MAGENTASPREEN SEEDS

Chenopodium giganteum (syn. album ssp. amaranticolor)

ORGANIC

Magentaspreen is among the many wonderful salad plants that I have been reluctant to add to our catalog for fear of it becoming an unwanted nuisance in the garden of an unsuspecting customer. Because left unattended it is an extraordinarily tenacious weed. I'm not convinced at all that it isn't just a particularly pretty selection of Chenopodium album, a species that has been selected and cultivated for both grains and greens in and around Nepal for many many millennia, and which has become naturalized on every continent save for Antarctica (although I suspect that should the ice melt, this species may be among the first plants to appear). Americans know this species as lambsquarters or white goosefoot. A species that is absolutely perfect for permaculture, but an absolute nightmare for many community and kitchen gardeners.

The young leaves of Magentaspreen are magical. Mild and succulent and literally dusted with sparkling magenta farina, they make spectacular salad fare. Bunches of the young plants can be cooked like spinach. This is a versatile and nutritious vegetable, rich in protein, carotenoids and vitamin C. Seeds germinate readily in diverse conditions and plants require very little in the way of water, fertility or attention. Magentaspreen is, in many ways, a miracle.

Harvest plants when no larger than 6"-8". If not harvested, Magentaspreen may ultimately grow to an astonishing 9'. Mature plants are not worth eating and can be difficult in the extreme to excavate. The gnarly stems, though rich in nutrients, are tough to cut and very slow to compost. The seeds are edible but must be processed like quinoa to remove their bitter saponins before they can be consumed. And if you allow this plant to self-sow in your garden, you will always have this plant in your garden. Seeds remain viable in the soil forever. Best in an expansive permacultural landscape, unless you can commit to harvesting the young plants religiously. Don't just cut them, pull them out, roots and all.

As for provenance, or the meaning of “spreen", Alan Kapuler christened it so when Peace Seeds first introduced this selection to the American seed trade in 1983, having been gifted the original seed stock by an unknown botanical garden in France. Those gifted seeds were probably labeled “anserine amarante", which was listed by Vilmorin and other French horticultural catalogs and literature already in the 19th century. In other words, “Magentaspreen" is a very clever way of saying “pink goosefoot".

Pretty weed indeed.

Packet contains at least 500 seeds.