How to Grow Sorghum
Sorghum is grown for its edible grains, syrup, and beer production. Crafts are made with some varieties of sorghum, like broom corn.When to Plant Sorghum is a plant that likes heat. It thrives in environments with long summers. Sorghum is not direct-sown by many gardeners until the middle of May or even the beginning of June.
Dispersing Necessities
Direct-plant sorghum seeds ¼” profound 8-12″ separated.
Time to Germination: 4-10 days Common Pests and Diseases: Cover maturing seed heads with bags or pieces of row cover to keep birds from eating your sorghum crop.When and How to Harvest Harvest sorghum grain when the seeds are so hard that a fingernail can no longer dent them. Hedge trimmers or a very sharp knife should be used to cut down the stalks of cane sorghum before the first frost.
Sorghum can be used in a variety of ways in the kitchen. Sorghum seeds can be used in recipes that call for barley or brown rice because they can be cooked like grains. Like popcorn, the seeds can be popped. Breads and other baked goods also make use of sorghum flour. The canes, or stalks, of some sorghum varieties are bred to produce a sugary liquid. Sorghum syrup can be made by pressing and boiling this liquid.
How to Save Sorghum Seeds Life Cycle Annual Recommended Isolation Distance When saving sorghum seeds, keep the different varieties 100 to 200 feet apart.Recommended Population Sizes To harvest viable seeds, one sorghum plant is all that is required. To keep an assortment over numerous ages, save seeds from between 10-25 plants.
Evaluation of Seed Maturity Harvesting sorghum seeds is most effective when they are dry and do not dent when pressed with a fingernail.
Processing and Cleaning Seeds can be easily threshed by either manually rubbing the seed heads or stripping the seed stalks. After threshing, the seeds may still be enclosed in their glumes, or casings, but this has no effect on how the seeds can be saved or stored. After that, seeds can be filtered and winnowed.
Storage and Viability Sorghum seeds can be stored for ten years in dry, cool, and dark conditions.
