Every year, in late spring, when the soil has sufficient moisture and warms up to just the right temperature, pigweed season begins on my farm. They start as almost invisible, innocuous-looking red seedlings, but if left alone for a week or two, they form a dense mat of vegetation.

Of course, the whole farm isn’t infested. We do our best to keep it in check, with cultivation, cover crops, shallow tillage after a weed sprout, and summer fallowed beds. But, to be honest, we spend a great deal of time hand weeding, pulling up countless small, medium, and large red root pigweed. A single plant left to mature can produce 100,000 seeds, and I’ve heard, though haven’t been able to verify, that seeds are viable for over a decade in the soil. Even if we hadn’t let a single plant go to seed in the last 5 years, we would still have a sizable population. Pigweed season is not my favorite time of year. We always tell newcomers that it’s finite. By August the seeds aren’t germinating, and the first fall frost kills any survivors.

During the dreaded season last year, with plenty of time to contemplate, I started to think about the weed in a broader context, as part of the amaranth family. I decided to do some research, with the idea that knowing the enemy could help me overcome its superior power. I’ve been aware of various positive aspects of the amaranth family for some time. Fifteen years ago, when a local Laotian woman worked here, I learned that pigweed plants, if picked young, make tasty greens. She gathered them by the grocery bag full, reminiscing about doing the same in her home country. A few years ago, a friend gave me some plants she called Love Lies Bleeding. I’d heard this colorful Victorian name, and seen pictures of the plants in seed catalogs, but had never grown it before. So I potted up the plants (officially Amaranthus caudatus) and placed them in front of the house facing the road. When they bloomed in summer, people stopped their cars to ask what the plant with the gorgeous trailing red plumes was called, and did I have any for sale. On a trip to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, in the children’s garden, I saw elephant head amaranth (A. gangeticus) in full bloom. The huge, deep burgundy flower heads, complete with trunk, (though missing tusks), impressed me so much that I grew Elephant’s Head in my own garden, with spectacular results.

Trying to achieve a balanced and objective approach, I began my research on amaranth. The local library had only one book devoted to the topic, Amaranth, from the past, for the future, by John N. Cole, published in 1979 by Rodale Press. The book was very readable, and full of fascinating facts. I already knew that amaranth is an incredibly tough survivor of a plant. After reading this book, I am now convinced that it is also an amazingly nutritious, versatile, valuable, and underutilized plant. The name amaranth means “immortal…not withering” and it lives up to its name. Identifiable traces of amaranth grain were found in caves in the state of Vera Cruz, Mexico, dating back 8,000 years. It was a staple of the ancient Mayans and was widely grown by the Aztecs when Cortez invaded in the 16th century. The Aztecs popped the grain, mixed it with sweet syrup, and molded the dough into idols. Red dye made from amaranth flowers was used to decorate them. The idols were “sacrificed” and eaten. Possibly because the Aztecs believed that amaranth had magical properties, Cortez decided the crop should be eradicated. Along with countless human lives and an entire civilization, ten thousand acres of amaranth were destroyed. Today, in some traditional villages in Mexico, the same confection is made from popped amaranth. It is called “alegria”, or happy. The tradition of preparing amaranth has survived, though the culture that domesticated it is long gone. It is not known when amaranth was introduced to the east, but it is clear that it has been established in many parts of Asia for centuries, at least. It is used both as a grain and as a leafy green crop.

In China, and in India, sweets made from popped amaranth are eaten on festival days. It is even grown in the foothills of the Himalayas, at elevations over 6,000 feet. Today, it is a common green in the kitchen gardens of many African countries, tropical Asia, and the South Pacific. India leads the world in the number of varieties cultivated. Depending on the region, it is used for baking bread, for making gruel, for cooked greens, or as a high-protein chicken feed. Nutritionally, amaranth surpasses its rivals in both the grain and greens department. The three varieties grown for high yields of white-seeded grains are Amaranthus caudatus, A. cruentus, and A. hypochondriachus. (On a side note, I haven’t been able to find the connection between the modern word hypochondriac, and the name of the amaranth variety. One of Webster’s definitions of hypochondria is “the upper abdomen”, and I did read that in Mexico, amaranth is used for treating stomach ailments.) Grain amaranth has more protein than soybeans. Unlike most grains, it contains the amino acid lysine, so the protein is more complete. Amaranth greens (amaranthus tricolor) are very high in vitamin and mineral content, as well as protein. In both forms, amaranth is extremely efficient at processing sunlight. It uses less water and grows faster than the vast majority of plants in the world. In tropical climates, four leaf harvests can be done on one crop in three months, and the annual yield of protein per acre has the potential to be higher than for any other crop. It is also extremely efficient in seed production.

The seeds of one plant can be used to sow 2 acres. Multiply that out, and you can figure that 1 acre devoted to seed production will plant 20,000 acres! Add to all this that it can be grown well in small plots on marginal land. Amaranth is currently widely grown and accepted in many countries where malnutrition is a problem.If the production of amaranth, and crops like it, were promoted as part of the solution to world hunger, instead of the highly manipulated, patentable varieties that large corporations are pushing onto the market, the world would be a better place. Amaranth also deserves more of a place on small farms in this country. Besides the nutritional superiority of amaranth greens, they are also very well suited to the hot summers that we experience in most parts of North America. Amaranth greens are bolt resistant, non-bitter, easy to clean because of upright growth, low in oxalic acid, and in taste tests conducted by the Rodale Institute, were preferred by many over spinach.It may not catch on quickly, but I think that health conscious consumers will learn to love these greens. As ornamental plants, what could be easier to grow and more colorful? Amaranth enjoyed great popularity in Victorian gardens and vases. It went out of fashion and for many years was considered coarse and tacky by flower snobs. But it is experiencing a comeback. In this spring’s White Flower Farm catalog, I was delighted to see that A. tricolor “Early Splendor” is glowingly described and photographed.

What until recently was considered a lowly weed is now selling for over $5 a pot! We are growing four of my favorite amaranths for plant sales this spring, and two varieties, ‘Hopi Red Dye’ and ‘Giant Copperhead’ for cut flower sales. Our CSA and Farmers Market customers will, I hope, learn to appreciate the flavor of both red and green leaf amaranth. I’m excited about growing more varieties of this wonderful plant, but I’m most excited about another new development.

We will be adding another weapon to our arsenal against the overabundant amaranth cousin, pigweed. It’s time to start using a flame weeder. We are developing plans for a customized, belly-mounted flame weeder which will blast compressed air on the beds in advance of the flamers. The hope is that the force of the air will shoo away the beneficial insects we’ve tried so hard to nurture, and they will survive the inferno. Using the flame weeder after seeding, especially on the beds planted to slow germinating crops like carrots and parsnips, should save hours of in-row hand weeding. Amaranth season will be different this year.