Salvia hispanica

CHIA SEED SUPERFOOD

Salvia hispanica
CHIA SEED SUPERFOOD
Syn. Salvia rhyacophila

Salvia hispanica is the source of popular superfood Chia seed.
But it is also a very pretty garden plant.

Delicious, healthy food & pretty in the garden

Salvia hispanica (recently re-classified as S. rhyacophila) is so easy to grow – you can easily enjoy it as either health giving food or garden decoration.

Ancient superfood popular again as a health food

Salvia hispanica grows wild in Mexico and Guatemala.
Where it was highly prized as food, medicine and even currency, by the ancient Aztecs.
Now Salvia hispanica, and the Chia seeds it produces, have sprung back into world-wide modern cuisine – prized for the health giving benefits and delicious flavour.

Prized for anti-oxidants & cholesterol reduction in healthy eating

The Chia seed from Salvia hispanica contains high concentrations of fibre; omega-3 fatty acids; quality protein; vitamins A, B and D; essential minerals; and the antioxidants we all need.
So the ancient Aztecs were on the mark when they used it for combating diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

Leaves & stems all make delicious food

Fresh leaves are harvested to use in salads, stir-fries, sandwiches and soups.
While stems can be steamed and cooked as a vegetable.

Seeds are used for……. so many things

Sprinkle dry seeds on breakfast muesli; rice; yoghurt; and vegetable dishes.
Also soak the seeds in water (they absorb water quickly and swell to a gelatinous texture) – then they can be added into many hot dishes for health giving qualities.

Drink the seeds too

Or you can soak the seeds in fruit juice to make a health drink, or soak the seeds in water to use a a natural thickener in casseroles, soups and sauces.
The ancient Central American people also sucked soaked seeds as a thirst quencher on long journeys.

Or sprout them for salads & sandwiches

You can regularly sow the seeds in small containers indoors to snip as fresh sprouts for salads and sandwiches.

Sky blue flowers & attractive bright green foliage

But Salvia hispanica is worth growing just as a pretty garden plant – even if you never eat a bit.
It has long heads of sky-blue flowers, above bright green broad foliage, and plants bloom for a long time.
The foliage is also nicely aromatic.

Quick to raise from seed & fast to flower and finally Chia seed

This quick growing annual crop plant flowers just 6-8 weeks after sowing the seed, and then produces the seed harvest in autumn.
If you are sowing it in containers for sprouts, then you are clipping within 10 days.

Adored by birds, bees & butterflies

Our feathered and flying friends just adore the nectar rich blooms on Salvia hispanica.
So it is an enchanting sight to see our honey-eating native birds frolicking amongst the massed flowers as the bees are a-buzzing.
While seed eating birds like Finches are delighted to feast on the Chia seeds later in autumn – so do leave them some.

Bunnies & deer are not so keen

Though birds, bees and butterflies cant get enough of the nectar rich flowers, fortunately rabbits and deer find the taste of the aromatic foliage unappealing.

Leave it to do its own thing & self seed

Salvia hispanica is a self-seeding annual Sage.
So once you have it started – It will reliably seed itself into the garden each year, to provide plenty of new plants, as long as you leave a head or two to go to seed each autumn.
It is not hard to weed out if it volunteers in the wrong place.
And it loves nothing better than seeding itself into gravel.

Low maintenance & easily grown

Salvia hispanica thrives in Full Sun positions.
And happily grows in a wide range of climates, providing it gets a warm summer.
It likes a well drained soil that has been prepared with some organic matter – as in the veggie garden.
Plus can be mass planted in containers on a sunny balcony.

Edible annual plant.
60-90cm. High x 25cm. Wide.

SEED SOWING ADVICE: QUICK & EASY

Sow seed for Salvia hispanica at any time of year in a punnet / pots indoors – when suitable temperatures are available.

OR scatter directly in garden in spring, through summer, to early autumn.
Sow seeds directly in the garden 3mm deep, in rows with each seed approx. 30cm apart.
Or just broad scatter and rake in for larger crop areas.

OR grow indoors in pots year round for use as sprouts.

Flowers 6 – 8 weeks after sowing

Sow indoors for quick & easy plants: Sow seed in punnets / pots on the surface of good quality seed raising mix.
Now press the seeds gently onto the surface of the mix to ensure good contact.
Cover seed to depth of approx. 3mm. with sieved mix.

Then thoroughly moisten the sown punnet by standing it in a shallow water bath and allowing the moisture to percolate up to the surface from below.

Now place the moist, sown punnet in a warm, well-lit place (but not in any direct sun).

Continue to keep the punnet moist by misting from a spray water-bottle.

Temperatures of approximately 20-22°C are best for rapid and optimum germination rate.

Seedlings emerge in approx. 5 days.

Prick out and grow on in pots, or transplant out into the garden.

Seed Count: 300 seeds per pack approx.
(We always aim to exceed the stated seed count, and give a generous serve).

Click here for Nursery Open Days & Open Gardens Information
https://www.gardivalia.com.au/open-gardens

Click here to go back to Seeds Shop
https://www.seedscape.net.au/shop/