Gardeners taking part in Seed Savers Exchange’s 2025 ADAPT community science program helped study rare amaranth varieties while gaining hands-on experience with a crop many had never grown. The program sent seeds from the organization’s collection to everyday growers, who recorded how the plants performed and shared what they learned.
One featured variety, “Hartman’s Giant,” stood out in field notes for its strong color and upright inflorescences. Karen Lacy, a 2025 ADAPT participant, said she would grow it again and wanted to experiment with it in the kitchen.
“I would grow this again, and I’d like to experiment cooking with it,” said Karen Lacy.
Before the 2025 growing season, Lacy had never considered growing amaranth. She said the opportunity to try unfamiliar plant varieties—and then share observations with other growers and her family—was a central part of the experience. She passed information to her daughter and seeds to her son.
“Sharing information is always important. It’s good for growers, and I pass it along to my daughter and share seeds with my son. You can’t go wrong sharing seeds,” Karen said.
Gardeners became part of the seed-preservation work
ADAPT participants received rare plants that are not typically available through commercial seed sellers. As those seeds sprouted and matured, growers documented traits including drought and wind tolerance and stem color. Their observations added information to SeedLinked, an open-source platform used to share variety data with growers worldwide.
For the amaranth trials alone, participants uploaded more than 260 images, contributed 715 grower comments and recorded 1,300 trait ratings. Seed Savers Exchange said several participants grew amaranth for the first time and found the process both fun and educational.
Amaranth’s limited market presence and relatively low public awareness made it a useful fit for the program. Sydney Weldon, ADAPT program manager, said the project is designed to expose gardeners to unusual crops while gathering information that can be shared broadly.
“Our goal for ADAPT is to bring really unique and rare seeds from our collection to growers, seeds that aren’t readily available commercially. By sending them to ADAPT participants to grow, we’re gathering critical information about the varieties, sharing that information with the world, and exposing a large group of gardeners to new crops,” said Sydney Weldon.
A crop with deep history and kitchen potential
In 2025, ADAPT distributed 5,502 seed packets representing 111 varieties across nine crop types. The program reported 1,834 trials nationally and also collaborated with the USDA to offer several varieties from its seed bank.
Seed Savers Exchange later facilitated a cooking demonstration for members and ADAPT participants. Amaranth seeds can be popped like popcorn, and popped amaranth is mixed with honey or molasses in Mexico to make a traditional sweet called alegría.
Amaranth was a staple crop for the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas thousands of years ago. It is a gluten-free pseudo-grain rather than a true grain because it comes from a broadleaf plant, and its seeds contain about 14 percent protein.
Molly, an ADAPT participant from Philadelphia, said she planned to grow “Hartman’s Giant” again after the experience.
“Amaranth is a versatile and attractive plant. I plan to grow ‘Hartman’s Giant’ again next season. Thank you, Seed Savers, for this wonderful experience and introducing me to a great plant,” shared ADAPT participant Molly of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.