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Harvesting & Storing

How to Harvest Amaranth: Grain and Leaves From One Plant

Amaranth gives leaves all season and grain at the end. Harvest seed when it shakes loose, dry it fully, and never let the heads get rained on standing.

By Salma 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
Amaranthus cruentus
Photo: SAplants, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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One amaranth planting gives you two crops: leaves all season, grain at the end. The grain is the part people get wrong, and the error is almost always moisture — either rain on standing heads or storing seed before it is properly dry.

Leaves first

In much of the world amaranth is grown for leaves, not seed, and they are the more practical return in a small garden.

  • From about six weeks, take young outer leaves
  • No more than a third of the plant at once
  • Leave the central growing tip — it keeps both the leaves and the eventual seed head coming

They cook like spinach but sturdier, holding their texture under heat rather than collapsing.

Knowing when the grain is ready

Two signals, then one test.

Signals: the flower heads lose their bright colour and start to dry and fade; the lower leaves begin to yellow.

The test: rub or shake a head over your palm. If seed falls freely, it is ready. This beats judging by date or appearance, both of which mislead because varieties fade at different rates.

Do not let ripe heads sit through rain

Ripe amaranth left standing in wet weather sprouts in the head or goes mouldy, and either ruins the grain.

If the seed shakes loose and rain is forecast, cut now. Finishing the drying under cover is always safer than leaving it another week on the plant for a little more fill.

Cutting and drying

Hold a bag under each head as you cut it. This sounds fussy and is not — ripe amaranth sheds seed at a touch, and a careless harvest leaves most of the crop on the soil.

Then one to two weeks drying: heads spread on a tarpaulin or hung in paper bags somewhere dry and airy.

Do not rush this. Everything that follows depends on it.

Threshing and cleaning

StepHow
ThreshRub heads between your hands, or tread gently on a tarpaulin
SieveFine mesh to hold back stalk. Two passes, two mesh sizes
WinnowPour between containers in a breeze or before a fan

Amaranth seed is very small — much smaller than millet or barley — so the sieve mesh matters more here than with other grains, and a single pass rarely gets it clean.

Storing

Seed should be hard enough to shatter rather than squash between your fingernails. If it squashes, it goes back to dry.

Airtight jar, cool and dark. Keep a portion aside as next year’s sowing seed.

Mouldy stored amaranth is nearly always one of two things: seed sealed away slightly damp, or heads that caught rain before cutting. The seed is small enough to hold moisture you cannot feel.

On yield, and on volunteers

A large well-grown plant gives roughly half a cup to a cup of cleaned seed. A short garden row is enough for occasional use, not a staple.

And amaranth self-seeds readily — a single head carries thousands of seeds. Decide in advance: either let the volunteers come up and thin them, or cut every head before it sheds. Grain amaranths are less aggressive than wild pigweed, but the habit is the same.

Step by step

Time
P14D
Cost
0
You need
A mature amaranth planting, Paper bags or a tarpaulin
Tools
Secateurs or a sickle, Fine sieve, Fan for winnowing

  1. Pick leaves from the bottom up all season

    Take young outer leaves from about six weeks on, no more than a third of the plant at a time. Leaving the growing tip intact keeps both the leaf supply and the eventual seed head coming.

  2. Watch the flower heads change colour

    Grain is approaching when the heads lose their bright colour and begin to dry and fade. The plant itself often starts yellowing from the lower leaves at the same time.

  3. Test by shaking a head over your palm

    Rub or shake a head gently. If seed falls freely, it is ready. This is the single reliable test, and it beats judging by date or by appearance alone.

  4. Harvest before heavy rain, not after

    Ripe heads left standing through rain sprout in place or go mouldy, which ruins the grain. If rain is forecast and the seed shakes loose, cut now.

  5. Cut whole heads into a bag

    Hold a paper bag or bucket under each head as you cut, because ripe amaranth sheds seed freely and most of a harvest can end up on the soil.

  6. Dry the heads for one to two weeks

    Spread them on a tarpaulin or hang them in paper bags somewhere dry and airy. Seed that goes into storage damp will mould, and amaranth seed is small enough to hide moisture well.

  7. Thresh by rubbing over a tarpaulin

    Rub the dried heads between your hands or tread them gently on a sheet. The seed separates easily once properly dry, which is why the drying step cannot be rushed.

  8. Sieve out the coarse chaff

    Pass everything through a fine sieve that holds back stalk fragments and lets the small seed through. Two passes with different mesh sizes work better than one.

  9. Winnow in a breeze or in front of a fan

    Pour the seed slowly between two containers in moving air. The light chaff blows away and the heavier grain falls. Repeat until the seed looks clean.

  10. Store airtight once fully dry

    Seed should feel hard and shatter rather than squash. Store in a sealed jar somewhere cool and dark, and keep a portion separately as next year's sowing seed.

Common questions

When is amaranth ready to harvest?

For grain, when the flower heads have faded from their bright colour and begun to dry, usually accompanied by the lower leaves yellowing. The reliable test is physical rather than visual: rub or shake a head over your palm, and if seed falls freely it is ready. Leaves can be picked from about six weeks after sowing and all the way through the season, taking young outer leaves and leaving the growing tip intact.

How do you thresh amaranth seed by hand?

Dry the cut heads for one to two weeks somewhere airy, then rub them between your hands or tread them gently over a tarpaulin — properly dried heads release the seed easily. Sieve the result to hold back stalk fragments, ideally in two passes with different mesh sizes, then winnow by pouring the seed between containers in a breeze or in front of a fan so the light chaff blows away. Amaranth seed is very small, so a fine sieve matters more than it does for larger grains.

Can you eat amaranth leaves as well as the grain?

Yes, and in much of the world the leaves are the main crop rather than the seed. They cook like spinach, with a milder flavour and a sturdier texture that holds up better to heat. Pick young outer leaves from around six weeks, taking no more than a third of the plant at once and leaving the central growing point alone, and a single planting supplies greens all season and still produces a seed head at the end.

How much grain does one amaranth plant produce?

Commonly a half to a full cup of cleaned seed from a large well-grown plant, though this varies widely with variety, spacing and season length. A small garden row gives enough for occasional use rather than a staple supply. That is worth knowing before scaling expectations: most home growers find the leaves the more practical return and treat the grain as a bonus at the end of the season.

Why did my amaranth seed go mouldy?

Almost always because it was stored before it was fully dry, or because ripe heads were left standing through rain. Amaranth seed is small enough to retain moisture that is not obvious to the touch, and a jar of slightly damp seed moulds within weeks. Dry cut heads for one to two weeks in airy conditions, and check that the seed is hard enough to shatter rather than squash before sealing it away.

Will amaranth self-seed in the garden?

Readily, and it is worth deciding in advance whether you want that. A single head carries thousands of seeds and ripe plants shed freely, so volunteers appear across the bed the following spring. Some growers rely on this and simply thin the seedlings; others cut every head before it sheds. Grain amaranths are less aggressive than the wild pigweed species, but the tendency is the same.

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