Quinoa

[Odsox]

I grew Quinoa for the first time this year and I am reasonably pleased with it, given the less than ideal summer weather.
I grew just 5 plants and last week noticed that there was a sprinkling of seeds on the ground under each plant, so thought it must be time to harvest.
I cut the whole plant and left them on an old sheet in the spare bedroom for a week to wilt, then Sunday I rubbed the seed heads and released all the grain.
Then washed the grain many times, floating off the rubbish to start with and then in a sieve under a running tap to get the dusty bits out. Then dried on muslin sheets in the sun.
I ended up with about 300 grams of grain, which in our house is about 7 servings.

I'm not sure if that's a good return or not.
I planted them in two different places, 3 were close to the garage wall and 2 were at the end of the sweetcorn block. The ones by the wall suffered a lot from the wind, getting backwash which ever way the wind was blowing. Subsequently they ended up only half the size of the other two which made huge plants that had to be staked as the were so top heavy.
Other than planting them and weeding once, the only labour involved was the harvesting.
All in all, I will probably grow them again next year, but I will pay more attention to where I plant them (and pray for a better summer)

[Thomzo]

Hi
That's interesting. Can I ask where you got your seed from as I'm thinking of trying some next year.
Cheers
Zoe

[Odsox]

Hi
That's interesting. Can I ask where you got your seed from as I'm thinking of trying some next year.
Cheers
Zoe

Yes, I got them from The Real Seed Company at http://www.realseeds.co.uk/grains.html
Once you have grown one lot of course you can save a dozen of your own seeds for the following year.

[Thomzo]

Cool, thanks

Zoe

[contadino]

That's a lot better than my attempt. I planted them in March, and thought I'd struck lucky as it rained just I put them in. 5x20m rows germinated, but then we had no rain until June so they all snuffed it.

I'm going to try another batch in the next few days, and see how they fare in winter.

My seeds came from a health food shop. I think so long as they're organic, they should work.

[Bluemoon]

I bought my seeds from Suffolk Herbs. They germinated well, but then were munched by slugs and I lost the lot. I still have plenty of seeds left so will try again next year. I didn't know they could be overwintered. I too grew them beside the sweetcorn.

[Odsox]

My seeds came from a health food shop. I think so long as they're organic, they should work

Probably OK in Italy, but I would think that quinoa in health food shops is imported from lot warmer countries that of northern Europe.
Seed bought is usually bred for the area in which it's sold, giving you a better chance of success in less than favourable summers.

[contadino]

The seeds came from a health food shop in the UK. There's no way on earth it would be available around here.

Like you say, the seeds were viable but whether they were the best strain is another matter.

[Thomzo]

Well I've just put in an order with the Real Sead Co so I'm keeping my fingers crossed they germinate.

Zoe

[eccentric_emma]

My best plants this year have been Rainbow Quinoa from the Real Seed Company. pretty much all of them germinated and survived and the seed is almost ready. They are very pretty too! Currently they are varying shades of orange and red. Will try and work out how much yield I get when I harvest (any day now)

I did find they could have done with a bit of staking as it was very windy and some of them have bent over somewhat. However the ones I planted out pretty early have done very well despite being in a very open area.

[Thomzo]

My best plants this year have been Rainbow Quinoa from the Real Seed Company. pretty much all of them germinated and survived and the seed is almost ready. They are very pretty too! Currently they are varying shades of orange and red. Will try and work out how much yield I get when I harvest (any day now)

I did find they could have done with a bit of staking as it was very windy and some of them have bent over somewhat. However the ones I planted out pretty early have done very well despite being in a very open area.

Oh, that's really interesting as those are those ones I ordered. They look so pretty in the picture.

Cheers
Zoe

[eccentric_emma]

yes they are very very pretty indeed!