Amaranth Lal Shak Spinach 500+ Seeds Heirloom Non-GMO Vegetable Garden

Grow your own Lal Shak at home 🌱 Heirloom red amaranth, the much-loved leafy green of Bengali and South Asian kitchens, grown from 500+ non-GMO seeds packed in Melbourne.

Lal Shak (red amaranth) is a fast-growing, tender leafy vegetable with striking red-and-green leaves. It's a favourite for stir-fries, bhaji, dal and curries, and it's one of the easiest warm-season greens you can grow in an Australian backyard, balcony pot or raised bed.

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🌿 WHAT YOU'LL RECEIVE
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- 500+ Lal Shak (red amaranth) seeds
- Heirloom, open-pollinated, non-GMO
- Packed by hand in a sealed seed packet
- Simple growing instructions included

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🌶️ WHY GARDENERS LOVE LAL SHAK
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- Quick to harvest: young leaves are often ready in about 4–6 weeks in warm weather
- Cut-and-come-again: pick the tips and it keeps producing
- Beautiful colour in the garden and on the plate
- Handles summer heat better than many leafy greens
- Heirloom seed, so you can save your own seed for next season

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📅 WHEN TO SOW (AUSTRALIA)
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Lal Shak loves warmth. Sow once the soil has warmed and frosts have passed.
- Cool/temperate areas (e.g. Melbourne, Victoria): mid-spring to late summer (roughly October–February)
- Warmer and subtropical areas: spring through summer and early autumn
Seeds sown into cold soil germinate slowly or not at all, so it's worth waiting for warm weather.

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🌱 HOW TO GROW
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1. SOWING: The seeds are very fine. Sprinkle thinly over moist seed-raising mix or garden soil and cover lightly (about 3–5 mm). Mixing seeds with a little sand helps spread them evenly.
2. GERMINATION: Usually around 5–10 days in warm conditions. Keep the soil lightly moist, not soggy.
3. THINNING: Thin seedlings to about 10–15 cm apart for leafy harvests. Thinnings are edible, so don't waste them!
4. SUNLIGHT: Full sun is best (6+ hours). Light afternoon shade helps in very hot summers.
5. WATERING: Water regularly, especially in hot weather. Dry soil can cause plants to go to seed early.
6. FEEDING: Grows best in rich soil with compost. A liquid feed (e.g. seaweed or fish-based) every 2–3 weeks keeps leaves tender.
7. PESTS: Watch for snails and slugs on young seedlings, plus aphids and caterpillars in summer. Hand-picking and regular checks work well in home gardens.

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🥬 HARVESTING
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- Pick young leaves and soft tips once plants are about 15–20 cm tall
- Harvest regularly to encourage bushy new growth
- Pull whole young plants for a single large harvest, the traditional way it's often sold at markets
- Leaves are most tender before the plant starts flowering

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🍲 IN THE KITCHEN
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Use Lal Shak like spinach. Try it stir-fried with garlic and dried chilli, cooked into dal, added to curries, or made into Lal Shak bhaji with rice. The red colour gives a lovely pink tint to cooking juices.

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📦 SHIPPING
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Dispatch time - 2 Days, Postage Method - Australia Post, non tracking envelope.
Check WA and Tasmania have seed import restrictions.

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🏡 ABOUT BACKYARD GARDEN SEEDS
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We're a small Melbourne backyard seed business specialising in South Asian, Himalayan and heirloom vegetable seeds, the flavours of home grown in Australian gardens.

Questions about growing? Send us a message, we're always happy to help. 💚
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