## Metadata - Real Title:: [Remember the Amaranth Fr...](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426588330863611905) - Author:: [[Sarah Taber]] - Via:: - Publication-Date:: - ReadwiseID:: 10418210 - Last Highlighted:: 2021-08-15 - Imported: 2022-06-02 from twitter * related:: [[garden goals]] & [[squirrels vs trees and turning acorns into usable food]] ## Highlights ### id213185254 > Remember the amaranth from last week? > The seeds are now dried, threshed off the plant, cleaned the miscellaneous plant parts out of them, & chillin in a jar. > 1/3 lb from 1 plant! Not even the whole plant, there are some seed heads on that same plant that are still ripening. >  >  >  - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426588330863611905) ### id213185255 > This plant had a lot of space, about 4 square feet to itself. > On a per-acre basis it clocks out to 3,600 lbs per acre. This is respectable; commercially yields around 1-2,000 lbs/acre are expected. > https://t.co/i80nRCxbpz - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426591533512466436) ### id213185256 > Bear in mind this plant still has some mini seed heads still waiting to harvest & some seed got lost in my super crappy DIY thresh & winnow process, so 3,600 lbs/A is a lowball. > extremely proud of my ability to grow noxious weeds like a boss✌️ - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426591534502264836) ### id213185257 > How I got the seeds off & cleaned: an extremely DIY approach that used whatever crap I had sitting around the house - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426596139546161158) ### id213185258 > 1. Cut the seed heads off the plant. I like to get em in a bag/pillowcase ASAP just so they're not shedding seeds around the yard & making weed problems for later >  - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426596140666048519) ### id213185259 > 2. Dry. This will help ALL the seeds fall off. > I did this by putting them on a fitted sheet to help keep any seeds that fell off from wandering. > Put them in my office under a ceiling fan left on for about a week, bc the south is humid & you can't just assume stuff will dry lol >  - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426596147641061385) ### id213185260 > Also this seed head was a monster that was so fat & juicy it could go moldy before it dried. > So I cut some of the sub-branches off & spread them out, and turned each piece over every day or 2. That pic is of a slightly dismembered seed head. - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426596149956423685) ### id213185261 > 3. This morning I picked out the dried leaves, bunched up the sheet & tied a rubber band on to keep anything from falling out, & just heckin played piñata with it for a minute. > This is called threshing! Dislodging the seeds from the rest of the plant - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426596150933663745) ### id213185262 > ps if anyone has kids they LOVE this part - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426596151881576448) ### id213185264 > 4. Now you have a sheet full of loose seeds & miscellaneous plant junk. > Now you get to sort them! > hang on lemme get a pic real quick - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426596152724672513) ### id213185265 > Behold an extremely sophisticated seed cleaning device, a colander & a plate >  - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426596729504284678) ### id213185266 > Just dump a couple handfuls of threshed stuff into the colander. > Stir it around until all the tiny stuff has gone through, & only bigger fluffy plant junk is left in the colander. Throw it out & repeat until you got the whole batch. - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426598126463463425) ### id213185267 > sry I don't have pictures of this, today was the first run so I just wanted to make sure it worked before Documenting It For Posterity lol - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426598127461621766) ### id213185268 > Now! You have all the tiny stuff you pushed through the colander! A lot of it is seed, but a lot of it is not! Just little flower parts & dust & debris. > Great news, that stuff is small but it's way less dense than the seeds. Now we sort by density aka winnowing. - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426598128401141760) ### id213185269 > Winnowing 101: get a basic households fan & two trusty bowls/large measuring cups that have pour spouts. > The spout really helps! >  - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426598974946004992) ### id213185270 > Weird thread break, see if this helps > https://t.co/Rb5Dh8pYkY - [View Tweet](https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1426603256864706561)