Epazote

Family: Amaranthaceae

Species: Dysphania ambrosioides

Annual 

Conditions:  Full sun, well draining soil.  Warm weather, with temperatures in the mid 20s C (70s F), is the optimum.

Calendar for Hardiness 6B

November – Mid May 

Cooking: From dry or frozen.

Late May – June

Cooking: Leaves for quesadillas, to stir fry, or add to beans and stews.

Gardening: 

Start: First year, spread seed and lightly cover with a sprinkle of loose soil.  Water regularly until sprouts appear, between seven and fourteen days after sowing.  For subsequent years, monitor area for sprouts in late May.

Care:  Keep moist; pinch tops to slow down bolting.

Harvest:  Pick leaves as soon as they are about 1 inch long.  Continue harvesting, cutting top or side growth.

July – August 

Cooking:  Enjoy as in spring, dry bunches by hanging upside down, or freeze washed and cut leaves with water in ice cube trays.

Gardening:

Harvest:  Pull full mature plants for cooking and drying.  Stop harvesting as soon as plants bolt, since seeds are toxic.

Care:  Continue watering.  Allow a few plants to bolt and blooms to dry on the plant, for self-seeding.

September – October

Cooking: From spring harvest.

Gardening:  When temperatures start to drop, sprinkle seed in the garden bed, and cover lightly with soil and mulch.

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Seed suggestions

West Coast Seeds

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Epazote plants in June 2018.  The first seeds were spread in that same patch in 2013, and it has been self-seeding ever since.

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