How to Grow Amaranth Microgreens in 5 Easy Steps

Amaranth is one of the most visually striking microgreens you can grow. Its translucent violet color pops on the plate and makes an amazing addition to almost any dish. In just ten days, you can harvest some juicy microgreens by following these easy steps from Kevin Espiritu.

Red Amaranth microgreens.

Contents

Amaranth is one of the most visually striking microgreens you can grow. Its translucent violet color pops on the plate and makes an amazing addition to almost any dish.

I became so obsessed with the look of it while growing it that I took a time-lapse of eight hours of growth just to see how it would look as it developed. Check it out:

If you want to try growing these colorful microgreens for yourself, follow this step-by-step guide.


Burgundy Amaranth

Burgundy Amaranth Seeds

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Burgundy Amaranth Seeds


Hot Biscuits Amaranth

Hot Biscuits Amaranth Seeds

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Hot Biscuits Amaranth Seeds

Love-Lies-Bleeding Amaranth

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Love-Lies-Bleeding Amaranth Seeds

What You’ll Need

You don’t need much to start growing amaranth micros. Aside from the seeds, you can probably find everything you need around your house.

Seeds

Hand holding pile of black amaranth seeds.
Save some of the edible seeds for a consistent supply of microgreens.

Use one ounce of seed if you’re growing in a standard plant propagation tray. These are some great seeds to try:

  • Burgundy Amaranth Seeds: The rich burgundy color is apparent in the leaves of this bright microgreen with a mild mustardy flavor.
  • Hot Biscuits Amaranth Seeds: A green-leafed amaranth with caramel-colored plumes of seeds.
  • Love-lies-bleeding Amaranth Seeds: A popular amaranth variety with green and maroon leaves packed with flavor.
  • Edible Red Leaf Amaranth Seeds: An heirloom variety of amaranth grown for its edible leaves that is prepared as you would spinach and makes for a tasty microgreen.
  • Salad Mix Spout Seeds: This is a unique blend of alfalfa, red clover, broccoli, and kale with a pop of color from burgundy amaranth.

Containers

Red amaranth microgreens on windowsill growing in plastic container.
You can use almost any shallow container for planting microgreens.

As long as they have drainage holes, shallow kitchen containers are suitable for growing microgreens.

You can also use two standard planting trays, one for growing and one for covering. We recommend Epic 6-Cell Seed Starting Trays and Germination Domes & Bottom Trays. These provide excellent results for germination.

Growing Medium

Close up of pink microgreens.
Your growing medium should provide little resistance to root growth.

A one-to-one ratio of potting soil and rehydrated coco coir is a good mix for microgreens. Alternatively, a simple seed starting mix will work equally as well. The key is a fine texture to provide as little resistance to germination and root growth as possible.

Grow Lights

Grow lights used for indoor gardening.
Grow lights are recommended for consistent, upright growth.

When sowing indoors, grow lights work best for consistent lighting. If you don’t already have grow lights, try Small Epic Seed Starting Grow Light or the Standard Epic Seed Starting Grow Light.

If you don’t want to go the grow light route, place trays on a sunny windowsill and rotate them often to ensure the germinating seed doesn’t lean toward the light.

Extras

Use a sharp pair of kitchen scissors to harvest and a misting bottle to water the seeds. An old seasoning shaker is handy for an even distribution of seeds.

How to Grow Amaranth Microgreens

It’s easy and quick to grow microgreens. Follow these steps, and you can’t go wrong.

Step 1: Plant

Tiny amaranth seedlings growing in soil in a pot.
For easy harvesting, plant on a flat surface rather than a rounded one.

Fill your container with soil, smoothing it out and lightly patting it down. Don’t compress it too much—you need to give the roots room to dig down and establish themselves.

After your container is filled, fill up your seed shaker with amaranth seeds and sprinkle them on the surface with an even distribution. Don’t cover the seeds with soil afterward. Simply leave them lying on the soil surface.

Step 2: Cover

Clear plastic container filled with amaranth microgreens.
Once the seeds have germinated, you can bring them into the light to continue growing.

Lightly mist your seeds with a spray bottle and cover the container so no light enters. I like to use two propagation trays, with one flipped upside down to block out the light. This creates the perfect environment for germination.

Over the next two days or so, lightly mist your seeds with water, but don’t overdo it. You don’t want to get mold.

Step 3: Care

Red amaranth microgreens with water droplets after misting.
Continue misting to ensure the soil is moist but not soggy.

After two days, your amaranth seeds should have germinated. If not, wait one more day and check on them. If they’re still not germinated, something went wrong. You either have bad seed, you overwatered, underwatered, or the temperature isn’t right. It’s usually one of those four issues.

Keep them covered for 24-48 more hours until they get a bit lanky and look a light, translucent pink. Once they’re a half to three-quarters of an inch tall, it’s time to expose them to light.

Once they’re tall enough, place them in a well-lit area outside or under a grow light. Amaranth microgreens don’t need a lot of sun. In fact, if you place them in direct sun, you need to water more consistently, as your soil will dry up quickly, causing all of your greens to die.

Step 4: Harvest

Hands using scissors to harvest red amaranth microgreens.
Use sharp scissors for a clean cut and little residue.

If you’ve followed along, your amaranth micros should be about ten days old now. It’s the perfect time to harvest!

When harvesting, take extra care to harvest slightly above the soil, with extremely sharp scissors. You want a cut that will slice right through without pulling the greens at all to avoid getting soil and seed husks in your final product.

By harvesting this way, you avoid the need to wash your greens, which means they’ll last longer, and you’ll save quite a bit of time-intensive work.

Step 5: Store

Hands picking up freshly harvested amaranth microgreens.
Try to use your harvest as soon as possible.

After you’ve harvested, ensure your greens are completely dry before storing. Any moisture on the leaves or stems will shorten their shelf life. Put them in a sealed container in the refrigerator and they should last at least seven to eight days, if not longer.

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