they are too thickly packed to really grow up that way, the individuals would compete for space and nutrients.
so if i want them to mature to real large plants i'll have to thin them out and put them in a bunch of other containers. i think at this point i could still eat them if i wanted to. they even look a little like alfalfa or clover sprouts, which i what most people think of when they hear "sprouts", the kind that come on a sandwich!
i guess technically what i am doing with the amaranth is called "greening". it is one step beyond sprouting ans is pretty much just planting the seeds. here's an excerpt from the big cookbook, The Complete Book of Raw Food:
Sprouts, if grown long enough will start to grow into plants with leaves. The major difference between sprouts and greens is that sprouts are eaten roots and all, whereas we generally discard the roots of greens and and harvest and eat only the leaves. Also, greens are generally grown in soil.
they also mention elsewhere that putting a jar of sprouts in some place with sunlight for 15 minutes before eating them will boost their chlorophyll content.
speaking of sprouts, here are some beansprouts (from mung beans.)
definately some leaves going on there!
