Beautiful red amaranth plants are blooming in the garden--I just learned there are seed varieties and leaf varieties, which explains the different sizes. The seed varieties are the taller plants, which haven't yet set seed. The seeds can be apparently eaten like a cooked cereal. Most likely, people mix it with other grains, since the seeds are so small! Another reason to eat it with other grains is it provides a complete protein that way. A culinary adventure I'd like to try sometime...
The sunflowers did produce seed--here are two heads the squirrels didn't get. I roasted them, but the flavor was not good--too dry. Fed most of it to the chickens, who gobbled them down. There are more seeds to harvest, if anyone wants to try their hand at roasting them, or collecting seed for next year.
