Growing amaranth in your backyard is surprisingly easy! Depending on where you live, you might want to give your seeds a head start indoors, though direct sowing works great too. One of the coolest things about amaranth is how productive it is—just a single plant can provide a massive harvest, so you really don’t need a huge plot to get a great yield.
Starting Seeds Indoors (March)
If you live in a cooler climate with a short growing season, I definitely recommend starting your seeds indoors around March. A mini indoor greenhouse is perfect for this. Just scatter the seeds and cover them with a light dusting of soil—about half an inch (1 cm) is plenty, as you don’t want to bury them too deep.
Give them a quick misting and pop the lid on. Keep them somewhere warm, ideally between 60°F and 70°F (15° – 20°C). You’ll start seeing those cute little cotyledons (seed leaves) popping up in about a week or two. Hold off on thinning them out until they’ve grown their first set of “true” leaves. Once the danger of frost has passed in May, they’re ready to head out to the garden!
Direct Sowing (Late April)
If you prefer to skip the seed trays, you can sow amaranth directly into the ground. You’ll want to wait until late April or early May when the soil has warmed up and frost is unlikely. If it’s still a bit chilly, tossing a garden fleece or row cover over the area for the first few weeks can really help.
How to sow:
- Loosen up the soil
- Create shallow rows about half an inch deep
- Sow the seeds (try not to crowd them!)
- Cover lightly with soil
- Give them a gentle water
When watering, use a light touch so you don’t wash the seeds away. You want to keep the soil consistently moist but not soggy during the germination phase. Also, keep a close eye on weeds—young amaranth doesn’t like the competition, so keep the area tidy so they can thrive.
Giving Them Room to Grow
Don’t underestimate these guys! Amaranth can tower up to six feet tall and spread out at least 20 inches wide. It’s hard to get the spacing perfect when you’re first sowing seeds outdoors, so you’ll likely need to thin them out once they’re established.
In the garden, you can wait a bit longer to thin them than you would indoors. If they only have one pair of leaves, they might be a bit too fragile to move. I usually wait until the young plants are about 4 to 6 inches tall before transplanting them to their final, permanent spots.
