INTRODUCTION

The Incas, who held the crop to be sacred, referred to quinoa as chisaya mama or mother of all grains, and it was the Inca emperor who would traditionally sow the first seeds of the season using ‘golden imple-ments. During the European con-quest of South America quinoa was scorned by the Spanish colonists as food for Indians, and even actively suppressed, due to its status within indigenous non-Christian ceremo-nies

Quinoa was of great nutritional im-portance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize. In contem-porary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magne-sium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Be-cause of all these characteristics, quinoa is an ideal crop, to stablish an auto-sustainable urban based chain of high protein food production.

CONCEPTQuinoa, Grow your Own its an iniciative for the creation of an auto-sustainable chain for rural food production.The flow of the system is divided in three natural steps.

Indoor PlantationThe seeds are responsability of each in-dividual who will make sure the plants reach an adequate size.

Outdoor PlantationOnce the crops have reached the re-quired size they will be placed in spe-cial areas inside the rural landscape.Maintanance and harvesting will be carried out by a special group of indi-viduals.

Seeds Recovery

Once harvested the cycle comes back to its origin where seeds can be used to start the process once again.

PUBLIC SPACE1-Using flat surfaces such as roofs, plazas, no-man lands and all possible spaces for plantation of quinoa.

2-Changing decorational plants, for sustainable plants i.e using spaces such as the gap between highways, pathways, or already built public gardens.

Soil Preference. Quinoa is responsive to nitrogen and phosphorous. Plants grown in aver-age garden soil will be four-feet to six-feet tall, while those grown in rich soil or compost may reach over eight feet

CharacteristicsQuinoa is usually self pollinated, but cross pollination does occur at rates of up to 10 to 15% The seed is simi-lar in size to millet (0.8 to 0.11 in. in diameter) and has two flat surfaces and rounded sides, which resembles an aspirin tablet. Seeds can be black, red, pink, orange, yellow, or white in color. The embryo comprises 60% of the volume within the pericarp, and this results in the higher protein content of the seed in comparison to cereal grains.

Planting Times For Quinoa. Quinoa grows best where maximum temperatures do not exceed (32°C) and nighttime temperatures are cool. Europe, the best time to plant quinoa is late April to late May. When soil temperatures are around (15°C) seedlings emerge within three to four days. However, when quinoa seeds are planted in soil with night-time temperatures much above that, quinoa, like spinach, may not ger-

Sowing. Seeds should be sown no more than one-quarter inch deep in rows (3-5 cm) apart One gram of seed will sow 50 feet (15 m) of row. An acre requires about one pound of seed

MaintenanceSince seed is small, you can avoid considerable thinning by mixing it with sand or radish seed before sow-ing.

Soil moisture is probably sufficient until early June to germinate the seed. Given good soil moisture, don’t water until the plants reach the two- or three-leaf stage. Quinoa appears slow growing at first but is extremely drought tolerant and does well on a total of 25 cm of water or less. As the plants reach about one foot in height, they start to grow very rap-idly, the canopy closes in, weeds are shaded out and less moisture is lost through evaporation.

HarvestingQuinoa is ready to harvest when the leaves have fallen, leaving just the dried seedheads. Seeds can be eas-ily stripped upwards off the stalk with a gloved hand. Quinoa resists light frosts especially if the soil is dry. So long as maturing seed is past the green stage, frost will cause lit-tle damage and harvesting can be done a day or two later. Extreme hot weather and warm nights inhibit fruit set. It is important to watch the weather when quinoa is ready to be harvested: if rained on, the dry seed can germinate. If the heads are not completely dry, harvest them when you can barely indent the seeds with your thumbnail. They should then be thoroughly dried before storage.

YieldsAn ounce or two of seed per plant is common but you can easily get over six ounces per plant grown in your best compost.

Cooking.

Basic recipe: Bring equal volumes of quinoa and water to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until all water is absorbed. quinoa takes about 12-15 minutes. For a more porridge-like consistency, use a greater proportion of water. Experi-ment to find the texture you prefer.

Quinoa contains about 16 percent protein, E and B vitamins, calcium, iron and phosphorous. They are easy to digest and have wonderful fla-vour. Their simple distinctive taste gives them great versatility for cook-ing purposes.

Young quinoa makes tasty salad ma-terial and are high in vitamins (espe-cially calcium and iron), minerals and protein. Carrots juiced with a small amount of either leaves make a most invigorating drink.

Older greens are wonderful steamed, stir-fried or incorporated into curries or casseroles. Some varieties have better greens than others and are usually so indicated in seed cata-logues.