Garden Wisdom Blog — quinoa

All homegrown vegetables are nutritious. The fact that you can eat them fresh, just after they have been harvested, means that they will be at the peak of both flavour and nutrient value. But among the many food plants you can grow at home are a handful of homegrown super foods, plants that contain significantly high nutrients or boast other health benefits. Here is our easy to grow super foods list. Quinoa This ancient grain crop is grown primarily for the abundant seeds it produces at the end of summer. It’s an easy crop to grow, and quite attractive looking....

Every fall people ask us how to harvest quinoa. These tall plants produce masses of seeds, each seed resulting from the pollination of a single flower in their beautiful inflorescences (flower clusters). When the seeds are fully ripe and ready for harvest, they will fall out of the seed head easily. If part of the seed head is grasped in hand, the hard little seeds should easily dislodge. There will be seasons when cold, wet weather, threatens the harvest. If such weather is looming, simply cut the seed stalks about 15cm (6″) below the start of the seed head, and...