Golden Giant Amaranth
Huge plants with huge yields of high-quality ivory seed. With good fertility, plants can grow to 10 ft and yield up to 1 lb per plant. Needs a longer season to mature seed, about 110 days. Amaranth was a staple grain over much of prehistoric eastern north America and central America. It is easy to grow and is one of the best survival crops. Amaranth grain is very easy to process at home. Just hang the plants to dry over a tarp or sheet, thresh, and winnow out the flower bracts and other chaff. However, the fact that you can get at the grain easily means the birds can too. Have a plan in place for using flash tape, aluminium foil, scarecrow, netting, or whatever you need to prevent loss from birds, and harvest promptly. If you just have a few plants, you can tie mosquito netting over the seedheads. Cooked amaranth has a texture like sticky rice. It is great as a hot cereal and as pilaf, as well as in soups. I have had wonderful amaranth pilaf cooked in beef or chicken broth, too. The plants in the picture were grown in groups of three with morning glory twining up the plants to tie them together and prevent them from falling over--you can do this with pole beans also.