A Andean grain crop that produces protein-rich seeds on tall, colorful stalks and tolerates poor soils where many crops fail.
Chenopodium quinoa · also called Inca rice, goosefoot grain
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Quinoa yields a complete-protein seed crop in a single season and doubles as an ornamental with seed heads ranging from cream to deep red. It thrives in lean, dry conditions that frustrate most vegetables.
A little history. Native to the Andean altiplano of South America, quinoa is a seed crop, not a true cereal grass; its seeds are botanically classified as achenes (dry, single-seeded fruits). Seeds are coated in bitter saponins (soap-like compounds) that deter birds and require rinsing before eating.
Sow seeds ¼ inch (6 mm) deep, and aim for 12 inches (30 cm) between plants once thinned. Press seeds just ¼ inch deep and keep the surface evenly moist until sprouts show; seeds need light to germinate and will crust out if buried deeper. Seedlings emerge in 3–7 days.
Water deeply once a week during establishment; reduce to every 10–14 days once plants are knee-high. Water when the top 2 inches of soil feel dry and lower leaves begin to look slightly dull. Aim for about 1 inch per week; taper off as seed heads mature.
Side-dress (scatter fertilizer along the row and water in) once at thinning and once at knee height. What to use: low-nitrogen balanced fertilizer or compost; excess nitrogen drives leafy growth at the expense of seed set.
Pinch out the central growing tip when plants reach 18 inches to encourage branching and more seed heads; skip this step if you want a single tall panicle (the large, branched seed head) for drying.
It's ready when seed heads have dried from green to tan, cream, red, or gold depending on variety; seeds rub free easily between fingers and feel hard, not soft or doughy. Cut entire stalks at the base once most seeds on the panicle feel firm and dry. Bundle and hang upside down in a dry, ventilated space for 1–2 weeks, then thresh by rubbing heads over a bucket or screen.
Rinse harvested seeds thoroughly to remove bitter saponins, dry completely, then store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.
Succession sowing is not practical — quinoa is a long-season crop. In mild climates, one spring and one fall sowing per year is feasible.
Garlic
Garlic's strong sulfur smell can help hide young quinoa from aphids that locate hosts by scent. Plant it along the row edge so the shallow garlic bulbs are easy to lift without disturbing quinoa roots.
French Marigold
French marigold flowers feed hoverflies and tiny parasitic wasps that hunt the aphids and leaf miner larvae quinoa attracts. For root-knot nematode suppression you would need a thick block turned into the soil at season's end, not a few edge plants.
Nasturtium
Aphids often settle on nasturtium stems before they find quinoa's growing tips. Check the nasturtiums weekly and cut off or wash down colonized shoots, or the trap simply becomes a nursery.
Garden Pea
Peas bank nitrogen in root nodules that is mostly released the following season as the roots break down, so a spring pea patch sets up next year's quinoa bed. Peas also finish and come out before quinoa reaches full height.
Beet
Beets sit in the same plant family as quinoa and host the same leaf miners and Cercospora leaf spot, so growing them side by side stacks both problems. Keep them in separate beds and respect a two-year gap between family members.
Spinach
Spinach shares quinoa's family and its downy mildew and leaf miner pressure; together they give both pests an uninterrupted food supply. Spinach also shades poorly under tall quinoa, so separate plantings suit both.
Swiss Chard
Chard is the same species as beet and carries the same leaf miners and leaf spot fungi that trouble quinoa. Planting them apart breaks the cycle rather than handing the pests two hosts in one bed.
Give the beet family 2 years away from this spot before any of its relatives return.
The pea and bean family, the tomato family or the onion family thrive in this ground next season.
Quinoa is a moderate feeder that leaves little behind but coarse stalks and possible leaf miner pupae, so chop and compost the residue rather than mulching with it. Keep beet-family crops out of this bed for 2 years; follow with legumes, nightshades, or onion-family crops.
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