# Amaranth



## Habitant (Jul 21, 2010)

Has anyone ever planted Amaranth for their pasture pigs? It is also known as Pigweed which makes me think that pigs like it. I understand it can be quite invasive and hard to get rid of so I dont want to plant it on purpose if they dont like it.


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## WildernesFamily (Mar 11, 2006)

From what I've read, "domesticated" amaranth is not as vigorous as weed amaranth. Weed amaranth will be crazy to try get rid of, so if you plant some, make sure you get the domesticated kind which apparently doesn't have as strong a taproot. What will you plant, grain or vegetable amaranth? Maybe you could try growing some in a container first and see how they like it.

I have grain amaranth seeds that I want to try next year, but for our own use. As for the pigweed itself, our pigs do enjoy it immensely, so do the chickens and my DD is always putting the young leaves in our food when she makes us dinner.

From this site, they say


> Most gardeners will come across pigweed (white arrow) fairly early in their gardening efforts. Pigweed gets its name because the weeds are widely used as pig fodder.


Looks like there are so many different varieties. The one in the picture on the link above is the one my DD picks and puts in our food (lamb's quarters).


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I'm confused. Is this the same as the pigweed I see growing all over the place?

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/amaranth.html

I also ran across a patent for popping the seed for breakfast cereal.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Pigweed is only suitable as a forage crop since the seeds are so tiny. Grain amaranth are usually huge plants with seeds at least as large as a typical pinhead. A friend grows an African variety which is edible as greens when young and as a flour grain when mature. That one will easily get to 6' tall and 3' wide.

Martin


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## Farmerga (May 6, 2010)

I am trying some this year in a small area. I am trying to see if it will grow easily and if the pigs like it. If they do, I will keep seeds and plant a large area next year.

I hear that the Chinese are planting great quantities of it for pig fodder.

http://www.dostersheritagefarm.com


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## HeritagePigs (Aug 11, 2009)

Isn't pigweed poisonous if there's a drought? Here in Missouri, it is one of the weeds that is now Roundup resistant (thanks, Monsanto...) and is seriously harming some pastures.


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## RW kansas hogs (Nov 19, 2010)

We have that growing here in our pig pen, Its the wild version and it grows rather fast. I mowed it down with a brush hog two wks ago because the pigs count keep it under controll, And know they love it. Our goats do to. 
Last year i let it grow & didnt mow it, It got to be 8' tall and about 3'' round. It was a good wind break for the pigs to, When it died off it was still standing and the sows would grab it with there mouth and pull it over and eat it.
The kids used it to beat each other with it to lmao


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

HeritagePigs said:


> Isn't pigweed poisonous if there's a drought? Here in Missouri, it is one of the weeds that is now Roundup resistant (thanks, Monsanto...) and is seriously harming some pastures.


Never heard of it being poisonous. In fact, it's considered highly edible for humans at various stages.

Regarding the RU-resistant type, it always existed but limited to the southwestern part of the US and never anywhere else. Over the period of just a few years, it turned up all over the southern US. Nobody dares to even whisper as to how that happened.

Martin


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

Just be sure what your "pigweed" is; there are several plants known by that nickname and wild amaranth is only one.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

http://www.vth.colostate.edu/poisonous_plants/report/search.cfm

At Common Name: Scroll down to Pigweed, Amaranth. Click search.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Rogo said:


> http://www.vth.colostate.edu/poisonous_plants/report/search.cfm
> 
> At Common Name: Scroll down to Pigweed, Amaranth. Click search.


Note also that that list includes buckwheat, lamb's quarters, and onions which we humans have no trouble with. It's an all-inclusive list of plants which may produce certain side-effects. In the case of hogs, our Berkies enjoyed rape but also suffered blistered ears. That was planted after they got done totally eliminating alsike clover, another on the poison list. Oak also on the list and our homestead farm had a 20-acre hog pasture of mainly oak and hickory. With a spring back there, the Durocs came home maybe once a week for grain when the acorns and nuts were falling! Poison can be from immediate death to a mild stomach ache. Haven't found where amaranth figures into that scale. 

Martin


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

Having equine, pigweed has often been seen here growing wild while out riding and once again someone will say, 'don't let your horses near that gawd awful stuff.' With all the critters I have here, and all roam free on the property, there's no way I would plant it on my property.

Choices - we all have them!


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

It's quite probable that the poison listing applies to certain animals and their reaction to eating it. Horses, in particular, are vulnerable to a lot of plants which would be savored by other animals. Amaranth is one genus which exists virtually worldwide and, as far as can ascertain, no part of any species is poison to any human. Animal reactions to eating certain common foodstuffs could easily be determined as establishing them as something to be avoided. A friend's 4 horses and a pony almost fought for a chance to get at the basket of mangels which I treated them with. Several days later, one would have thought that I was trying to force them into undertaking the worse thing that ever happened in their lives. A week or so later, any misery forgotten but each stopped at less than a pound. In the case of the first feeding, one could say that the animals were poisoned by a common fodder source. However, it was merely a period of intestinal discomfort and a lesson learned.

Side note here is that I was talking with an older friend several days ago and his family farmed here for 5 or 6 generations. (Yes, there are people older than me!) My garden is now about in the middle of the most expensive land in this state, the Arlington Prairie. I mentioned that one part of my new garden area is loaded with pigweed. He said that that means that someone had hogs there are one time. Since there is still a pig barn on the farm, can't dispute that. But apparently the pigweed which is a gardener's bane around those 160-year old homesteads didn't come in via a chance bird dropping. They were planted on purpose just as many of our other weeds. 

Martin


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

Rogo said:


> Having equine, pigweed has often been seen here growing wild while out riding and once again someone will say, 'don't let your horses near that gawd awful stuff.' With all the critters I have here, and all roam free on the property, there's no way I would plant it on my property.
> 
> Choices - we all have them!


They're absolutely correct! Pigweed is toxic to horses and causes paralysis. The absolute SADDEST case I ever worked consisted of a breeder of fairly pricey horses who got in over her head and couldn't afford to feed her stock. Horses won't eat pigweed if there is anything else. In this case, the older, larger horses got to whatever food/tree bark there was first. There were literally dozens of horses from weanling age to three years (and some oldsters) in various stages of paralysis. All were mobile but.... man, it hurts to remember it... horses with hanging bottom lips and ropes of drool, horses unable to move anything on their faces but their eyes, horses who were struggling to swallow, horses whose systems were already shutting down and who had all of the above characteristics and were wasting away..... 

After seeing that, I don't CARE who or what can eat Amaranth safely- I want it nowhere near me.

Oh yes- forgot to add- the fact that pigweed IS somewhere is not indicitive of pigs being on the property. Sometimes it comes in with hay and roots that way.


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## HeritagePigs (Aug 11, 2009)

Pigweed toxicity:
http://goo.gl/qIdh3
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/toxic/plant33.htm
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/amaret/all.html


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## HeritagePigs (Aug 11, 2009)

"Regarding the RU-resistant type, it always existed but limited to the southwestern part of the US and never anywhere else. Over the period of just a few years, it turned up all over the southern US. Nobody dares to even whisper as to how that happened."

I will. This happened because a company named Monsanto developed a weed killing chemical (branded as RoundUp) and used its economic and legislative power to get farmers to buy it. They also designed genetically modified plants, including corn, that were resistant to RoundUp, used their power to get Government approval for the plants and sold them to farmers. Farmers started planting RoundUp resistant corn and sprayed RoundUp on their fields.

Over time some plants developed a resistance to RoundUp. These plants spread through normal means to adjacent fields and then across states. They are now endemic to many farmer's fields rendering RoundUp ineffective and causing untold harm to farmers that never wanted to have anything to do with RoundUp or Monsanto's Frankensteinish plants.

While this was going on, Monsanto had the gall to sue farmers for "patent infringement" when Monsanto's freak plants contaminated other farms without the other farmer's knowledge or activity. But, that's a whole other story...


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## Jcran (Jan 4, 2006)

HeritagePigs said:


> "Regarding the RU-resistant type, it always existed but limited to the southwestern part of the US and never anywhere else. Over the period of just a few years, it turned up all over the southern US. Nobody dares to even whisper as to how that happened."
> 
> I will. This happened because a company named Monsanto developed a weed killing chemical (branded as RoundUp) and used its economic and legislative power to get farmers to buy it. They also designed genetically modified plants, including corn, that were resistant to RoundUp, used their power to get Government approval for the plants and sold them to farmers. Farmers started planting RoundUp resistant corn and sprayed RoundUp on their fields.
> 
> ...


Hallelujah, but you're preachin' to the choir. F-U, R-U!


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Checked with the old retired farmer about his pigweed and pigs. His grandfather grew pigweed for hogs well into the '30s. His father discontinued that in favor of other fodder crops but no particular reason was given for switching. I asked if it were the same red-rooted type that is in our gardens and he confirmed it. I'm guessing that it was stopped due to inability to obtain seeds or brassica crops, such as turnips, promoted as being better. For certain, when the hogs were done with such a lot, new seed would be required. 

Martin


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## Habitant (Jul 21, 2010)

Thanks for everyone's input. I dont think I will plant pig weed. Right now I only have pigs and chickens but in the future will probably have a couple of cows, goats and horses and I don't want to make problems for tomorrow today.

My pastures have lots of canada goldenrod which my pigs leave alone. Do any of your pigs eat it? 
wikipedia says horses and cows eat it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_golden-rod


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I read that on rich soil pigweed can concentrate nitrogen to the point it's toxic. That may explain why some people have bad results with feeding it.


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