By Chrina Munn, UW Farm Staff, '22-'23 AmeriCorps Food Security Lead
This season the UW Farm has experimented with growing grains. You've likely read about our experience growing wheat, and last week we talked about our quinoa crop and the history of growing quinoa. This week, I would like to share the Farm's experience growing quinoa and processing the grains to be ready for consumption. This article will be a step by step quinoa guide for small scale quinoa production by home growers and farms like ours.
Growing:
We started our quinoa plants from seeds sown in soil blocks in April, in our greenhouse. When the quinoa plants were about 4 weeks old, we transplanted them into one of our Mercer Court plots. They spent the next 4 months growing tall and producing gorgeous bright fuchsia flowers. The plants grew to be 6 or 7 feet tall. Walking between the stalks of pink and green was an experience I can only describe as majestic. As the days grew warmer, the flowering parts of our quinoa plants began to turn from pink to brown, and we knew our quinoa was about ready to be harvested.
Harvest:
Late August arrived and with the help of a group of volunteers, we harvested our quinoa. When the flowers are brown and dry, the quinoa is at a delicate state where any strong movement can shatter the seed pods. This was our indicator that we needed to harvest. We used bypass pruning shears to cut the thick, long stalks and then placed the dried flower ends into a plastic bag to make sure we captured as many quinoa seeds as we could. The bags of quinoa stalks were then hung up in our high tunnel for another 6 weeks to fully dry out and be ready for the threshing and winnowing process.
Threshing/Winnowing:
During a lab with Harvest to Health, we took our dried bags of quinoa stalks down from the celling of the high tunnel and carefully removed the stalks from the seed pods with scissors and gardening snips. We collected the seeds and chaff into food-safe 5-gallon bucks to be threshed (shown in the photo left). The threshing process can be done in many ways. The big picture is to release the seeds from the dried flowers or seed coat (chaff) with massage or agitation. The method we chose was to rub a handful of quinoa between our hands, which massages the seeds out of the chaff. After we did this step until we felt confident that we had removed as many seeds from the chaff as we possibly could, we moved onto the winnowing step. Winnowing removes the chaff from the seeds. The best way to achieve this result is to utilize wind power and blow the chaff (which is much lighter in weight) off the seeds. To do this, we used fans and slowly poured our collection of seeds and chaff in front of a running fan (see photo right). Quinoa seeds are heavier than the chaff, and the fan will blow the lighter chaff away, so only seeds fall into the harvest tote below. We did this a number of times to ensure we separated as much chaff as possible.
Ready to be eaten!
The last step in our quinoa process is to prepare the quinoa seeds for consumption! When buying quinoa from a store, the industrial threshing/winnowing process is far more accurate than the hand-powered processes we completed. To make sure the quinoa is ready to eat, we recommend soaking the quinoa in a bowl of water right before cooking it. The seeds will absorb some water and sink to the bottom, and any remaining chaff or dust will float to the top. Once all the quinoa seeds have sunk to the bottom of your bowl, skim the surface of the water to remove the last of the chaff. Drain your water and add the quinoa to a pot of boiling water or your choice of stock. In 10-15 minutes you will have fluffy, home-grown, quinoa to enjoy in your favorite recipe.
Place the quinoa and vegetable broth in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat to a simmer, cover the saucepan with a lid and cook covered until all the liquid is absorbed, 15 minutes. Allow the quinoa to rest for about 5 minutes, without opening the lid, then fluff with a fork.
Preheat oven to 375°F, and prepare the peppers by cutting them in half lengthwise and removing the seeds and membrane. Place the peppers in a baking dish cut side up, and pour water around the peppers — just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until they start to soften, about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 more minute. Stir in the cooked quinoa, diced tomatoes, black beans and corn. Season with cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and cook for additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Carefully spoon the mixture into the sliced peppers and sprinkle the cheese on top.
Bake uncovered until the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted, about 30-35 minutes. Add optional toppings and serve hot.
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SER-UW Native Plant Nursery Plant Sale
Check out their webpage and catelogue to purchase plants SER-UW Plant Sale
The UW Farm donates regularly to the UW Food Pantry. During peak season we also donate to nearby food banks. The links below are resources to help you or someone you know with food access.
Every year, we have the capacity to grow more food and increase our educational and research program at the UW, but not without your support. Every contribution goes to work immediately, helping us better serve students. Your support can sustain our momentum and help seed new opportunities for student internships, academic work, and future growth. Please consider making a gift to the Farm online
The Weekly Dirt is produced once a week by the University of Washington Farm, a program of the UW Botanic Gardens, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment. It is published nearly year-round for educational purposes and the majority of the content is written or contributed by students and farm staff.
This issue's contributors:
Managing Editor: Althea Ericksen, UW Farm Intern, Communications Coordinator
Around the Farm: Chrina Munn, AmeriCorps Volunteer 2022-23 Contributing Editors: Perry Acworth, Farm Manager; Siffre Tooth, AmeriCorps Volunteer 2023-24 Photo Credits: Siffre Tooth. Other photos retrieved from the internet and noted in sections
een the stalks of pink and green was an experience I can only describe as majestic. As the days grew warmer, the flowering parts of our quinoa plants began to turn from pink to brown, and we knew our quinoa was about ready to be harvested. 
process. 
we felt confident that we had removed as many seeds from the chaff as we possibly could, we moved onto the winnowing step. Winnowing removes the chaff from the seeds. The best way to achieve this result is to utilize wind power and blow the chaff (which is much lighter in weight) off the seeds. To do this, we used fans and slowly poured our collection of seeds and chaff in front of a running fan (see photo right). Quinoa seeds are heavier than the chaff, and the fan will blow the lighter chaff away, so only seeds fall into the harvest tote below. We did this a number of times to ensure we separated as much chaff as possible. 
accurate than the hand-powered processes we completed. To make sure the quinoa is ready to eat, we recommend soaking the quinoa in a bowl of water right before cooking it. The seeds will absorb some water and sink to the bottom, and any remaining chaff or dust will float to the top. Once all the quinoa seeds have sunk to the bottom of your bowl, skim the surface of the water to remove the last of the chaff. Drain your water and add the quinoa to a pot of boiling water or your choice of stock. In 10-15 minutes you will have fluffy, home-grown, quinoa to enjoy in your favorite recipe. 
