endure wintering in open ground. Nevertheless, in the spring in the southern regions of our country, it is quite permissible to sow amaranth with seeds directly into open ground.

Amaranth sowing technology

Amaranth can be grown using different technologies, the choice of which depends on climatic conditions. If you live in an area where warmth comes from mid-spring, you can sow amaranth seeds directly into the soil without any problems.

But if the real warmth begins to please only from the first summer month, it is better to sow seeds in boxes or peat pots for seedlings. For the northern regions, we recommend growing amaranth through seedlings.

Reproduction of amaranth by direct sowing

Planting amaranth seeds involves preliminary preparation of the soil. First of all, it is worth waiting for the end of April, when the earth warms up at least 4-5 centimeters in the middle of the day to 10˚С and higher.

Also, the soil must be fertilized so that the flower grows quickly. For this, it is recommended to use mineral fertilizers (you can choose complex fertilizers), adding 30 g of substance per square meter of flower garden area.

Important! During fertilization of the soil for sowing amaranth seeds, you should not add a lot of nitrogen, since during growth this plant is able to convert nitrogen into nitrates that are dangerous to humans. After the amaranth stems stretch up to 20 cm in height, they must be fed with nitrogen fertilizer, but for the above reasons, it is worth using only half of the rate indicated on the package.

When sowing for amaranths, it is necessary to make furrows at a depth of 1.5 cm and drop the seeds into them one by one. The soil during sowing should be loose and moist. It is good if there is a space of 7 to 10 cm between the plants in one furrow (if the variety is tall, more is possible) and about 45 cm in one row.

Seedlings are usually visible on the 7-10th day. If they are thick, you can immediately break through the plants and loosen the soil at the same time to stimulate further growth.

A feature of amaranths is that if they are sown at the end of April and grow quickly, then the weeds lose their ability to "take possession" of the flower bed around the flowers. But if you miscalculate with the timing, the weeds can be the first to grow and the flowerbed will have to be weeded very often. After such sowing, full ripening of the seeds occurs only after 3.5 months.

Sowing seeds for seedlings

How to grow amaranth using seedlings? For this purpose, seeds are sown in the second half of March, for which plastic boxes, ordinary flower pots or special peat pots are used.

After sowing, the pots are placed on warm windowsills with good lighting. It is very important that the room temperature does not drop below 22 ° C. Watering should be done from a spray bottle.

Within a week, the first shoots appear, which must be given another 3-4 days and thinned out, removing all weak shoots. After the appearance of three leaves on the seedlings, it can be transplanted into individual pots. If you use peat pots for this (diameter - 12 cm), they can be dug into the ground along with the plant.

How to plant amaranth correctly?

In this section, we will mainly talk about planting seedlings, since after sowing seeds, caring for amaranth will consist of removing weeds and watering. But with seedlings you will have to wink a little more.

When to plant amaranth

Planting seedlings of amaranths should be started when the threat of spring frosts has completely passed and the soil temperature throughout the day will remain within 10 ° C and above. It is often worth planning this procedure in mid or late May.

The plant is planted in light and nutritious soil with low acidity (it is better if it is mixed with limestone). You can also prepare drainage under the soil.

As a fertilizer for seedlings of amaranth, nitroammofoska is used (no more than 20 g per square meter). As for the choice of a place for a flower bed with amaranths, then it should be well lit by the sun.

Important! Amaranth can hardly be called a whimsical plant, but low temperatures and waterlogged soil can destroy it - lesions appear on the roots and stems that begin to rot.

Landing technology

The amaranth seedlings themselves do not need to be cooked when planted in the ground. It is planted in rows, between which it is necessary to leave a space of at least 45 cm, and for tall large varieties - 70 cm.A space of 30 cm should remain between individual plants.

For planting, small holes are prepared, into which, after the introduction of nitroammofoska, no fertilizer is needed. Seedlings do not need to be lowered too low into the hole so that they do not rot later.

Until it grows, the soil in the flower bed must be watered regularly. If the cold weather suddenly begins, the flower bed with amaranths can be covered with a film for the night (but in the morning the shelter must be removed so that the seedlings do not suffocate).

Plant care rules

Most of all, amaranth care is required only after transplanting seedlings into open ground. It has to be watered regularly, weeds are weeded around it. But as soon as the seedlings grow, the weeds in the amaranth flowerbed will practically disappear, since it is difficult for them to get along with a large, strong flower.

This plant got its name from the word "amanthos" - "unfading flower". Amaranths can be an ornamental crop, and can be vegetables, grains (or forage), and even medicinal plants. They are used to make oils for disinfecting and healing the skin. Growing amaranth and using it as a tea can help fight obesity and strengthen nerves. At the same time, planting and caring for amaranth in a summer cottage does not cause much trouble. Decorating the site with its beautiful inflorescence panicles and leaves of different colors, the plant can serve as food and medicine. It was its healing properties that contributed to the emergence of interest in it among amateur gardeners. There is something to be interested in, because amaranth contains a large number of:

• fatty acids;
• lysine;
• vitamins;
• and other useful substances.

Most often, amaranth is grown as a medicinal plant, using all its parts, even the root dug out after collecting the seeds. Wild species are sometimes called shiritsa, but cultivated varieties of amaranth can also be called.

Preparation for planting amaranth in open ground

More often, paniculata amaranth grown from seeds is planted in our plots, it is also called crimson because of the color of the leaves. Depending on the variety, it can grow from half a meter to one and a half meters. Long flowering for more than two months and the unusual colors make it in demand among gardeners.

Landing dates

Depends on climatic conditions and gardener preferences. In areas with a warm climate, the plant can be grown by seed in the open field. Sowing is carried out in May in the soil that is already sufficiently warmed up. They are guided by the temperature, which should not fall below 8 ° C. Some growers find it more convenient to sow small seeds mixed with sawdust or river sand, taking them 20 times less in volume than additional material. After germination, the plants are thinned out. The seeds of the squid are very small, for sowing 1 hectare, 1 kg of seed is enough. It is not difficult to grow amaranth seedlings. You can do this already in February, but then you need to remember about highlighting young seedlings due to the lack of sufficient sunlight. Otherwise, we get weak and elongated seedlings. In the regions of the middle lane, it is recommended to sow seedlings in March, in the second half of it, so that there is no need to highlight the seedlings. Grown plants are planted in the ground at the end of May, with the onset of warm days and the end of frost. In cold climatic zones, seeds for seedlings can be sown at the end of May in a greenhouse or greenhouse, seedlings are transferred to the beds in June.

It is practiced sowing amaranth seeds before winter, regardless of the temperature conditions of the area. This requires:

• wait for the soil to freeze completely;
• sow seeds;
• insulate the surface of the bed with sawdust or non-woven material;
• in the spring, remove the shelter, but insulate the garden with arches with a film.

Whatever method was used to cultivate amaranth, regardless of the species and variety, it fully ripens within 4 months from the date of sowing.

Choosing a place on the site

When growing a flower, gardeners emphasize its survival rate on any soil. Noting the lack of finickyness in the plant, experts still recommend giving preference when choosing a place for it in the country:

1. Sunny and bright places where amaranth will grow more actively, delighting with bright colors of its inflorescences.
2. Loamy or sandy loamy dry soils with good drainage, in which the amount of lime is sufficient for the plant.
3. A garden bed prepared in the fall: dug up and with fertilizers and humus introduced into it.
4. To the background of a flower garden, where, adjacent to any decorative culture, amaranth will look even more beautiful.

The main thing is that a swampy area is not chosen for planting a plant with seeds or seedlings. Long and strong roots can rot and the flower will die.

When choosing a place, pay attention to how the plant will get along with flower crops, if it is in a flower garden, and with vegetables in the nearest beds, if grown as a vegetable crop.

In this case, you need to take into account the features of amaranth:

1. An adult shrub grows large (some varieties up to 1.5 m) and can interfere with other plants.
2. An adult beetle scares off harmful insects, but at a young age it can suffer from them, infecting neighboring plantings.
3. The plant, with its unusual color, may not completely match the colors of other crops. For example, tricolor “illumination” is so bright that it cannot be a background for graceful roses or chrysanthemums, it will overshadow them with its variegation.

You can pick up an inconspicuous, abandoned place in the garden for planting amaranth. It will be a decoration of your site, if, of course, the sun's rays get there.

Soil preparation

When growing amaranth at home, you can use ready-made universal soil purchased from a specialized store. For a plant at home, soil is also suitable, which you can prepare yourself. To do this, you need to stock up on humus, garden soil and peat. The result is a soil with a loose and breathable consistency, containing nutrients and having a neutral reaction.

Whatever soil the florist uses, it needs to be disinfected before using it. For this, the following is processed:

• gray colloidal;
• copper sulfate;
• systemic fungicides (Alirin-B, Extrasol, Fitosporin, Gamair).

When growing amaranth outdoors, the soil also needs preparation. It is dug up in the fall with the introduction of 20 g of nitrophoska per 1 sq. m, compost, rotted manure or ash. They dig to a depth of 20 cm.

Preparation of planting material

Acquiring seeds is not a problem these days. Nevertheless, gardeners prefer to collect them on their own from plants grown with their own hands. To find out if the planting material is ripe, you need:

1. Shake the panicle inflorescence of the plant, from which only ripe seeds will fall.
2. Look at the color of the panicle, which turns orange in September.
3. Pay attention to the color of the stems - as they mature, they become lighter.

To obtain seeds you need:

1. Dry the cut panicles for two months, placing them on a flat surface in a dry and well-ventilated area.
2. Sift dried inflorescences through a sieve with the smallest holes.
3. Leave the resulting planting material for another 10 days for drying, stirring occasionally.
4. Finished seeds are stored for up to 5 years in paper boxes or envelopes.

To prevent the seeds from being spoiled by rodents, you need to scatter elderberry branches around the planting material, laid out to dry.

The main technology for growing amaranth is planting seedlings, which can be planted in an apartment or greenhouse. Experts advise on how to grow amaranth seedlings. This requires:

1. Use a special soil consisting of 3 parts of humus and 1 part of sand, which must be disinfected.
2. As containers for growing seedlings, take boxes made of wood or ceramic pots, the height of which is more than 10 cm.
3. The containers must have holes to drain excess moisture.
4. When sowing seeds, the depth of their incorporation into the ground is up to 2 cm.
5. The container with the planted seeds is covered with foil.
6. Planting needs regular moistening of the soil - it is better to do this with a spray bottle, and in a sufficient amount of light, perhaps even with the help of additional illumination with a fluorescent lamp.
7. It is necessary to observe an air temperature in the room of about 22 ° C, and then the seedlings will appear 4-7 days after planting. At lower temperatures, you will have to wait up to 10 days.
8. Do not allow thickening of seedlings, you can thin out, remove excess, weaker seedlings.

The following rules for picking seedlings must be observed:

1. The appearance of 4 leaves indicates the time of transplantation.
2. We dive each seedling into a separate pot, the diameter of which is more than 12 cm, filled with soil, the same as for sowing seeds.
3. Before removing the seedling from the ground, it must be watered abundantly.
4. After placing the sprout in the ground, pinch the top so that the roots can grow stronger.

Planting material for growing amaranth is seeds or seedlings.

Landing

A week before planting seedlings in the ground, it is watered less. The stages of transplanting seedlings include:

1. Hardening of the grown seedlings, leaving on the street for several days for 3 hours, and then - overnight. You can display containers with seedlings in the loggia, or on the balcony, or right on the garden beds.
2. Preparation of planting holes at a distance between rows of about 50-80 cm and between shoots from 10 to 40 cm, depending on the amaranth variety. If you plan to grow for greenery, that is, for food in an immature state, use a square planting scheme - 15x15 cm.
3. Moisten the soil before removing the plants from the containers. This facilitates easy extraction of the root system.
4. When planting, the seedlings are deepened obliquely, placed in the ground at the level of the first leaf.
5. Planted amaranths need abundant watering.

It is better to transplant flowers into soil in cloudy weather. If this is not possible, then you need to do this in the evening, when the sun's rays are not very active. It is easier for plants in the shade to adapt, they will begin to grow faster.

Experienced growers prepare shelters for the planted seedlings in advance in case of cold weather. Fragile plants feel especially hard at sub-zero temperatures, they can die.

According to experts, it is not so easy to plant a flower with a shoot correctly. This method of planting amaranth is used only when necessary. Use propagation by shoots to preserve the varietal characteristics of amaranth. First, the shoots are rooted, then planted, just like the seedlings. For the procurement of planting material, adult plants are used.

We have written how to plant and care for amaranth, and it is your task to do everything accurately and correctly.

Outdoor care for amaranth

There are no particular difficulties in caring for amaranth in the country. A picky plant needs attention only in the first month of life, when it is still growing slowly. A young bush needs to be watered regularly, constantly loosen the soil around it and weed the weeds. Adult amaranth grows faster, becoming 7 cm taller per day. Having strengthened, it does not need to get rid of weeds. The immunity of a weed crop helps amaranth not to be afraid of dry periods and pests, not to be exposed to diseases, and to easily tolerate small frosts and high temperatures. The plant is also picky about soils, as well as weather conditions. But only ingrained, over 30 days old. Florists recommend tying up bushes that can break from heavy inflorescences.

In order for the amaranth to be more magnificent, the tops are pinched off, it is better to do this in June. The result of the procedure can be a strengthening of the stem and an increase in the number of flower ovaries.

Please note that young plants need regular and thorough care.

Watering rules

It is important to regularly water the amaranth during the growing season during the first month. Subsequently, the root of the flower penetrates very deep into the ground, where it finds water. An adult plant can do without watering. No matter how drought-resistant the plant is, moisture will not make it worse. Amaranth will stop growing without it, especially on hot days.

Fertilizer selection

If you want to get a good harvest, you need to fertilize amaranth up to 4 times during the entire growing season. The plant is fed:

• Nitrogen fertilizers, which are not used often and in less than indicated in the instructions, quantities, since with increased leaf growth, flowering slows down. This type of fertilizer is applied after the flower reaches a height of 20 cm. Amaranth tends to convert excess nitrogen into nitrates that are harmful to health. This is especially important for plants grown for nutritional and medicinal purposes.
• Mullein solution, the use of which brings the greatest benefits to amaranth. Dilute it in the ratio: 5 parts of water and 1 part of mullein with the addition of 200 g of ash per bucket of water.

Top dressing is introduced in the morning, the soil must be moistened before that.

Preparing for winter

Amaranth does not tolerate subzero temperatures, so it cannot be preserved for the winter, it is cultivated as an annual. Before the onset of winter, it is necessary to clean the planting site in the garden by removing and disposing of plant residues. They can be used to feed pets, or they can simply be processed into an excellent fertilizer by placing them in a compost heap.

Diseases and pests

Despite the presence of excellent immunity to diseases, the plant can be affected at a young age:

1. Aphid, capable of activating in wet weather and during long-term rains. The insect can completely destroy the crops of the plant. Get rid of it with special insecticides. For preventive purposes, it is possible to use biological preparations - "Akarina" and "Fitoverma".
2. A weevil, the larvae of which reproduce in amaranth stems, retard its development and can lead to the death of the plant.

In the fight against weevils, insecticides are also used.

Florists recommend treating pest-infested amaranths with a solution of Karbofos or Aktellik.

Unfavorable conditions when growing a flower, especially high air humidity for a long time, lead to the appearance and reproduction of fungal diseases. Plants can be treated with a solution of colloidal sulfur, copper oxychloride or copper sulfate. Summer cottage amaranths can benefit the surrounding plants by protecting them from pests. For example, a carrot fly cannot stand being close to a beetle planted near a carrot garden. There are many varieties of this plant, amazing in appearance and properties. Low-growing amaranths are grown even at home, especially designers prefer to use them in the design of office premises. According to the description, the varieties can be undersized and giant, of various shades and colors. Huge opportunities for landscape designers.

Amaranths are valued as medicinal plants, possessing a large amount of substances necessary for a person. Especially a lot of useful things are found in grains. It is not for nothing that in the homeland of amaranth from its seeds, people have made flour for cakes from ancient times. Nowadays, it is used for bakery baking - it does not stale bread for a long time, as an additive to salads as a substitute for spinach and even as edible oil. The flower was appreciated as a fodder crop many years ago. Livestock and poultry farmers consider amaranth to be an environmentally friendly and efficient feed. The mere fact that out of 20 amino acids in the plant there are 18, speaks of its benefits. With great advantages, planting and caring for amaranth is simple and accessible to anyone.

Today, more and more people remember amaranth - a culture that was cultivated in ancient times. Many types of this plant are suitable for both eating and decorating a flower bed. In addition, amaranth is also grown on an industrial scale.

Description and origin of culture

Amaranth (lat. Amaranthus), or in another way shiritsa, is a plant belonging to the Amaranth family. In the wild, it grows in India, as well as in China and the United States. In East Asia, it is cultivated as a vegetable plant, but can also be used as an ornamental plant. In ancient times, amaranth was cultivated as one of the main grain crops. Today this can also be found, but extremely rare. Moreover, some types of plants are considered weeds - amaranth is bluish and thrown back.

For your information! The name amaranth means "unfading flower". In addition to the beetle, there are other names for it - velvet, aksamitnik, cock's combs and a cat's tail.

All amaranths are divided into groups:

• cereals;
• feed;
• vegetable;
• decorative.

Vegetable varieties are characterized by the fact that they consume the green part of the plant. The grain of such crops is unsuitable for food. However, in some countries, the grain of the vegetable amaranth varieties is still used for the manufacture of livestock feed.

The feed group is intended for feeding animals. The protein and nutrient content of such plants is off scale. Hence their popularity in agriculture. The same goes for grain varieties of amaranth. The difference between them is small: the grain contains the least amount of toxins.

Ornamental varieties can even be poisonous and have no agricultural benefit. They are used only as decoration in landscaping.

The following types of decorative widths are most common:

• caudate;
• tricolor;
• Red.
• dark;
• paniculate.

Especially for the regions of Siberia, a variety of fodder amaranth Cherginsky was bred. It is early ripening and has high yields. They collect green mass and grain from it.

The genus of plants Amaranth includes annual species or short-lived perennials. The height of the culture can be up to 3 m, and the thickness of the stem can reach 10 cm. It has large oblong leaves, pointed towards the top. The plant has a characteristic inflorescence in the form of a lush panicle, reaching a length of one and a half meters. The amaranth seed is small enough. One inflorescence can contain up to half a kilogram of seeds and up to a thousand leaves.

Amaranth seeds

Blooms from June until frost. Prefers open, well-lit areas. The soil should be light, nutritious with neutral acidity and free from excess moisture. Watering is required only when the seedlings are rooting, and then only in very dry weather.

Amaranth propagates by seed, and this is the most common method. They are sown in the early spring in the ground. Breeding with stem cuttings is also possible. In the spring, at the very beginning, the cuttings are planted in small pots and left in a bright and warm place. For better rooting, you can use a phytohormone.

Amaranth: how to grow from seeds at home

Amaranth can be grown in the country as an ornamental plant. This will not be difficult, since the culture is unpretentious to care for. When growing amaranth from seeds, they need to be planted when the soil at a depth of 5 cm is already warmed up to 10 ° C. Before planting, the site is dug up and mineral or complex fertilizers are applied - 30 g per 1 m². Timely sowing of amaranth will allow you to get rid of weeds, because the plant is quickly gaining strength and does not allow others to develop next to it.

Note! Nitrogen fertilizers should be applied very carefully, as amaranth converts them into dangerous nitrates.

The depth of the seeds is about 1.5 cm. Usually, for convenience, seeds are mixed with sand or sawdust, so that it is more convenient to sow a large area. The distance between the rows is kept within 50 cm, and between the plants about 10 cm. Seedlings will appear in a week and a half. If you tighten and plant amaranth in May, you will have to do weeding so that the weeds do not drown out the seedlings.

When the plant reaches 20 cm, fertilize with nitrogen fertilizers, but in a dose 2 times less than what is written in the instructions for the product. Amaranth will ripen in 3 months, not earlier.

Amaranth can also be grown using seedlings. Then the seeds are sown in containers at the end of March. The height of the sides of the container should not exceed 10 cm. Seeds are sown into moist soil to a depth of about 2 cm and they are placed at home to germinate in a warm place with good lighting.

Seedling amaranth

Then the temperature is maintained at 22 ° C and the plantings are sprayed from the sprayer. The first shoots will appear in a week. When the amaranth germinates, you need to thin out the plants, removing the weakest. After the appearance of 3 leaves, they are transplanted into individual containers, each with a diameter of about 12 cm.

Care is needed only in the first month, until the plant grows. Seedlings develop slowly at first and need to loosen the soil, water and remove weeds. Then amaranth drowns out nearby plants.

Note! It happens that amaranth grows by 7 cm in one day.

Watering is needed only in dry times. Top dressing is carried out 3-4 times during the growing season. Mullein is used in a ratio of 1: 5 and ash at the rate of 200 g per 10 liters of water.

Harvesting

Garden-grown amaranth can be used to make infusions and teas, and also as a seasoning. But only on condition that amaranth is not decorative and suitable for food. Gather all the ground parts of the plant - inflorescences, leaves and thick stems. Dry both the entire plant as a whole, and its individual components.

Dried amaranth

Depending on how the amaranth will be dried, the collection time is determined. Leaves can be cut throughout the growth of the crop. If you want to dry the whole plant, it is immediately dug up by the root when the stem reaches a height of 25 cm. The inflorescences are cut at the peak of flowering, but before the grains begin to ripen.

In addition to drying, to prepare amaranth for the winter, a method such as freezing is used. The beneficial properties of the plant will be preserved in any case.

When harvesting and storing amaranth, there are several recommendations:

• the leaves are thoroughly washed and shaken off excess moisture;
• you can dry it by spreading the plant on paper in a well-ventilated area, or tying it in bunches and hanging it from the ceiling;
• plants should not be placed too tightly when drying.

After the amaranth has dried, it should be crushed and stored in jars or bags.

How to grow amaranth for seeds? A few strong and vigorous plants are left to collect the seed. You do not need to cut the leaves from them. When the stem becomes whitish, and the foliage begins to dry and fall off, you need to cut off the inflorescences and place them in a dry room. There they will dry up, and it will be possible to collect seeds. Amaranth germination lasts up to 5 years.

As you can see from the description above, there is nothing difficult in growing amaranth. Moreover, the flower does not require abundant watering and weeding, which is only on hand to any summer resident. The main thing is to choose a suitable variety and plant it in open ground on time!

The climate in our country is mostly harsh and amateur gardeners have to grow amaranth in seedlings. In southern areas with warm winters, sowing can be done directly into the soil. Seeds germinate quickly enough at a soil temperature of 15 ° C.

A common question a grower has when breeding a new crop. In the case of amaranth, seeds can be sown as early as mid-February. But then you need to be ready to light up young shoots. As in February - March there is still little sun. So that the seedlings do not stretch out, without supplementary lighting, in the Middle Lane, Moscow region, in the Urals, I recommend sowing amaranth no earlier than mid-March.

First, prepare containers for sowing - they should be wide and not very deep, their height should not be more than 10 centimeters.

Soil preparation

For growing amaranth seedlings, a universal soil sold in flower shops is suitable. The soil, of its own preparation, should consist of garden soil, peat, humus. The basic requirements for it are simple, it must be: nutritious, loose, breathable, with a neutral reaction.

Both purchased and home-made soil must be disinfected before use. Any old-fashioned processing methods are suitable: steaming, calcining, freezing, processing with a solution of potassium permanganate, and modern methods using various drugs. Today, soil cultivation products are popular:

• copper sulfate;
• colloidal sulfur;
• systemic fungicides (Fitosporin, Alirin-B, Gamir, Extrasol).

Planting boxes must be filled with soil and watered. Scatter the seeds over the surface and cover them with a layer of 0.5 cm. Spray the top layer of earth from a sprayer and close the boxes on top with cling film, you get mini-greenhouses.

Put greenhouses in a warm place, the higher the air temperature, the faster the seeds will sprout. Usually, if the room temperature is 22 ° C and higher, the sprouts hatch within a week, after the appearance of green sprouts, the film must be removed.

Seedling care

Caring for amaranth seedlings does not differ from caring for seedlings of other garden and horticultural crops. Amaranth seedlings must be watered, the soil in the cups must be constantly moist. In February and March, the daylight hours are short, the seedlings need illumination, fluorescent lamps can be used to supplement the illumination of the seedlings.

It is necessary to carry out hardening. Start ten days before planting young plants in a permanent place. You can harden in two ways:

• take boxes with plants to the street or balcony;
• open the window for ventilation.

On the other hand, some types of amaranth are weeds and interfere with the cultivation of other crops. Depending on the species, amaranth shoots are simple or branch. Shoot height ranges from 40 cm to 3 m.

The foliage is alternate, lanceolate, oblong, placed on the petiole. Flowers are formed in the axils, have a green, red or purple color, there is a combination of different colors.

Most species of the genus are annuals, and in our climate even perennials are grown as annuals.

Sowing aweed is pretty easy. In warmer areas, where the soil has already warmed up by the beginning of May, you can sow the material directly into the soil. The seeds must be planted one at a time in damp furrows, deepening by one and a half centimeters.

After about a week and a half, seedlings will appear, which should be tilled, and the soil between them should be loosened. When the shoot reaches 20 cm in height, fertilize the flower with nitrogen fertilization, but dilute it 2 times stronger than indicated in the instructions.

To get seedlings of apex, seeds are sown at the end of March. They are deepened by one and a half to two centimeters and placed in a warm (about 22 ° C) and bright room, periodically moistening with a spray bottle. When shoots appear, they are thinned out, and when they reach 12 cm in height, they are seated in separate containers.

It is possible to breed a culture in almost any climatic zone, except for the desert and the Far North.

When cultivating it, the following features of the plant should be taken into account:

1. Amaranth is drought tolerant. It tolerates them much better than overfilling.
2. Does not like excess moisture in the soil. Therefore, watering should be moderate. After each procedure, the soil between the rows must be loosened.
3. For its cultivation, you should choose a well-lit place, since amaranth is very fond of the sun.
4. The optimal growing conditions are 20 ° C, but the plant can easily tolerate small night frosts (not lower than -2 ° C).
5. Little is affected by pests and diseases.

In order for the culture to branch well and give a higher yield, it is necessary to systematically weed the garden bed and thin out the seedlings. Distance between stems up to 10 cm is preferable for forage specimens. A wider space (about 20 cm) is required for plants that are grown for seeds.

After the first month of growing season, the culture adds 6-7 cm per day. At this stage, there is no need to weed it, since the weeds cannot compete with amaranth. But one should not forget about the introduction of organic or mineral fertilizers. It is necessary to feed the plantations every 10 days. It is better to do this in the morning, right after watering. It is impossible to be zealous with it, since nitrates will accumulate in the plant, as a result it will be unsuitable for food.

In this way, cultivars oriented towards the accumulation of green mass are cultivated. Before growing amaranth from seeds, it is necessary to prepare beds for it in the fall. For this, the earth is dug up to a depth of at least 20 cm, and also brought in. The best option is humus or compost. Each hundred square meters will need about 500 kg.

In order for the grains to grow well, it is important to choose the right planting time for the plant. The soil should have time to warm up to positive values. This is usually the end of May. The depth of the holes should be about 5 cm. In such conditions, the seeds will sprout well, and the culture will grow so quickly that it will easily overtake the weeds and they will not be able to drown out the amaranth. You don't even have to weed it.

If you skip the optimal period and sow later, you will have to deal with weeds, as well as pests: aphids, weevils, caterpillars. In a flowerbed or in a small garden, amaranth is sown by hand. In large fields, sowing is carried out using special seeders. The soil must be moist and nutritious. Also, in order for amaranth to develop well in the open field, in addition to care, planting rules must be observed.

The distance between the rows should be:

• 70 cm when growing amaranth for seeds;
• 50 cm when cultivating a plant for forage purposes.

The first shoots make their way through the ground after a week or 10 days. At first, amaranth grows slowly, but then noticeably accelerates. You can re-sow after 2 weeks so that the period of formation of young greenery is as long as possible.

In Siberia, ordinary plant varieties from seeds can be grown only for green mass, since they do not have time to form new grains. In this climatic zone, it is better to cultivate early ripening varieties of amaranth, for example, Cherginsky. And also plant seedlings of plants in open ground.

Cultivating a plant from seed is the easiest way. But to accelerate the ripening period of amaranth, which is about 3 months, it is better to grow it using seedlings. This method guarantees more lush flowering, therefore this method is also practiced for decorative varieties.

Another option for obtaining seedlings is to sow seeds in a box with earth and place it in a plastic bag, put in a warm place. After one to two weeks, seedlings appear and the plants can already be kept on the windowsill.

A few tips on how to germinate amaranth at home:

1. In order for amaranth seeds to grow better in an apartment or house, they must first be soaked in water for several days so that they "hatch".
2. The soil is best prepared from a mixture of peat, leaf humus and soil from the garden. It is important to add ash and superphosphate to the mixture.
3. Until sprouts appear, it is necessary to maintain the temperature at least 20 ° C.
4. Watering should be moderate but regular. You can carry it out with a spray bottle.

If the first three or four leaves appear on the seedlings, this means that it is time to dive amaranth. To do this, you need to take pots with a diameter of about 12 cm and plant the plants so that there is only one copy in each of them.

Amaranth tricolor
grows well outdoors, but it is important to remember that spring frosts can kill seedlings. Therefore, sowing of seeds is most often done only when there is no risk of frost. Seeds germinate at temperatures between 4 and 25 ° C. A sunny place is chosen for sowing.

If amaranth tricolor is grown
as an edible plant, the soil must be very fertile. However, sandy, acidic or even stony soils will provide fresh greens.

For a bigger harvest
you can sow new amaranth seeds every two weeks after the first sowing.

On the site for sowing
all weeds must be removed. For better distribution of seeds, you can mix them with river sand or ash in a ratio of 1:15. Planting depth - 1-2 cm. It is best to simply sprinkle the seeds with an even layer of earth, and then slightly level it.

With the seedling method
sowing is done in the same way, only in boxes, which must be covered with glass or foil. Sowings located in a warm place will give the first shoots in 10-12 days. When each sprout acquires one real leaf, the seedlings dive into a large container.

Sowing amaranth

1. In early spring, sow seeds in prepared soil, preferably in peat containers. The soil should be loose, sprinkle the seeds just a little with earth and not tamp.
2. The pots must be placed in a greenhouse from a plastic container or covered with foil.
3. Systematically ventilate the mini-greenhouse and water the ground.
4. When the seeds sprout, they need to be thinned out.
5. As the seedlings grow, they are periodically taken out to fresh air so that they get used to the new conditions (hardened).

Types and varieties of amaranth

A wide variety of species and varieties of amaranth should not be misleading for a novice gardener or gardener. Before opting for a particular variety, you need to decide for what purpose it will be planted.

All varieties of amaranth, according to their purpose, can be divided into types:

• decorative;
• vegetable;
• grain;
• stern.

Varieties for decorative purposes are usually thermophilic and photophilous. Lack of light leads to a significant loss of decorativeness, they stretch out, the leaves lose their brightness and color.

Forage varieties, very productive, build up a large amount of green mass during the season. The composition of the fodder plant is no less useful and also has medicinal properties.

Vegetable varieties:

• Valentine
• In memory of Kvasov
• White list
• Sturdy

They are grown for fresh consumption of young shoots and leaves. They can also be used to prepare various dishes; during heat treatment, the plant retains its beneficial properties.

Grain varieties contain a large percentage of squalene in grains - a liquid hydrocarbon so necessary for the human body for its anticarcinogenic, antimicrobial and fungicidal properties. From grain varieties of amaranth, oil is produced, which has medicinal properties.

Amaranth Tricolor

Amaranth Tricolor

Beautiful and showy, the plants of this species are annuals: erect, pyramidal shrubs. Narrow, slightly wavy leaves have a three-color color: green, yellow, red. All varieties of this species are very decorative. Plant height from 0.6 m to 1.5 m.

Most often it is used for decorating flower beds, making bouquets, including winter ones. It is an annual plant with a height of 75 to 150 cm with elongated ovate red-brown leaves with a sharp elongated top. Small red flowers are collected in erect inflorescences. This species blooms in June and blooms until cold weather.

• Roter Dam and Roter Paris - varieties 50-60 cm high with dark red foliage and maroon flowers;
• Zwergfakel and Grunefakel - varieties up to 35 cm high with purple and dark green inflorescences, respectively;
• Hot Biscuit is the tallest variety, reaching a meter in height, with green foliage and red-orange inflorescences.

A sparsely branched species up to one and a half meters high with oblong-lanceolate pointed leaves of purple or purple-green color and vertical spike-shaped panicles of inflorescences of various colors, but most often dark red. In culture since 1548. There is a blood-red form - sanguineus, with hanging inflorescences. Varieties:

• Pigmy Torch is an amaranth 60 cm in height, the dark purple inflorescences of which become chestnut in autumn, and the leaves are multi-colored;
• Green Tamb is a variety up to 40 cm high, painted in different tones of an emerald hue and is often used by phytodesigners when drawing up dry bouquets.

Ornamental-deciduous plant from 70 cm to one and a half meters high with erect stems forming a pyramidal bush. Leaves of amaranth tricolor are elongated, ovoid or narrow, sometimes wavy, colored in combinations of yellow, green and red - young leaves are unusually bright and beautiful.

It blooms from June until frost, has several varieties: willow (salicifolius) with narrow, bronze-green wavy leaves up to 20 cm long and half a centimeter wide; red-green (rubriviridis) with ruby-purple leaves in green spots; red (ruber) with blood-red leaves and bright (splendens), which has dark green leaves with brown spots. Varieties:

• amaranth Illumination,- a powerful plant up to 70 cm high with impressive large leaves. Young leaves are red-yellow, and those that are older are red-orange, the lower leaves are of a bronze shade;
• Aurora - this variety has wavy apical leaves of a golden yellow hue;
• Early Splender - the top leaves are bright crimson, the bottom ones are almost black with a purple-green tint.

In nature, it grows in tropical Africa, Asia and South America. Stems are powerful, erect, up to one and a half meters high. The leaves are large, oblong-ovoid, green or purple-green in color. Small dark red, yellowish-green or crimson flowers are collected in spherical glomeruli, which, in turn, are arranged in hanging long paniculate inflorescences.

This species blooms from June to October, cultivated since 1568. It has several forms: white-colored - with greenish-white flowers; green - this form with pale green inflorescences is in great demand among florists; bead-shaped - flowers of this form are collected in a whorl and look like long beads strung on a stem. Varieties:

• Rothschwants - with red inflorescences;
• Grunschwants - with light green inflorescences.

Both varieties reach a height of 75 cm and are vigorous shrubs that occupy a large area.

The variety of amaranth species amazes the imagination: about 900 species, including decorative, vegetable, fodder, grain varieties. Most varieties are versatile in use. But still, before planting, you should clearly understand what result is expected, for what purpose the plant will be planted in order to most accurately select the desired variety.

For decorative varieties, the main condition for growing is bright light. A lack of light leads to a loss of decorativeness, because the stems are elongated, the leaves fade.

Or crimson
an annual species that grows up to half a meter in height. The foliage is oval, oblong, crimson in color. The flowers are small red. Grown preferably for decorating flower beds and flower beds.

Or sad
species with few branches. The stem reaches 150 cm in height, the foliage is oblong, has a purple tint. Inflorescences are preferably crimson in color.

The erect shoot of the plant grows a little over half a meter. The foliage is oval or narrow, combining green, yellow and red colors. Young leaves, which are distinguished by their brightness, are especially beautiful.

It has a massive straight stem, which grows up to 150 cm. The foliage is large, oblong, green, sometimes with purple blotches. Flowers form small balls with a yellow or pink tint. There is also a variety with white flowers.

• Red;
• Caudate;
• Tricolor;
• Rother Dam;
• Hot Biscuit;
• Green;
• Yellow;
• Illuminations;
• Rothschwants.

Vegetable varieties are grown to get fresh herbs on the table, for making cereals, soups, winter preparations.

• Valentine;
• In memory of Kovas;
• White list;
• Sturdy;
• Opopeo.

Forage amaranths - a storehouse for farmers - quickly gain a juicy green mass, rich in nutrients for fattening animals and poultry. Farmers use amaranth as green manure to improve the properties of the fertile soil layer.

Forage amaranths:

• Aztec;
• Giant;
• Kizlyarets;
• Lera.

Grain varieties are cultivated for the sake of grain - seeds containing a precious substance of antimicrobial, anticarcinogenic, fungicidal quality - squalene or liquid hydrocarbon. It is from grain varieties that amaranth oil is produced, which has undeniable medicinal and cosmetic properties.

• Kharkiv-1;
• Voronezh;
• Ultra;
• Helios;
• Orange giant.

Plant care

Amaranth grows very slowly. Subject to deadlines and rules correct fit flowering of the plant can be seen in July. Planting the crop in warm soil will reduce the risk of being "suppressed" by weeds. If you are late with the planting dates, then the weeds will quickly take over the flower bed and the land will often have to be weeded. In this situation, the seeds will fully ripen in 3 months.

To create a decorative amaranth hedge, it is advisable to choose the background of a garden plot or flower garden. The varieties "Magic Cascade", "Avalanche", "Angelina" will be clearly visible from any place. Decorative varieties "Illumination", "Cherry Velvet", "Bicolor", "Glamorous Shine" and others will look spectacular in the center of the flower bed.

Boarding time

It is possible to plant amaranth seed directly into the ground at the end of April, when the late spring frosts pass and the soil warms up a little under the sun's rays.

The optimal time for sowing amaranth seeds indoors is mid-February or early March, and the seedlings should be planted in the soil when the warm weather becomes stable and the night frosts stop. In the northern regions, this time occurs in the middle or at the end of May.

For sowing, you should choose a sunny and dry place, amaranth does not tolerate wet soil and swampy soil. Before sowing the soil, the plant should be loosened, slightly moistened and a shallow furrow should be made. Since the seeds of the plant are very small, they are buried 1 to 2 cm.If you plan to plant the plant in several rows, the distance between the furrows should be at least 45-50 cm.

It is necessary to sow each seed at a distance of 7-10 cm from each other, for tall varieties this gap must be increased:

vegetable crops- 25─70 cm;

grain varieties - 60-70 cm;

decorative species- 50-70 cm.

Also, before planting, the seeds can be mixed with river sand or sawdust in a ratio of 1 to 15. After sowing, the furrow should be sprinkled with soil and slightly compacted.

The first sprouts from seeds will appear in a week. Dense growth should be thinned out, and the soil should be loosened. This will give more space and push the plant to grow further. Otherwise, the squid will grow low and not so branched.

After the seedlings have stretched 20 cm, fertilizing from nitrate will not interfere with them. In this case, the concentration of fertilizer should be 2 times less than indicated on the package.

Errors made by gardeners when planting amaranth:

planting of decorative varieties on loamy soils;

transplanting seedlings during prolonged frosts;

planting seeds to a depth of more than 2 cm.

The seedling method is popular among gardeners in that the development and flowering of the plant is much faster than when sowing with the seed method. How is an assortment grown using seedlings? To do this, take plastic boxes or pots, where seeds are scattered to a depth of 2 cm in loose, moist and enriched soil. It is very important that the container has a hole for moisture drainage, a suitable height is 9-13 cm.

After sowing, the containers should be wrapped in polyethylene and kept in a warm room in a well-lit place. The optimum temperature for seedling is 19-22 degrees. The soil should be irrigated with a sprayer. If necessary, the seedlings can be illuminated with a phytolamp.

The first shoots appear within 10 days. After 3-4 days, weak shoots should be removed among the seedlings, leaving only strong and strong ones. In order to quickly give a boost to the green mass, it is better to spray the seedlings with bioregulators, for example, urea solution, epin, immunocytophyte.

As soon as 3 leaves appear on the sprouts, a pick should be made, in which each seedling is transplanted into a separate, deeper pot. The soil must be taken the same that was used for germinating the seeds. The seedling is planted in damp ground. Until the moment of planting in the soil, the sprout is fed twice with complex mineral fertilizer.

Home-grown sprouts do not need to be prepared when planted outdoors. The planting procedure is best done in the evening or on a cloudy day. If seedlings are planted in sunny weather, young shoots should be protected from sunlight for several days. In the shade, amaranth adapts faster and begins to germinate.

Seedlings are planted in rows using the same technology as when sowing seeds. Step-by-step instruction next:

Make small holes and add 20 g of nitroammophoska to them. When planting in rows, a distance of 80 cm should be observed, and between bushes - 50 cm.

Remove the grown amaranths from the pot and plant in a hole. It is not worth digging a bush deep into the ground, as an unformed root system can begin to rot.

Water the plant well.

Varieties, which are grown for the sake of obtaining young greenery, are planted at a distance of 15 cm from each other. Until the plant grows, the amaranth bush should be regularly watered and covered with leaf humus.

The plant ripens within 3.5 months. How to grow amaranth in the first month? During the growth of a young crop, the aisles must be weeded, weed, loosened and moistened. Weak shoots are best removed, leaving a distance between the bushes within 40 cm. This will allow healthy plants to take root and grow faster.

In the 2nd month, the grown plant is no longer demanding for any conditions. In addition, amaranth drowns out the development of weeds and does not need weeding or careful maintenance. This crop is drought tolerant and easily tolerates heat, even if it grows in direct sunlight.

For to get good yields plants, it is better to adhere to some rules:

During the period of active growth, the crop should be fed with organic fertilizers, weeded out from weeds and spud;

despite its resistance to drought, amaranth needs watering, otherwise its growth will stop;

adult tall amaranths must be tied up so that its branches are not damaged by the severity of the flowers;

so that the bushes are lush, and the stems are more stable, it is better to pinch the tops of the plants in June.

At the dacha, with good care, the squid grows very rapidly: a bush illuminated by the sun and well-watered in a day stretches by 6-7 cm.

In the first 30 days, the root system is formed and the plants are gaining strength and strength, so at this time they need at least two weeding, regular watering as the soil dries up and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.

If thickening was allowed in the rows, then the stems of amaranth will form thin and fragile.

Amaranth leaves are shortened as it grows. The same applies to the stem - when it reaches 25-30 centimeters in length, it is carefully cut off so that it does not lose its juiciness. By the way, amaranth is able to perfectly recover from the buds on the trunk, so it is advisable to leave several buds uncut so that the plant continues to grow.

• Planting: sowing seeds in the ground - at the end of April or in May; sowing seeds for seedlings - at the end of March, transplanting seedlings into the ground - from mid to late May.
• Flowering: from June to frost.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• Soil: light, nutritious, lime-containing, not too moist and not acidic soils.
• Watering: during the period of seedlings rooting in the ground - constant, then watering will be needed only in a prolonged drought.
• Top dressing: with mullein solution 3-4 times per season, preferably in the evening.
• Reproduction: seed.
• Pests: aphids, weevil larvae.
• Diseases: root and gray rot, powdery mildew, rust.
• Properties: all parts of amaranth are edible and healthy.

When the soil in the garden warms up well and the threat of recurrent frosts has passed, the seedlings can be planted in open ground. This is usually done in mid or late May. The amaranth site should be well-lit and drained, the soil should be light and nutritious, with a sufficient amount of lime. By and large, amaranth is completely unpretentious, but what it does not tolerate is low temperatures and too much moisture in the soil. Before planting amaranth in open ground, the soil on the site should be dug up with nitroammophos at the rate of 20 g per 1 m².

How to plant amaranth

Planting amaranth, depending on the species and variety, is carried out at a distance of 10 to 30 cm between specimens, and an interval of 45 to 70 cm is observed between the rows.Until the seedlings take root and start growing, they need regular watering. And be prepared to cover the area with amaranths if the cold weather suddenly returns.

Actually, caring for amaranth is needed only until the plant grows, but for the first month amaranth seedlings develop very slowly, therefore they need watering, weeding and loosening of the soil. But then amaranth accelerates its development, and there is no more room for weeds on the site. Sometimes a specimen of amaranth can grow by seven centimeters per day!

Regular watering is important for amaranth, too, only in the first month in the open field, then the root of the plant penetrates deep into the soil, and there is no need for watering, except that the dry period of summer without rains will come - then the amaranth will need to be watered like any other plant.

It is advisable to feed amaranth 3-4 times per season, the best fertilizers for it are a mullein solution in a ratio of 1: 5 and ash (200 g per 10 liters of water). It is best to carry out top dressing in the early morning after watering the site.

Planting and caring for amaranth won't give you any trouble. In addition, amaranth is very resistant to pests and diseases. However, sometimes it is also affected by aphids or weevils. Weevil larvae develop in plant stems, retarding their growth. Aphids are capable of harming amaranth only at the beginning of its life, and, as a rule, this happens in a damp rainy summer. Aphids are exterminated by treating amaranth with actellik or fufanon (karbofos). The same drugs give good results in the fight against weevils.

Plant care

The stems of amaranth can be simple or branched, the leaves are alternate, whole, lanceolate, ovate or rhomboid, the base of the leaf plate is elongated into a petiole, the top of the leaf has a notch and a slight sharpening. Axillary flowers of golden, red, green or purple color are collected in bunches, apical ones - in spike-shaped panicles.

The amaranth fruit is a box with small seeds. The color of the plant is green, purple, violet, and sometimes all of these colors are combined in one plant. The height of amaranth, depending on the species, can be as little as 30 cm, and can even reach three meters. In our climate, amaranth is grown as an annual.

Reproduction of amaranth most often occurs by seeds in pots, and then by planting ready-made seedlings in open ground.

The plant is sown in peat pots or in picking boxes, getting seedlings. It is planted in the ground in late spring. The plant blooms for 40 days.

You can grow a plant with seeds by planting it in open ground.

Seed collection

To collect seeds from a plant, you must choose the strongest, healthiest of them, do not cut leaves from amaranth. You can start collecting seeds when the stem becomes whitish, and the lower leaves dry up and fall off.

It is better to cut the inflorescences from the bottom. So that they do not get enough sleep, they are cut off slightly unripe, and then dried.

After a while, they rub the ripe inflorescences with their hands, and then sift them through a sieve.

Seeds are stored for a long time: about 5 years. One plant can produce half a million seeds.

This is what the collected amaranth seeds look like.

The main pest of the plant is aphids. Amaranth is afraid of high humidity, due to which he may develop fungal diseases. Watering is best done in moderation.

Amaranth is a genus of annual grasses common in Africa, South America and other countries with subtropical and tropical climates in temperate climates, this plant is much less common. In Europe and Russia, there are about 16 species of amaranth.

The genus amaranth includes up to 70 species of plants with a height of 15 to 80 centimeters and above. In nature, tall species can be found, reaching a height of 2-3 meters. The root of this plant is thick, pivotal, goes into the ground by two, or even three meters.

The color of the stem and leaves can be either green or purplish red. In some types of amaranth, a root crop is formed. The leaves are elongated, pointed at the end, and come in different shapes: lanceolate, diamond-shaped or ovoid.

The leaf petioles at the bottom of the thick trunk are longer than those on the taller ones, so the upper leaves never shade the lower ones. The flowers are small, collected in paniculate inflorescences. There are axillary and apical flowers.

The vegetative period in plants of this genus lasts from 3 to 5 months, the duration depends on the climate. Amaranth is sown in the spring in warm soil. The temperature should not be lower than 8 ° C. The seed ripening period is from August to September. Stems and leaves turn creamy during this period. When the stem is shaken, ripe seeds fall off easily. The fruits resemble a round box. Up to 500 thousand small, dark brown seeds are formed on one plant per season.

Amaranth growing from seeds

Since amaranth is a native of warm countries, in the short summer of central Russia and Siberia, the plant requires a seedling planting method for the full life cycle from sowing to harvesting. The best time for sowing is February - early March.

Containers for germinating seeds (ordinary seedling pots, containers, boxes) must have a drainage hole. Soil - universal from any manufacturer or your own on the basis of humus and sand in a ratio of 3: 1.

The seeds are buried 1.5-2 centimeters into moistened soil, after which the container is covered with a film, creating greenhouse conditions, and placed in a warm (22 ° C) and bright place. Waterlogging of the substrate is unacceptable: seedlings can rot from excessive moisture. Therefore, it is preferable not to water, but to spray the soil from a sprayer.

The sprouts will appear within a week. If the temperature is below 20 ° C, the germination time will take longer.

It is important to remember that the soil for sowing any seeds for seedlings or for picking must be treated against pests and diseases. The simplest processing methods are soil steaming, roasting in the oven, spilling with potassium permanganate solution, treatment with copper sulfate or systemic fungicides.

In transplanted sprouts, pinch the top so that the plant uses all its strength for rooting. Caring for amaranth seedlings is simple: warmth, light, careful watering. This is all that is required for any culture at this stage. To ensure a sufficient level of light, fluorescent, energy-saving, LED daylight sources or phytolamps of a special spectrum are used.

The time for transplanting is closer to the end of May, when the possibility of night frosts is reduced to zero, because the thermophilic representative of amaranth is afraid of even a short-term drop in temperature to zero and below.

The soil for planting is prepared in the fall, after carefully digging up the soil and freeing it from weeds. In the spring, dig up the soil, making potassium-phosphorus fertilizers, humus.

To decorate the site, amaranth is planted in rows in the background of a flower garden or a bright accent in the center of a circular flower bed. When planting in rows between individual specimens, the distance should be 30-40 cm, and between rows - about 50 cm. If the purpose of planting is fresh herbs for salad, then planting is possible every 15 cm between plants and rows.

Amaranth propagates by seeds, which must be germinated in advance. As soon as they hatch, they are sown in open ground after spring frosts (the soil must be warmed up to 15 ° C). The sowing site is cleared of weeds in advance, fertilizers are applied (compost, rotted chicken droppings, ash, manure), mixed and grooves up to one centimeter deep are prepared.

When growing seedlings at home, seeds are sown in bulk in boxes filled with nutritious soil, then lightly sprinkled and covered with cellophane. The box must be kept in a warm, bright place - so, after 12 days the first shoots appear. So that the seedlings do not interfere with the growth of each other, it is advisable to thin them out, and after the appearance of the leaf - to dive.

Amaranth seedlings are planted around the beginning of June. It should be planted in rows of open ground, the distance between which should be within 30 centimeters (10-15 centimeters between plants).

Seeds for future harvest can be obtained without cutting off the stems of several plants until September. Thus, the panicles turn orange, the leaves dry out and fall off, and the stem brightens at the same time.

To obtain seeds, amaranth is cut off at the base and the panicles are left to dry for 2 months in a room with good ventilation, away from moisture. The removed seeds must be dried again (for this they are laid out in a thin layer and left for two weeks).

Have a good harvest and be healthy! After all, amaranth is incredibly useful for our health: once its seeds replaced our bread, now adherents of a healthy diet prefer to cook porridge from amaranth flour, and the leaves of this wonderful plant serve as an excellent basis for making salads, snacks and side dishes!

In the northern regions, gardeners grow the squid by seedlings, since in the harsh climate, the culture does not have time to grow before the onset of cold. In the southern regions, the plant is sown with seeds in the spring directly into the soil. In warm weather and sufficient heating of the soil, amaranth grows quickly enough.

Soil preparation

For the growth of forage and food species of amaranth, podzolic, sandy loam, soddy, fine loamy soils are suitable. In acidic soil, the plant will develop slowly. For ornamental varieties, both scanty and stony soils are suitable.

Soil preparation is done in the fall after harvest. Rotted manure, peat or compost must be added to the soil, and in the spring - superphosphate, potash fertilizers and ash.

In the spring, when the ground at a depth of 5 cm warms up to 10 degrees, the soil is cleared of debris, weeds and weeded. Before planting the seed, the soil is fertilized with mineral mixtures or complex fertilizers, making 1 sq. m of a plot of 30 g of substance. When choosing a top dressing, you should focus on fertilizers that have a minimum nitrogen content. Otherwise, nitrates will accumulate in the stems and leaves of the plant.

To grow seedlings in pots, they take universal soil from a flower shop, dilute it with clean river sand and humus in a ratio of 3: 2: 1. The result should be a nutritious, loose and breathable soil with a neutral reaction. In the case of using land from a summer cottage to destroy pathogenic flora, the substrate must be calcined in an oven at a high temperature.

To harvest the seeds of the shirin, you need to wait until the plant sheds the lower foliage, and the shoot begins to turn white. After that, cut off the buds and place them in a dry place with fresh air. After 10-15 days, the flowers just need to be rubbed and the seeds will spill out of them. Amaranth seeds have a high germination capacity and do not lose it up to 5 years.

This plant does not withstand our winters, even if the temperature does not drop too low, therefore, in the fall, the squid is destroyed. The stems of the plant can be used for forage purposes - they are eaten by pigs, rabbits, chickens.

Many do not know what amaranth seeds look like. In fact, it is not difficult to distinguish the grains of this crop from other plants. Amaranth planting material is very small. In light varieties of plants with green leaves, sandy-colored seeds (like white sesame, only much smaller), with dense, smooth, slightly shiny shells.

Such varieties are used for food and feed purposes. Plants with red leaves are decorative varieties that are grown for beautiful flowers. They have black seeds, also very small. Before planting amaranth seeds, it is recommended for convenience to mix the grains with sawdust, or sand in a ratio of 1:20.

The growing season of amaranth is 70 days, while the seeds are formed after 3 months of cultivation. The grains do not ripen at the same time, so it is easier to cut off whole amaranth inflorescences, otherwise some just fall on the ground.

When the panicles turn brown and dry well after about a month or two, you need to remove the seeds. It is necessary to dry them only in a dark place.

You can clean them simply in the wind or on a very fine sieve. When stored in a dry place, amaranth seeds retain the ability to germinate for five years.

The first step is to remove weeds.
... In the future, amaranth begins to grow very quickly (up to 7 cm per day). If there are too many bushes, the extra ones are eaten.

Amaranth tricolor
not afraid of crowding in the garden - as soon as its stems become thinner and more tender.

Sowing amaranth

So, at the end of April, the seeds are planted one at a time in the grooves in wet soil and embedded to a depth of 1.5 cm.For convenience, you can mix small seeds with sand or sawdust in a ratio of 1:20 - this is easier to sow. A distance of 45 cm is observed between the rows, there should be about 7-10 cm between the specimens, so experienced flower growers prefer to suffer with sowing, but do not mix the seeds with sand, but lay them out one by one.

When the amaranth reaches a height of 20 cm, apply nitrogen fertilization, but the nitrogen concentration should be half as much as the manufacturer recommends. Whether you grow a vegetable or decorative amaranth, it does not matter - it will fully ripen in three or three and a half months from the moment of sowing.

Seedling amaranth

The conditions for growing amaranth in a seedling way will not make you difficult. For seedlings, amaranth seeds are sown at the end of March. As a container for seedlings, plastic containers or ordinary pots up to 10 cm high are suitable. Seeds are covered in moist soil by 1.5-2 cm, then the pots are placed in a warm, bright place. Crops are irrigated with a sprayer, the optimum temperature for sprouting is about 22 ºC.

If all these conditions are met, seedlings will appear in less than a week. When the amaranths sprout, thin them out, getting rid of weak shoots, and when three leaves appear on the shoots, plant them in personal pots with a diameter of 12 cm.

Usually, in late August, early September, amaranth panicles change color, turn orange. The plant stems and color change, they become light. It is by these signs that they learn that the seeds are already ripe, if the seeds begin to fall off the panicle.

To harvest the seeds, the plants must be cut off. Lay out the plucked panicles in the shade in a draft. Dry for a week, then thresh, sprinkle the seeds after threshing in a thin layer to dry and dry for at least two weeks. Seed germination lasts for 4-5 years.

Diseases and pests

Not picky about the conditions of detention and resistant to various diseases, amaranth can be attacked by aphids in rainy weather. But aphids are dangerous amaranth only in the first stages of development, destroying delicate greens. Weevil larvae, developing in the stems, interfere with the normal growth and development of even an adult plant. To combat these pests, Actellik and Fufanon are successfully used.

Excess moisture, its stagnation in the soil, dampness cause fungal diseases, which are treated with fungicides. But in order to prevent such problems, it is necessary to take into account the consequences of waterlogging, choosing the right place for planting amaranth and ensuring good drainage.

Humanity dreams of the elixirs of youth, searches for the gene for old age, invents pills for life. And the means for healthy longevity may have been found long ago, discovered by ancient civilizations. And its name is amaranth.

Amaranth is distinguished by excellent "health", but nevertheless, the invasion of aphids and weevils can become destructive for the plant. Aphids are dangerous for crops during the vegetative period of growth and are activated in rainy summers. If you do not fight it, it can destroy all amaranth bushes. Weevil larvae settle inside the stem and retard plant growth. To combat harmful insects, amaranth should be sprayed with karbofos, acarin or actellik.

Another enemy of garden culture is fungal diseases. Black leg and brown rot appear as a result of moisture accumulation in the soil. Irrigation with Bordeaux liquid, colloidal sulfur, copper sulfate and other fungicides will help get rid of them.

With excess moisture in the soil, the plant begins to rot. It is caused by the development of fungi, which can be eliminated with Bordeaux liquid.

There are pests that interfere with the normal growth of amaranth. Basically, the plantings suffer from weevils and aphids, penetrating into the stems of the plant, the larvae of the weevil damage the plants, inhibit its growth.

Large colonies of aphids are also capable of inhibiting the plant. It is recommended to treat plants infected with pests with drugs. Popular treatments for aphids and weevils:

• karbofos solution;
• actellic.

If the summer is rainy, the air is humid, then favorable conditions are created for the reproduction of the fungus and the occurrence of fungal diseases. For medicinal purposes, plantings must be treated with a solution of colloidal sulfur or copper sulfate.

Useful and medicinal properties

Amaranth is an underrated plant. All parts of it are edible, and the seeds are especially useful. This plant contains fatty acids, vitamins and other substances necessary for the human body.

The foliage of the squid contains lysine, which is much easier to digest than similar from other crops. It can also be used as a tea to fight obesity, nervous disorders, and arterial vascular diseases.

An oil is made from amaranth, which is widely used in cosmetics, it helps to disinfect the skin and rejuvenate it. Sprouted seeds of the plant are used in medicine and cooking.

The technology for growing amaranth is quite simple. Due to its unpretentiousness, the plant is especially popular. This is a unique flower native to the lands of America. The culture has been cultivated for more than 8 thousand years. Many young leaves, flowers and stems are eaten, sent to livestock feed and used as a medicinal plant. To grow a healthy and beautiful amaranth, you need to know when to plant it outdoors and how to care for it.

In addition to being used in landscape design, amaranth is widely used in other areas of life.

The nutritional value

It is widely used as a food plant, as it is well absorbed by the body of animals and humans. The composition includes useful amino acids, protein.

The plant can rightfully be called the "king of vegetables" due to the abundance of nutrients. Amaranth contains a lot of protein, which is quickly and easily absorbed by the body, vitamins C, P, carotene. It is especially useful for the elderly to use the young leaves of the plant.

The culinary experts appreciated the taste. You can prepare various dishes from the tender soft leaves of a young plant: snacks, salads, seasonings for soups, borscht, side dishes, added to herbal teas.

It tastes a bit like spinach. Add when salting cucumbers to preserve their freshness, elasticity, pickled and amaranth stalks.

It is used as an effective medicinal plant from which mixtures, ointments, oil, tinctures are made for the treatment of enuresis, for inflammatory processes, for rejuvenating the body, neuroses, diabetes.

Amaranth oil is effective in treating burns, can inhibit the development of malignant tumors, and remove heavy metals from the body.

Regularly consuming amaranth in food, you can rejuvenate the body, fight obesity, impotence, restore vitality.

The plant is used in medicine, as a hemostatic agent, in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, inflammation of the urinary system.

Amaranth tea is used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, to strengthen the immune system.

Animal feed

It is used as fodder for animals, as it has nutritional benefits that are much more valuable than buckwheat.

Amaranth is enjoyed by poultry - chickens, turkeys, rabbits, pigs, cows, goats. This is satisfying for them, healthy food.

The plant is used for flower beds, in soil plantings, for cutting (making winter bouquets from dried amaranth).

In terms of yield, the crop has no equal: about 1600 centners on average of green mass can be obtained from 1 hectare.

Amaranth tricolor
- This is a bright and unusual plant that is loved by many flower growers. His yellow-red "fireworks" are amazing and eye-catching. And caring for a spectacular plant is surprisingly simple and not burdensome.

Amaranth, regardless of the type, is endowed with useful properties. For treatment, tailed amaranth is usually used. All parts of the plant are medicinal raw materials. Leaves are harvested until the amaranth has bloomed. In the summer, when the plant is in bloom, the panicles are cut. At the end of August or at the beginning of September, the seeds are collected, and later the roots are dug up.

Seeds are rich in vitamins and microelements necessary for a person. The phytosterols, squalene and polyunsaturated fatty acids contained in it give particular value to the product. Oil obtained from seeds is used to treat and prevent many diseases:

• atherosclerosis;
• heart disease;
• hypertension;
• cervical erosion;
• ovarian cyst;
• fibroids;
• cataract.

Amaranth is considered an effective immune stimulant due to its high content of squalene. Preparations containing squalene are used in the treatment of:

• burns;
• stomach ulcers;
• tumors;
• dental diseases (periodontitis).

Amaranth leaves are valued for their content: carotenoids, zooxanthin, rutin and calcium. Salads can be made from amaranth leaves plucked before flowering; they are especially useful for patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, people who are overweight and constipated. Leaves can be dried, used as a seasoning in winter.

Amaranth after flowering

If you want to harvest amaranth seeds, select some of the toughest plants, and do not cut the leaves from them. As soon as the lower leaves on the amaranth turn red, dry out and fall off, and the stem of the plant turns whitish, choose a dry, fine day, cut the inflorescences from selected specimens, starting from the bottom of the stem, and place them to dry in a well-ventilated dry room.

Amaranth in winter

Amaranth in our latitudes does not tolerate even warm winters, therefore it is grown as an annual plant. At the end of the growing season, amaranth plant residues are collected and disposed of. If you are sure that your amaranths are not infected with pests or diseases, place their tops in a compost pit - it will make a good fertilizer.

Species composition

Types of decorative amaranth:

1. Caudate.
   The stems of the caudate amaranth are erect, reaching a height of up to 150 cm. The leaves are large, green in color, slightly elongated. Panicle-shaped inflorescences hang down, have small flowers: yellow, red. The size of the inflorescences is up to 80 cm. It is grown using seedlings. Looks beautiful in the garden, keeps its beauty dry for a long time.
2. Dark
   - practically does not branch, the stem is fleshy - up to 150 cm. It has lush purple inflorescences, spike-shaped. Leaves are green, pointed, slightly elongated.
3. Paniculate
   - has an attractive shape. Small flowers of inflorescences: red, burgundy, purple - drooping or erect. Stem height 150 cm, leaves have an elongated top.
4. Tricolor
   amaranth is a unique unique bush of rare beauty. The stems are erect, the shape of the plant is pyramidal. Usually 3 colors or more.

In the photo there is a tricolor amaranth

megan92 2 weeks ago

Tell me, who is how to deal with joint pain? My knees hurt terribly ((I drink painkillers, but I understand that I am struggling with the investigation, not the cause ... Nifiga does not help!

Daria 2 weeks ago

For several years I fought with my aching joints until I read this article by some Chinese doctor. And I have long forgotten about the "incurable" joints. Such are the things

megan92 12 days ago

Daria 12 days ago

megan92, so I wrote in my first comment) Well, I'll duplicate it, it's not difficult for me, catch it - link to professor's article.

Sonya 10 days ago

And this is not a divorce? Why are the Internet selling ah?

yulek26 10 days ago

Sonya, what country do you live in? .. They sell it on the Internet, because shops and pharmacies charge their extra charge. In addition, payment only after receipt, that is, first looked, checked and only then paid. Yes, and now everything is sold on the Internet - from clothes to TVs, furniture and cars.

Editorial response 10 days ago

Sonia, hello. This drug for the treatment of joints is really not sold through the pharmacy chain in order to avoid an overpriced. To date, you can order only on Official site... Be healthy!

Sonya 10 days ago

I apologize, I did not notice the information about cash on delivery at first. Then, it's OK! Everything is in order - for sure, if the payment is on receipt. Thank you very much!!))

Margo 8 days ago

Has anyone tried alternative methods of treating joints? The grandmother does not trust pills, the poor one has been suffering from pain for many years ...

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