Whether you garden in the ground, in raised beds, on the windowsill, or anywhere else, quinoa is a great addition or re-addition to your plant family. Read on for simple, straightforward specifics about growing quinoa.
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Family | Container Size | Good Companions | Bad Companions | Soil Conditions | Germination | Sun | Water | Temperature Range | Height | Lifespan | Reproduction | Yield Per Plant | Ingestibility | Further Reading
What Family Does Quinoa Belong To?
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) belongs to the Amaranthaceae family, also known as the amaranth family.
Some of its relatives include amaranth, spinach, and chard.
What Size Container Should I Use for Growing Quinoa?
The minimum container depth recommended for quinoa is 6 inches.
However, a container that is at least 8 inches deep may produce a larger, more productive plant.
Learn more in our Choosing the Right Planter for Your Container Garden article here.
What Are Good Companion Plants for Quinoa?
Some of quinoa's best companions are as follows:
- Corn
- Dill
- Beans like green beans
- Garlic
- Mints like peppermint and spearmint
- Rue
What Are Bad Companion Plants for Quinoa?
Quinoa is not compatible with every plant. Some things to avoid planting with quinoa are as follows:
- Tomato
- Amaranth and other fellow members of the Amaranthaceae family, as they can cross-pollinate with quinoa and cause it to produce seed that is not true to the parent plant
What Soil Conditions Does Quinoa Need?
Quinoa prefers dry, fertile, well-draining, loamy soil.
How Long Does Quinoa Take to Germinate?
Quinoa takes 4-10 days to germinate at a temperature of 40-75°F.
How Much Sun Does Quinoa Need?
Quinoa needs full sun, meaning at least 6 hours of sunlight per day.
Sun recommendations can vary by region, and quinoa grown in hot areas or in warmer conditions than the ideal temperature range noted below may need more shade.
How Much Water Does Quinoa Need?
Quinoa should be watered sparingly. Most quinoa plants only need a total of 10 inches of water for the entire season.
What Is the Ideal Temperature Range for Growing Quinoa?
Quinoa grows fastest in temperatures of 55-85°F.
This is its ideal temperature range. Although it will grow in temperatures both cooler and warmer than this range, the growth could be slower or even stunted.
Minimum and maximum temperatures will vary by variety. Some quinoa varieties are bred for later harvests and others for warmer climates.
How Tall Does Quinoa Get?
The average height of quinoa is 3-7 feet.
Quinoa grown in a container may only reach a height of 1-2 feet.
Is Quinoa Annual, Biennial, or Perennial?
Quinoa is an annual vegetable, meaning that it starts and ends its life in the same year.
How Does Quinoa Reproduce?
Quinoa reproduces by seed.
How Much Quinoa is Produced Per Plant?
For quinoa, how many seeds are produced per plant (also called the yield) largely depends on the variety and growing conditions.
On average, quinoa plants yield 1-6 ounces of seed per plant.
Taller varieties like Love Lies Bleeding will likely produce on the higher end of that range, while quinoa grown in containers or in suboptimal conditions will be on the lower end.
Can Quinoa Be Ingested?
Quinoa seeds and leaves are edible.
Quinoa seeds are prepared and culinarily classified as a grain, but botanically they are a seed. You may see the terms "seed" and "grain" used interchangeably regarding quinoa because they refer to the same part of the plant.
Although highly nutritious, quinoa leaves and seeds do not have any known uses in herbal preparations.
Like their relative, spinach, quinoa leaves contain oxalic acid. Those who are sensitive to oxalates and oxalic acid may want to avoid or limit their intake of quinoa leaves. Oxalates are significantly reduced by cooking.
Quinoa seeds contain lectins. Those who are sensitive to lectins may want to avoid or limit their intake of quinoa seeds. Lectins are also reduced by cooking.
There are no other known safety concerns associated with ingesting quinoa seeds or leaves.
Further Reading
This article is intended as a quick-reference guide for gardeners. Consult your seed packet or seed catalog for variety-specific information.
When you have a bumper crop of quinoa rolling in, you may not have enough time for long, complicated recipes or many-step preservation procedures. Check out my article on quick, simple uses for quinoa here!
Quinoa is featured in these Plant to Plate articles: