Leaf Amaranth

Sowing: Leaf amaranth is sown outdoors in late spring or early summer once the soil has warmed, either broadcast or set about 1 inch apart at an eighth to a quarter inch deep, then thinned to 3 to 6 inches apart; seed germinates fastest in soil above 68°F and can fail below 50°F. For an earlier crop, seedlings can be started indoors and moved out after the last frost, but transplanting should happen while plants are still young, since a delay can trigger premature flowering or limpness.

Care: The plant grows best in full sun and tolerates low-fertility soil, though it does best in light, fertile, well-drained ground, thriving between 70°F and 85°F and tolerating heat well. Regular, even watering helps prevent wilting, since a severe water shortage can push plants into early flowering and reduce yield. Because plants can reach up to five feet tall, taller growth may need staking, and nitrogen fertilizer should be avoided since the leaves can accumulate excess nitrates.

Leaf amaranth is prone to root rot when soil stays waterlogged from overirrigation, so growers are advised to water evenly rather than letting moisture stand in the root zone. Various insects feed on the foliage, leaving small holes in the leaves. Cold is also a hazard: temperatures below 40°F cause chilling injury that kills the plant, and it does not survive frost.

Young leaves and shoot tips are picked between three and six weeks after planting. Seedlings pulled while thinning need not be wasted, as they can be eaten as microgreens.

Culinary: Leaf amaranth is grown chiefly as a leafy green, eaten raw in salads or cooked like spinach and used in stir-fries. It carries regional names tied to specific cuisines: Chinese spinach or xiancai in China, where it is often stir-fried with garlic and salt; callaloo in the Caribbean; and bireum in Korea, where the small-leaved chambireum form is foraged and seasoned as a namul side dish.

Ornamental: Variegated and colorfully leaved forms, with foliage in shades of green, red, purple, or patterned combinations, are grown as ornamentals and used in edible landscaping, a trait that has also earned the plant the name Joseph's coat.

Medicinal: Native American communities are recorded to have used amaranths, before European colonization, for various medicinal purposes in addition to eating the young plant as a green vegetable.

Leaf amaranth traces to tropical Asia, and the vegetable type has long been grown across China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Pakistan. In China specifically, it has been cultivated for more than 400 years, and the crop later spread into cultivation in the southern United States, including Mississippi and Missouri.