Magentaspreen   

Pick the leaves while the plants are still young. They are best sauteed or cooked and can be substituted in any recipe calling for cooked spinach. They aren’t a good substitute for raw spinach, though.

The seeds—being kin to the grain amaranth—can be used in baking just as you would use poppy seeds or sesame seeds. It can also be ground to make a gluten-free flour.

This plant grows quite large and puts out a copious amount of tiny seeds which will readily germinate the next season wherever it scatters. It is borderline invasive; but it’s so tasty and pretty I don’t mind. Young plants are easy to pull up if you don’t want so many.

When the seed pods are dry and seeds start to fall, I carefully cut the branches and put them into paper bags for dihiscence. Just the act of collecting the seed scatters quite a bit, so if you want to keep it under control you might spread a sheet beneath the plants before you begin to collect the seed.

These plants have been known to grow well alongside Magentaspreen so consider planting:

These plants will not grow well with Magentaspreen so avoid planting these within close proximity:

These problems, diseases and pests are known to affect Magentaspreen plants:

It is susceptible to all the same diseases as its relatives, spinach and beets.

It is susceptible to all the same pests as its relatives, spinach and beets.

It is thought that the name is from a corruption of Lammas quarter, the harvest time at the end of summer.

Giant purple passion plant, Lambsquarters, magenta orache