I grew some quinoa this year in a 4 by 4 plot. I had about 15 to 20 plants in there. I just threw out some organic quinoa i bought at the store. I got one stunning purple quinoa the rest green. One turned purple after flowering. The plants got too much rain and all fell over. Then in the fall we got a lot more rain and many of the seeds actually sprouted on the plant. This I hear is pretty common. I got a pretty good harvest, but I don't have the equipment yet to winnow out the seeds and clean them. It is quite a bit of work. I tried to let the wind blow some stuff away, but it is hard. They grew to about 3 feet.
I just tried planting some of the purple quinoa seeds I harvested and they are viable, so I plan on only growing these next year, and maybe some day I will be able to harvest it.
I definitely eat the leafs though.
I would recommend starting seeds early, they need a long time to grow, soil with REALLY good drainage, no competition. They are VERY drought hardy.
If you look closely when the plants are young they are covered in crystals, not dissimilar to thc, it is a very beautiful plant.
