Red Garnet Amaranth Microgreens stands out with its beautiful and intense red and purple color! These small and delicate microgreens don’t grow tall, but they will make your dishes unique and add you a sweet taste!
What Are Red Garnet Amaranth Microgreens?
It belongs to the Amaranth tricolor species and it’s the most vibrant in the color of any microgreen! They are young, tiny, edible greens that are typically harvested within 14-18 days of sowing. They don’t grow very high but maintain an average of 5-7 centimeters in length.
| Growing period | 14-18 days |
| Flavor | Mild & Sweet |
| Growing difficulty | Medium |
| Buy seeds | Amaranth seeds from True Leaf Market Amaranth seeds from Amazon |
Description
Amaranth has been around for ages. It’s known to have been farmed by the Aztecs in Mexico about 6,000-8,000 years ago. They used it not only to eat the leaves, which was an essential part of their diet, but they also used the grains to build statues of worship.
The full-grown plant grows tall and has leaves that are red and green and have purple veins. It brings flowers in bright shades of red, gold, and purple. The beauty cannot pass anyone!
Everything on the plant is edible; the leaves, flowers, and seeds.
It’s just in the recent century the plant got introduced to the rest of the world. We only have to go back to the 1970s when it was first cultivated in the US.
General Nutrition & Benefits
Amaranth is filled with goodness and known as a superfood. This gluten-free and low-calory microgreen contains vitamins A, B, C, and E. To top this, it’s also rich in protein, iron, copper, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and manganese.
RELATED: The Most Nutritious Microgreens to Grow and Eat
How to Grow Amaranth Microgreens
The estimated growth time is in total around 14-18 days. You don’t need to soak your seeds before you plant them. They are tiny light seeds that will grow to become vibrant red and purple microgreens!
| Growing timeline (estimated) | |
|---|---|
| Presoak | No |
| Preferred medium | Soilless/Hydroponic |
| Avg. seed weight (10/20 tray) | 15 grams |
| Germination period (blackout) | Day 1-5 |
| Growth time (sunlight) | Day 6-13 |
| Harvest | Day 14-18 |
Amaranth is best grown using a soilless medium, ideally, a grow mat. When you use a growing mat, you can easily lift your tray or other forms of a container, to look and ensure the roots stay healthy.
One tablespoon of seeds (15g) is enough for a 10/20 tray. A great tip is to start by misting your medium before you evenly spread your seeds. It allows the growing mat to flatten out and helps the seeds to stick well. Avoid clumping your seeds. It will give you an even, nice, and healthy growth. To finish off you give them a bit more moisture to help the germination to kick-off.
Place a top tray on top of the other one to create the darkness they need to germinate. The Amaranth seed will show a small white circle on the first days, and that’s an indication that it has started to germinate.
Continue to water your seeds using a spray bottle for another day or two. When the seeds have started to grow, and you can see the red color coming out, you are ready to remove the top tray and take them out from the dark and into the light.
You only need to add water to the bottom tray once the seeds have started to grow roots. The roots are bright white. Make sure you don’t overwater it.
Once you remove the microgreens out in the sun, be aware that the stems will more or less stay at this length.
You are ready to harvest when the true leaves come out. As they don’t grow high, you need to keep an eye on the leaves to see when they are ready for harvest.
Use a sharp knife or a good pair of scissors, what you have available at hand! Cut them just above the medium. Your result will be amazing red and purple microgreens!
Culinary Guiding
Amaranth is due to its red-colored stem popular to use as a garnish. As they are crisp and tender, with a mild and sweet taste, so you can add them to most dishes. They are best used raw and goes well with salmon or pasta, placed in sandwiches, and mixed into green salads.
