Growing quinoa in the UK???

[Trinity]

Hi

I read yesterday that it is possible to grow quinoa in the UK!!! It is ordinarily grown in South America. It is an amazing food, full of goodness and easily digested.

Has anyone grown it, or heard of anyone that has??? I am DEFINATELY going to try it next year... at this rate I think we'll ne needing a bigger plot.

Trin
x

[9ball]

Realseeds have several varieties of Quinoa that are mean't to do well in the UK. I'd love to have a go at it next year as well, but the amount of space I could give it would probably mean it's not worth it.

[Trinity]

Realseeds have several varieties of Quinoa that are mean't to do well in the UK. I'd love to have a go at it next year as well, but the amount of space I could give it would probably mean it's not worth it.

I'll do a google and check out realseeds. Thanks for the tip Tom.

I just want to know if it is possible to grow it. There are lots of people in our area here in Somerset who would like to create a self sustaining network. If I can't then some one else will

xxx

[Thomzo]

Well having read the seeds of change website, it sounds as if they can be grown in the UK. Think I might have to order some and give it a go.

Cheers

Zoe

[Trinity]

Me too!!! It sounds like they give a great crop with out too much effort! I can't wait to try these

And aramanth too. These are excellent sources of nutrients. This has made my day!!!!!

Thank-you
x

http://www.realseeds.co.uk/grains.html

[contadino]

What you shouldn't underestimate is the difference that amaranths and quinoa have in releasing seeds. Whereas wheat, barley, etc... are bred to hold their seeds well (and therefore need machinery or hard work to thresh,) these grains are easy to separate. So much better suited to the smallholder.

[Trinity]

What you shouldn't underestimate is the difference that amaranths and quinoa have in releasing seeds. Whereas wheat, barley, etc... are bred to hold their seeds well (and therefore need machinery or hard work to thresh,) these grains are easy to separate. So much better suited to the smallholder.

Sounds like a real blessing. We'd like to grow something grain linke and were a little put off by all the threshing that would be involved with the regular grains. Thanks for sharing.

[ina]

Sounds like a real blessing. We'd like to grow something grain linke and were a little put off by all the threshing that would be involved with the regular grains. Thanks for sharing.

It can also be a problem - if they release their grain before you can actually get round to harvesting it... In that case you'll be feeding a lot of birds.

[Trinity]

It can also be a problem - if they release their grain before you can actually get round to harvesting it... In that case you'll be feeding a lot of birds.

Seems like there's always something to keep us on our toes!!! Ahhhh!

[ina]

Who said the world is perfect?

[Carolinamandolina]

Hey quinoa growing people, how did it work out for you? How much grain can you get per plant? How much hassle is it to separate them? What about amaranth?

I'm starting up a community veg growing project and am gonna plant loads of both in the spring...trying to help normalise the idea of growing grain on a garden scale and moving away from big monoculture farming

[ina]

Do you, by any chance, have something to do with the Fife Diet? Just read they are doing a quinoa trial...

[eccentric_emma]

I grew Rainbow Quinoa last year using seeds from Real Seeds and it was brilliant. Don't know exact quantities but about a couple of meals worth from about 10 plants. The plants didn't take up huge amounts of space either, they just grow tall but seemed to do ok when squashed together. Very pretty too!

[Carolinamandolina]

No I'm not involved with the Fife diet people.

When you harvest the grain, is that it for the plant or does more grain grow back? I'm just thinking you'd have to grow loads and loads of them to have a decent amount of grain..

[ina]

No I'm not involved with the Fife diet people.

When you harvest the grain, is that it for the plant or does more grain grow back? I'm just thinking you'd have to grow loads and loads of them to have a decent amount of grain..

They are annuals - so yes, that's it for the plant. This is from a Canadian site - the best information I've found so far on growing quinoa (and amaranth, which is similar):

Yields. An ounce or two of seed per plant is common but you can easily get over six ounces per plant grown in your best compost. Normal commercial yields for amaranth and quinoa are 1200 to 2000 pounds (500-900 kg) per acre. Agricultural combines are still being adapted to the lightness of the seed, and full harvest potential is yet to be realized. Much higher results are obtained from labour-intensive harvesting: yields of over 5,000 pounds per acre have been reported from Central and South America.

http://www.saltspringseeds.com/scoop/powerfood.htm

Personally , I wouldn't bother with it, as my garden is only small, and I think better used for other stuff. But if you have a large garden, it should be interesting! Didn't know you could eat the greens as well, so a double-use plant is doubly useful!