Quinoa seed variety packs
Looking to buy an assortment of quinoa seeds? There are many ways to purchase a mix of varieties, in separate packets or mixed together in a packet. A little goes a long way, because quinoa seeds are small are easy to germinate.
One seller, Bountiful Gardens, offers a quinoa seed collection of 6 different varieties, a selection of noteworthy varieties:
Bountiful Gardens 6-packet quinoa collection
Bountiful Gardens individual quinoa varieties
If you’re looking to experiment with varieties of quinoa that grow well in North America/United States, this is the way to go. You can grow quinoa plants from quinoa grain you buy at Walmart or wherever, but they will likely be of the South American mountain varieties, which get confused with the seasons in the northern hemisphere. Some that I tried planting in West Virginia froze before the seed could mature. In fact, only about 1% of the seed had matured when a harder freeze finally killed them off in November. These commercial South American varieties might do a little better in the southern US.
Varieties like what Bountiful Gardens have likely been selectively bred for a couple decades for North American climates. I’m doing an experimental mixed quinoa patch in Ohio this year with the Bountiful Gardens’ quinoa collection, so I should have something to report this fall one way or another!