Mchicha Lishe (African Leaf Amaranth)

Mchicha Lishe is a nutritious and delicious variety of amaranth popular in Africa.  This green has excellent health benefits when eaten often.  While mchicha lishe can grow up to 7 feet tall, this green is best harvested when the plant is young and tender.  One teaspoon of seed can be broadcast on a 30 inch by 30 foot bed.  The whole plant can be harvested 30 days after planting.  To cook mchicha lishe, cut the young plants into small pieces.  Saute onion, add fresh tomato, then add the chopped mchicha lishe.  These greens need just five minutes to cook.  

This variety was grown for our catalog by Kandolo Makongo. Kandolo is an incubator and Congolese community farmer at Providence Farm Collective.  A long time seed saver, Kandolo is selling Congolese specialty greens seeds and Nya Nya Chungu eggplant for the first time in 2024. 

Days to maturity: 30

Seeds per pack: 300

Germination rate: 89% on 02/15/2024

Planting / harvesting notes

Mchicha lishe is best direct seeded and can be lightly broadcast or direct seeded at roughly 1 seed per inch, rows at least 3 in apart.  Begin harvesting just 30 days after planting.  Mchicha lishe can be succession planted multiple times per season for the best quality harvests. 

Seed keeping notes

Mchicha Lishe is wind pollinated and can cross pollinate with many varieties of Amaranth. Isolate by a minimum of 500 feet or cover the flowers with corn tassel bags to prevent unwanted cross pollination. Seeds are ready when they start dropping from the seed head, which matures after the flower dies back. You can cut the whole seed head and hang it to dry and mature further in a dry, ventilated place, or you can shake it while still on the plant every day or two, as the seeds ripen at different times starting from the bottom to the tip. Either way, shake the plant in a bucket to release the seeds. Use a strainer to sift out the larger chaff. Use your breath, wind, or fans to winnow off lighter weight chaff.

Collections