Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India by Pritham 'Metal Farmer' D'Souza

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

• Please check to my earlier posts where i have shown how to make the grow tubs and the techniques and practices involved before starting.
  
• Amaranthus seeds are very small and so have to be gently sprinkled. A pinch or two of seeds is sufficient
• Germination is observed in 2 days
  

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

• lush growth seen in 10 days
• Watering with nutrients should be done once a day, if temperatures are extremely hot, one can move the tub under a shade net or irrigate twice daily.

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

• Lush green growth seen after 21 days. In field conditions Amaranthus is harvested between 20 to 30 days after sowing.

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

• Harvesting is done by uprooting the entire plant as the whole plant is edible.
  
• Here we encourage stem cuttings keeping the stem 3 to 6 inches above the surface
• This allows lateral shoots to grow so harvesting can be done more number of times

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

• Harvesting young plants is preferred since the stem and leaves are very succulent and juicy, however its more of a personal preference. Here the Amaranth variety used is 'Bangladesh' and even the older taller plants are as succulent as the young tender ones.

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

• One plant kept for seed production. Here u can see the formation of the Inflorescence.
  

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

• Appearance of more flower buds

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

• Seed Buds seen. The inflorescence is cut off from the plant, sun dried and threshed to get the seeds which are black, smooth and round.
  

From Growing Amaranthus leafy Vegetable using Simplified Hydroponics in Mangalore, India

• Photo of plant kept for seed production to be re used in Simplified Hydroponics

View the Slide Show here


All Images and Data by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza