Growing chia

I had a lot of fun growing chia from my pantry this summer. I didn't bother looking up what it takes to grow it so I didn't realize it needs a long growing season. But it made a nice pole for my beans to grow up. Just one of those happy coincidences that I planted some beans next to it.
I'm going to start it inside earlier and use a cover in the spring because it grew so beautifully that I really want to at least get flowers on it. I guess I just like a challenge.
Anyone have any luck growing chia in a colder climate? I'm in the PNW.

I decided to do some research looking at agricultural sites and found an interesting fact that affects my efforts (and any body else in a temperate zone). Chia flowering is triggered by day length, a 12 hour day length which for me is right at the very end of September. The beginning of October is when I started noticing flower buds.

So even if I start seeds inside or in a cold frame, I'm going to be unable to get chia to flower earlier in the season. There are some efforts being made to produce a long day chia plant bit no one has had any success so far. I suppose I could try to over winter in a green house if I had one but these plants are enormous! I'll be watching to see how long they last into the autumn. We've already had several freezing nights and tons of rain and storms. They are still happy and perky but they are growing against a southwestern wall.

Now I'm going to focus on finding out what I can do with the leaves and stems because it is such a giant leaf covered plant. I've heard the leaves are edible but haven't tried them yet because they were hard to get to when my squash took over the world. And I'm always a little nervous eating a new plant on my own for the first time.

This thread is just turning into a brain dump for what I'm learning...
A farm in the UK successfully produced a chia crop after trying for five years. This was in 2018. I wonder if I could get some of that chia... But it looks like they are not selling any straight chia from their company. Only baked products that contain chia. So no viable seeds.

I had no idea that little chia seeds produce such a big plant!  Makes me want to see a giant "chia pet" large enough for the mature plants to grow on it.

Mk Neal wrote:I had no idea that little chia seeds produce such a big plant!  Makes me want to see a giant "chia pet" large enough for the mature plants to grow on it.

The thought of chia pets is what spurred me to try growing them this spring. They are so easy to germinate, I thought, if nothing else it would be a quick cover crop for some bare spots I had and I had plenty in my pantry because I love eating the seeds. The ones I scattered where I don't have drip irrigation are only about 5-6 feet tall now and most of the summer stayed around 3-4' until it started raining in the fall. But the ones in the picture are next to drip irrigation and got watered once a week.

I bet one could get a giant clay pot and use the outside of it like a giant chia pet at least for a short time, though without any soil I'm sure they won't get very big before dying. But it would be funny to have a giant chia pet as yard art. And the sprouts are supposedly yummy.

The university of Kentucky developed some cultivars that are day neutral and will grow in northern climates in about 4months. http://www.uky.edu/ccd/sites/www.uky.edu.ccd/files/chia.pdf
Here is a seller who they gave the cultivar to. Https://www.heartlandchia.com/buychiaseeds I haven't contacted the seller to find out if the seeds that they offer are viable if so it would be great, and I would be interested in getting some.

S Bengi wrote:The university of Kentucky developed some cultivars that are day neutral and will grow in northern climates in about 4months. http://www.uky.edu/ccd/sites/www.uky.edu.ccd/files/chia.pdf
Here is a seller who they gave the cultivar to. Https://www.heartlandchia.com/buychiaseeds I haven't contacted the seller to find out if the seeds that they offer are viable if so it would be great, and I would be interested in getting some.

Very cool! Thanks! I will look into that.

S Bengi wrote:I haven't contacted the seller to find out if the seeds that they offer are viable if so it would be great, and I would be interested in getting some.

I found this on one of their webpages:

"All our food grade chia has been through a kill step to reduce the potential microbial and bacterial risk associated with any raw seed product. This process results in a minimum 3 log reduction in potential pathogens."

I think a " kill step" sounds like it's nonviable seed, though maybe it just means a disinfecting process. All the non-food grade seed is 2000 lb quantities.

Since food grade (and viable) chia seeds from the grocery store is what I grew, if the kill step really does make it nonviable, I wonder if the whole "we are doing this to keep your food safe" is just a sugar-coated way to keep people from growing these seeds.

Just found a site that describes an organic non thermal kill step that doesn't affect germination...
https://bakerpedia.com/organic-non-thermal-kill-step-for-seeds-grains-nuts/

I might just buy some of that chia any way and try germinating some. If it doesn't grow, I'd just eat the rest of it. It's about the same cost as the organic chia I buy anyway.

Yes just buy it and do what you want, don't contact them about the viability of the seeds. Based on their website it isn't allowed.
https://7a560b58-3e69-4fd6-82d3-04b98d3af8af.filesusr.com/ugd/597f0a_d2729abd8847464bb2aae1828e2c2f72.pdf

S Bengi wrote:Yes just buy it and do what you want, don't contact them about the viability of the seeds. Based on their website it isn't allowed.
https://7a560b58-3e69-4fd6-82d3-04b98d3af8af.filesusr.com/ugd/597f0a_d2729abd8847464bb2aae1828e2c2f72.pdf

Ooh, that makes me so annoyed! I understand it but I don't agree with it. Especially that bit about not using it to further breed better plants.  That's so ridiculous.  Who is against getting more and better varieties of plants that work in different climates zones?!  Nobody who really cares about this planet and the people on it more than money.  That company is going to get plenty of money and establish themselves in the market before anyone else could make a headway even if someone does start out with their seeds. Especially annoying is that it wasn't developed by the company but by the University of Kentucky "to provide a new crop opportunity for U.S. farmers while benefiting consumers, food and feed companies with a reliable, local, traceable supply of chia." (https://www.uky.edu/ccd/sites/www.uky.edu.ccd/files/chia.pdf)  Not much of a crop opportunity if one company has the monopoly.  Isn't the point of university extensions to benefit the people? The owner of Heartland Chia, "Kummer secured the only license to grow and sell the patented early flowering chia seed in the commercial marketplace after his first commercial crop in 2012." (https://www.kcard.info/heartland-chia)

But yeah, as long as I'm not selling it, I don't think I would get in trouble with growing my little 4'x4' plot for personal use.  I'd just be annoyed with supporting that green-washed company with my initial purchase. End rant.

UPDATE: Yesterday morning I woke up to temperatures in the 20's (F°) and frost covering everything. I looked out the window, saw the frost, AND my first chia flowers blooming!;😂 Today every single leaf is dead but that one flower is still blooming and the stems are green. Brave little flower, I don't think anyone is going to pollinate you.

My plants stayed green and lush throughout the last month of freezing temperatures at night but didn't like it once it dropped below 30°F. I don't know how long it takes seeds to form but I think people south of me would have a much easier time of it. I used to live in North Carolina and I'm thinking with day length and temperature there would do well at least getting chia to flower.

Jenny - great thread. Always interesting to push the boundaries and see what happens.
I found a UK source of chia seed (for eating) at Hodmedods. No idea whether they are likely to be viable, but there's no mention of not being allowed to grow them. I suspect they will need a warmer summer than I typically have, but I may get some just to try and let you know if they are viable at least!

I bough Chia seeds just to see what they were like as an edible.  I decided to throw some in the dirt and they sprouted within 4 days.  They were Bob’s Red Mill (whole organic)brand.  They are about 10” tall right now but it is September 4th; not sure if they will flower or which color the flowers will be.  

Commercial seed is salvia hispanica, which is short day flowering and so it won't flower until fall and will die before it matures to seed.

What you want to grow for seed is salvia columbariae, which is native to the southwestern United States and is a desert plant that is long day flowering. It grows with very little water, thrives on neglect as long as it's feet aren't wet, is much shorter in stature, doesn't produce as prolifically (which is why it isn't used commercially) and flowers in the spring and early summer- giving it time to mature seed before the frost. It is a viable food plant in the southwest because the plants are perennials above about Zone 8, and will form large wild stands which you can walk through and beat the seed heads into your basket, thus you can harvest without even damaging the plants and some of the seed will naturally fall to the ground to provide for the next generation.

You can find more information at the California Native plant society.

Have fun, and happy eating!
ForestGardenGal from California

That's good information Sara thanks! Any idea what temperature Salvia columbariae is happy with? Sounds like it probably prefers warmer weather than I'm likely to see here.

My guess is you have a nice full sun spot that has decent warmth for 3-4 months, you will be able to grow it as an annual. Additionally, since it is significantly smaller that its tall cousin, you might be able to try overwintering it in a greenhouse or coldframe. It certainly can't be less successful than its cousin who won't flower until those short fall days! 😉

Data from https://www.calflora.org/entry/compare.html?crn=7302

Chia -  Salvia columbariae

NATURAL TOLERANCES:
Elevation 0 to 2530 meters
Precipitation 7 to 63 inches
Wet Season 0 to 8 months
Temp Range 25 to 68 ° F
December Low 22 ° F
July High 104 ° F
Accum. Temp 69 to 314 ° F
Growing Season 3 to 12 months
Hardiness Zones 7a to 10b

SOIL:
pH.           5 to 8.3
MAX Salinity 3 (very slightly saline)
MIN Depth 5 cm
Textures: Clay, Silty clay loam, Clay loam, Silt loam, Loam, Sandy loam, Loamy sand, Sand, Bedrock, Variable, Decomposed plant material
MAX CaCO3 4 % (low)
MIN AWS 0.4 cm