A Fortnight in the Organic Quinoa Field

We thought you might be interested (amazed even) to see just how quickly the quinoa grows at this time of year. We've stitched together two photos taken from the same viewpoint a fortnight apart - the difference is impressive.

William is making regular checks on the organic quinoa being grown for Hodmedod on the sandy soil of south east Suffolk. He's looking out for any signs of disease or nutrient deficiency and, in particular, making sure the crop is out-competing the weeds. Quinoa seedlings are not very weed competitive which means the crop can need a lot of hoeing; but their small size and similarity to common agricultural weed seedlings make this a challenging task.

So far a good weed-free seedbed and early hoeing seem to have done the trick. The quinoa has established well and is looking very healthy with no signs of mildew (our big fear) and lots of rich green growth indicating the soil is providing the plants with all the nutrients they need.

There's still a while to go between now and harvest, but things are looking very promising for our first organic quinoa harvest this autumn.
 

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