Prefers a well-drained fertile soil in a sunny position. Requires a hot sheltered position if it is to do well. Plants should not be given inorganic fertilizers, see notes above on toxicity. Cultivated as a food crop in India, there are many named forms. This species has the potential, through crossbreeding, of imparting early maturity to the white seeded grain amaranths. Most if not all members of this genus photosynthesize by a more efficient method than most plants. Called the 'C4 carbon-fixation pathway', this process is particularly efficient at high temperatures, in bright sunlight and under dry conditions.

Leaves and young seedlings - cooked as a spinach, added to soups etc or eaten raw. The nutritious leaves have a mild flavor. Seed - raw or cooked. Used as a cereal substitute, the seed is usually ground into a flour for use in porridges, bread etc. It is rather small but easy to harvest and very nutritious. The seed can be cooked whole, and becomes very gelatinous like this, but it is rather difficult to crush all of the small seeds in the mouth and thus some of the seed will pass right through the digestive system without being assimilated.

Seed - sow late spring in situ. An earlier sowing can be made in a greenhouse and the plants put out after the last expected frosts. Germination is usually rapid and good if the soil is warm. A drop in temperature overnight aids germination. Cuttings of growing plants root easily.

Of uncertain origin, it grows wild in cultivated fields and waste places.