Lambsquarters, Heirloom Seeds

Lambsquarters, Heirloom Seeds — The Forager’s Favorite Spinach Substitute That Self-Seeds Year After Year

Lambsquarters (Chenopodium giganteum) is the plant that foragers have known for generations — a common roadside and field plant that is easy on the eyes, highly nutritious, and surprisingly tasty. A member of the amaranth family alongside beets, chard, quinoa, and spinach, Lambsquarters is identified by the telltale dusty white coating on new growth and the undersides of leaves, with light green leaves that show a beautiful magenta color in the leaf centers. Eat young leaves raw in salads when tender; cook as the leaves mature — just like spinach or chard. High in iron, protein, calcium, and vitamins A and B1. More heat-tolerant than spinach. Self-seeds freely year after year, lending a self-perpetuating element to the annual garden. 30 days (baby), 60 days (full).

Why Grow Lambsquarters?

• The forager’s favorite spinach substitute — mild spinach flavor, highly nutritious
• High in iron, protein, calcium, vitamins A and B1 — a genuine nutritional powerhouse
• More heat-tolerant than spinach — thrives when spinach bolts
• Beautiful magenta leaf centers — dusty white coating on new growth
• Self-seeds year after year — a self-perpetuating garden green
• Open-pollinated heirloom — save seed year after year

Growing Notes

Direct sow outdoors in early spring or fall. Scatter seeds on prepared soil surface — seeds need light to germinate. Keep soil moist until established. Thin to 6–8 inches. Full sun to part shade. Harvest young leaves raw at 30 days; cook mature leaves at 60 days. Note: will self-seed freely — deadhead to prevent spreading if desired.

Days to maturity: 30 days (baby), 60 days (full)
Packet size: 0.4 mg / 200+ seeds
Type: Heirloom, Open-Pollinated, Annual
Sun: Full sun to part shade
USDA Zones: All U.S. zones