Here is another crop that seems to be growing faster than I can possibly eat; my Edible Red Leaf Amaranth.
Growing Edible Red Leaf Amaranth in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week 5
Until a few weeks ago I don’t think I have ever eaten Amaranth. Supposedly it goes great in stir-fries and sautés, but I haven’t tried it like that yet; instead I have been eating them fresh as a lettuce substitute. The leaves have the same texture of a very tender lettuce leaf, like a baby lettuce leaf, with a very subtle spinach taste. The older leaves do tend to get a bit more crispy with a slightly stronger spinach taste. They are super delicious! So good that I have been picking leaves off every time I walk past just to nibble on.
Growing Edible Red Leaf Amaranth in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week 5
The leaves are about the same size of many lettuces, if not even larger. I tend to harvest when they get to be about the size of my hand… but they have definitely grown much larger if you leave them.
It’s growing so well that even when I make a cutting new sprouts are starting to emerge from the cut sites. On top of that its growing taller daily!
Growing Edible Red Leaf Amaranth in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week 5
The amaranth is a very prolific grower. A lettuce just grows taller, so a cut-and-come continual harvest can be matched. This amaranth is easily putting out two to three times the amount of leaves…
I have five plants growing, and its out-growing how much my husband and I can eat (even when we are picking at it every day and having green smoothies just to try and not be wasteful…). I think I am going to be giving away some cuttings over the next couple weeks…. If you want a plant that grows well, then I really suggest growing your own amaranth.
Have you grown amaranth? Was it for the leaves or the seeds or the grains? Let me know in the comments below!
It’s been three weeks since I planted my Amaranth seeds. I’ve watched them germinate and grow. And I have loved every minute of it.
Edible Red Leaf Amaranth Grown In Kratky Hydroponics Container, Week 3
The amaranth is getting quite big. This week saw the leaves doubling in size. Compare this to week 2 (they were under a different grow light in the following photo).
Edible Red Leaf Amaranth Grown In Kratky Hydroponics Container, Week 2
The largest leaves are now about the size of my palm. A bit too small to start harvesting if you want to do a continual harvesting method. Maybe next week.
Edible Red Leaf Amaranth Grown In Kratky Hydroponics Container, Week 3
I love the colors that are developing on the leaves. The red is a lot less red than I expected; from the top the leaves look like a dark purple or burgundy hue. When you view them from underneath however, they are a very vivid blood red.
Edible Red Leaf Amaranth Grown In Kratky Hydroponics Container, Week 3
Have you grown amaranth before? Did you eat it in salads, or prefer to use it medicinally? Let me know in the comments below.
Amaranth is another plant that I have been very excited to try; I don’t think I have eaten it before. (Hang on, aren’t I excited about all my plants? Yes, yes I am.)…
Growing Edible Red Leaf Amaranth in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week 4
My Amaranth is now at the stage where I really need to start harvesting it. Since it was my first time growing it I wanted to see just how large Amaranth would grow, and the problem is that it’s now growing too big for my buckets. The leaves are now starting to fight each other for space and crowd out the younger emerging leaves.
Growing Edible Red Leaf Amaranth in Kratky Hydroponics – Update: Week 4
The leaves are no laughing matter – they are absolutely massive! I didn’t expect them to get this large, honestly. In the above picture I was stretching my fingers out as wide as possible, and you could just see my fingertips. No wonder they are starting to get crowded.
Have you grown Amaranth before? Whats your favourite way to eat it? Let me know in the comments below.
I’ve never eaten Amaranth before, but it has so many health benefits that I thought I would try it out:
It is an appetite suppressant; what better way to manage weight than just to not be as hungry and eat smaller portions?
The leaves are high in vitamin C, vitamin A and folate. It has twice the calcium as milk!
It contains essential Lysine which can help your body absorb calcium, and is great for hair development. Apparently it can help soften and smooth hair, especially grey hairs.
It’s now been 2 weeks since I planted my seeds into their Kratky hydroponics bucket. Sorry I forgot to do a week 1 update…
Edible Red Leaf Amaranth Grown In Kratky Hydroponics Container, Week 2
Here is my Amaranth growing in their kratky bucket. They are under a rather yellow LED grow light, so unfortunately all the photos are rather yellow. I may replace this light eventually, but its also quite good as growing seedlings under as its not all that strong.
Edible Red Leaf Amaranth Grown In Kratky Hydroponics Container, Week 2
Unlike my Kale and Swiss Chard that were started in rock wool, these Amaranth were started in the Aerogarden Bounty with Jiffy 36mm Peat Pellets. Once they were about a week old I transplanted them to the cloning collars. These seedlings are now completely soilless or rockless!
Edible Red Leaf Amaranth Grown In Kratky Hydroponics Container, Week 2
I really love the coloring that is developing on the leaves. On the tops of the leaves the color is closer to a purple or maroon, whilst the underside of the leaf seems to grow a very vidid red. It’s absolutely gorgeous!
Edible Red Leaf Amaranth Grown In Kratky Hydroponics Container, Week 2
Have you eaten amaranth before? How would you describe the taste?
A bit over a week ago I planted some spinach seeds, and sadly they didn’t germinate. I began a bit of research as to why. Despite my spinach varieties being hardy to warm weather, they still need cooler soil to germinate! The adult growth stage can handle warmer temperatures but the seedlings are too vulnerable still.
I began to wonder what I could grow with my current temperatures. It’ll also be handy to know the minimum temperatures for when the seasons change.
Whilst my plants aren’t being planted in soil, instead hydroponic is usually planted in rock wool or peat moss, the germination temperature should theoretically remain the same.
Optimal °F
Optimal °C
Amaranth, Red Leaf
68-75
20-24
Basil, Purple Petra
65–85
18-30
Basil, Genovese
70 – 90
21 – 32
Broccoli
45 -85
7-29
Cilantro
55-70
13-21
Cucumber, Lemon
70–90
21-32
Kale, Nero Toscana
65–85
18-30
Lettuce, Little Gem (Romaine)
40-75
5 – 24
Lettuce, New Red Fire
60–70
16-21
Lettuce, Red Sails
60–70
16-21
Lettuce, Red Salad Bowl
50-72
10-22
Pepper, Cayenne
65-95
18-35
Pepper, Jalapeño
65-95
18-35
Spinach, Matador
50–75
10-24
Spinach, Lavewa
50–75
10-24
Spring Onion
68-77
20-25
Swiss Chard, Bright Lights
75–90
24-32
Swiss Chard, Lyon
50 – 75
10 – 24
Taisai, Pak Choy
50- 80
10 – 27
Tomato, Marmande VR
60 – 70
15 – 20
Tomato (Cherry), Supersweet 100 FT
75 -90
21-32
Tomato, Sam Marzano
70–90
21-32
I measured my Aerogarden water and it’s hitting a maximum of 85°F (30°C)! No wonder my spinach never sprouted, its ideal temperature is 50-75°F (10-24°C). Its just way too hot for them.
I’ll have to wait a while for the weather to get a bit cooler before I can sprout spinach; in the meantime I can try growing some Bright Lights Swiss Chard and Nero Toscana Kale.
Bright Lights Swiss Chard, Image Courtesy of Botanical Interests
Nero Toscana Kale, Image Courtesy of Botanical Interets
I’d like to figure out how fast I can expect my plants to grow. Most seed packets and websites tell you how fast seeds grow assuming you are using soil, But hydroponics can grow up to 50% faster!
I doubt very much that my first hydroponic plants will grow 50% faster, however that doesn’t mean that I couldn’t expect to start harvesting from roughly that time onwards. You rarely need to wait until the plant reaches full maturity before you can harvest; just pull off leaves as needed and let the plant keep growing. I added “Potential Maturity” to the table below, but realistically that’s when I suspect I may be able to get my first harvest.
Earlier in the week I announced that we were hoping to grow the following vegetables and fruits in our Kratky hydroponic tubs:
I’d really to have some plants growing, or even harvestable, by late September/early October. Thats approximately 50-60 days from now. We have space for 2 large plants, along with at least 3 smaller plants and maximum of 5 plants.
San Marzano Tomato Artwork, Courtesy of Botanical Interests
The San Marzano Tomatoes are planned as a permanent setup, so these will take priority in one of the largest plant spaces. This tomato plant will be approximately 5-6 feet (1.5-1.8m) in height!
Lemon Cucumber Artwork, Courtesy of Botanical Interests
Whilst not quite as large as the tomatoes, the Lemon Cucumbers will stand about 3-4 feet (0.9-1.2m) in height. This will fill my second large grow area.
Lavewa Spinach Artwork, Courtesy of Botanical Interests
Matador Spinch Artwork, Courtesy of Botanical Interests
There are debates online about which spinach is “better”; matador apparently grows better in many conditions, but the Lavewa looks prettier and is slightly tastier. We want to test both of these spinaches side by side. They grow at the same rate, so we will test both the Lavewa Spinach and the Matador Spinach together.
Amaranth Artwork, Courtesy of Botanical Interests
I want to stagger the harvesting of my plants; I don’t want all my fresh leaf plants to mature at the same time, and then go one to two months with little food. So I have decided that I will start the Amaranth as well for this first hydroponic growth cycle. Granted, with its growth speed, I may be able to grow two batches of spinach by the time it reaches full maturity.
New Red Fire Lettuce Artwork, Courtesy of Botanical Interests
Swiss Chard Bright Lights Artwork, Courtesy of Botanical Interests
If I can fit anymore plants in my grow area I will add the Swiss Chard and the New Red Fire Lettuce.
What about you?
What are you growing this season? Did you calculate how long it takes to grow? Did you have to plan around seasons and temperature outdoors? Let me know what you’re growing!
After researching a bit, and probably jumping into the water too fast when it comes to buying products like grow lights, I have purchased some seeds to grow in my Krakty hydroponic room setup.
Buying seeds was a specific hassle in Kuwait; the very few and limited stores that sold seeds only sold the very common varieties. Think Beefsteak tomatoes; the probably most common tomato you can find at any supermarket. Since such tomatoes are so easy to buy, I want to grow something more unique.
In fact, we even found a nursery selling seeds with the giant warning label on the back: “Warning. Treated with poison. Do not consume or grow food products from these.” What?!
In the end we found a company called Sustainable Organic Q8 that seems to import from reliable producers.
They delivered within 48 hours. We have been very happy with the brand of seeds that Sustainable Organic Q8 sells; which is Botanical Interest. They contain a lot of seeds in the pack, and they so far have a really high germination rate (for me its 100%).
Update – 24th August 2019: We found another Kuwait website selling seeds called My Organic World, though the website is all in Arabic (use Chrome web browser for auto-translate to browse in English). We bought from them, and they delivered within 24 hours! Unfortunately they sold brands Sperli and Kiepenkerl which consensus online says they can be quite expensive compared to competitors. One of the packs we bought only had 5 seeds in it! Not a reflection of My Organic World, but the seed producers themselves.
Update – 31st August 2019: Another Kuwaiti website selling seeds called PlantNMore. though the website is all in Arabic (use Chrome web browser for auto-translate to browse in English). I haven’t bought from this company yet.
Do you know anywhere else in Kuwait to buy seeds? Please let us know in the comments.
