Aussie Finch Forum

Thanks matty
Ive been watering nearly every day since the seeds were planted till they showed some growth, one 9 litre watering can to the whole of the bed, just enough to keep the soil damp. Now they have grown a bit I only water when the top inch of the soil feels dry..ish. Have already fed with half strength Seasol.
Think I will just leave them as is, don't want to tempt fate by any artificial cropping or topping to increase yield, with my luck the toxic levels would go through the roof!
Ive got enough space left to plant some more rows in a couple of weeks to space out any seed crop.

All you need to know about Quinoa and Amaranth

"Black-seeded varieties of amaranth stay quite gritty when cooked, so it is best to use these varieties just for their leaves. All the golden and light-colored amaranths I've tried are excellent cooked as whole grains and all have delectable greens."

http://www.saltspringseeds.com/scoop/powerfood.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Great reading!
The second sentence tells me why my crop of Quinoa hasn't done well. Will save the rest of the seed for later.
Re the "four to eight feet tall" in the article I hope the cultivar I have doesn't get that big otherwise Im going to need a scissor lift to collect the grain! Even 4 to 6 ft is going to be a challenge in an already raised bed!

bluebutterfly213 wrote:Great reading!
The second sentence tells me why my crop of Quinoa hasn't done well. Will save the rest of the seed for later.
Re the "four to eight feet tall" in the article I hope the cultivar I have doesn't get that big otherwise Im going to need a scissor lift to collect the grain! Even 4 to 6 ft is going to be a challenge in an already raised bed!

Not impossible, I had them growing to about 7 feet. It's not all that bad the seed head folds in on itself from the weight of the seeds, anyhow at that time you can cut them down. Most plants don't get to that height.

Update on the growth of the seeds
Amaranths and Jap Millet

Jap Millet and Quinoa, Jap Millet Quinoa, Jap Millet, Greens and Grains and Breeders Brew The Quinoa had grown far better that I thought it would after reading it is a winter crop.
Couple of questions about the above pics. Are these the seed heads forming? There is quite a colour difference.....is this normal?

Also a question about Johnston grass, when I see the seed stem just before it breaks out of the covering leaf I pick it about 6 inches from the ground. Ive noticed that these stems put out another green stem but its never as good as the first and makes the original stem die off. Is there a better way to harvest? Should I be cutting each seeding stem off at ground level?

bluebutterfly213 wrote:Update on the growth of the seeds

The Quinoa had grown far better that I thought it would after reading it is a winter crop.
Couple of questions about the above pics. Are these the seed heads forming? There is quite a colour difference.....is this normal?

Also a question about Johnston grass, when I see the seed stem just before it breaks out of the covering leaf I pick it about 6 inches from the ground. Ive not noticed that these stems put out another green stem but its never as good as the first and makes the original stem die off. Is there a better way to harvest? Should I be cutting each seeding stem off at ground level?

It appears you are doing OK with your plants, can't really help you with Quinoa but yes those are seeds. I can see you only have the native Amaranth just like mine which are not as pretty as some of the Chinese or the South and Central American species. The others produce much more seeds, I found one other variety as you can see, it's only half grown but I will be getting another soon. My Jap Millet is ready to harvest and the birds just love it! The native Amaranth is also just about ready to harvest, lots of small black seeds are starting to fall out.

Ameranth and Millet update As you can see they have grown some what They must be at least 1.8 mtrs tall
the ameranth has very small flowers on the heads so Im expecting to be able to feed those to the birds soon. Also the millet has the beginnings of small pink flowers on the heads.


For desertbirds one of the palm grass cuttings I got from your Nan is now producing seed heads.

My Plam grass , from BB , from DBs Nan is also starting to seed . Not a lot but the Hoodeds will like it .

That is awesome BB and Jusdeb!

Beautiful, BB, great work.
I'm sure they'll love it.