# Sorghum



## PrepN4Good

Anyone here ever grow Sorghum? I was paging thru the new Baker Creek catalog & read about it. Sounds like a useful plant (grain, sweet syrup, animal fodder), & altho it says it's commonly grown in the South, I've never seen it (altho it's probable I didn't know what it was).


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## bunkerbob

PrepN4Good said:


> Anyone here ever grow Sorghum? I was paging thru the new Baker Creek catalog & read about it. Sounds like a useful plant (grain, sweet syrup, animal fodder), & altho it says it's commonly grown in the South, I've never seen it (altho it's probable I didn't know what it was).


I started last year with a small volunteer crop in the garden, saved the seeds after cracking/grinding some with the grist mill and adding to some home grown corn and left over egg shells that was fed to the chickens. Looked up uses and found many from beer to syrup.
This year to expand where I grew water hungry corn last year, sorghum should do better with less water.
I also will be growing white amaranth along side of these.

BB


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## JustCliff

A guy here grows it. He makes syrup. Hes got a few cane presses that he has restored and runs them on hit and miss engines and by horses.


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## PrepN4Good

Thanks for the replies, guys. I think I'll get a package or two. What's the worst that can happen, other than being out a couple of bucks...? 

Altho I guess I orta find out what a "cane press" is....


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## goshengirl

My understanding is that grain sorghum is the same as milo, which is commonly grown for feed (my husband's family used to grow it on their farm). I got some for this coming season to grow for our chickens (and we'll see how we humans like it, too).

For syrup, you'll want to grow sweet sorghum. 

Hope that helps. Definitely still learning here.


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## PrepN4Good

goshengirl said:


> For syrup, you'll want to grow sweet sorghum.
> 
> Hope that helps. Definitely still learning here.


The varieties I intend to buy are Dale & Sugar Drip. For what that's worth!


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## rhrobert

Funny you bring up sorghum now...lol, I was just reading the new issue of Mother Earth News and they had an article on making syrup. 
You can get a small manual cane mill for $300 here http://www.sugarcanemarket.com/category_s/3.htm but according to the article, Country Living Mills will be coming out with a small home unit mid 2013


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## *Andi

I've never grown it on a large scale but we have helped a farmer put it by. All day job and fun to boot. 

You must keep us posted on how it works out.


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## Tank_Girl

We used to soak it over night and then boil it until the outer shell broke and it puffed out..*like pearl barley in stews*.

We feed it to our performance horses as a warm mash but it was really tasty and nutty when I tested it...urmm..yanno...to see if it was ok for the horses.

It might be one for the slow cooker like a barley risotto.


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## PrepN4Good

rhrobert said:


> Funny you bring up sorghum now...lol, I was just reading the new issue of Mother Earth News and they had an article on making syrup.
> You can get a small manual cane mill for $300 here http://www.sugarcanemarket.com/category_s/3.htm but according to the article, Country Living Mills will be coming out with a small home unit mid 2013


Thanks for the link...the pix aren't great, but I'm guessing it works kinda like a clothes wringer...?

Tank_girl - you talking about the heads/seeds or whatever you call 'em at the top? :scratch


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## Tank_Girl

Yes the seeds.

There are two types of sorghum.

There is the forage type that is grown for the leaf/plant that can be strip grazed or cut, dried and baled like hay.
Even within the forage sorghum there are different varieties and some are toxic due to prussic acid poisoning and only feed when they get a certain height.
Varieties that come to mind in that catagory are Jumbo and Silk.
These can cope with multiple cuttings before the plant fails.

Then there is the grain varieties.
I feed the horses the seeds of the grain varieties.

Here is a link to some forage varieties.
Note that some are Sudan grass x sorghum hybrids.
http://www.smartforage.co.nz/Sorghum


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## siletz

I had looked into sorghum a couple months ago and am interested to see what everyone has to say!


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## dixiemama

All I know is, my local Mennonite store sells it. Need to buy some and check out the label...


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## PrepN4Good

dixiemama said:


> All I know is, my local Mennonite store sells it. Need to buy some and check out the label...


Good point...I was at an Amish store this weekend, saw it on the shelf...should have picked some up to at least see if I'd eat it!


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## Meerkat

PrepN4Good said:


> Thanks for the replies, guys. I think I'll get a package or two. What's the worst that can happen, other than being out a couple of bucks...?
> 
> Altho I guess I orta find out what a "cane press" is....


Got ours from Baker Creek also.Gave some to neighbor who gows cane and raises bees.He had trouble with it,but forgot what he said it was.

I will try it this year.

Sorghum syrup was used alot in my home state of Gerogia.You can still get it at the state farmers market there.Its on outskirts of Atlanta.


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## JustCliff

Thought I would bump this back up.

A friend and I have been contemplating getting into sweet sorghum. He has got a line on a mill and has plenty of land. I have been looking for a mill but the are kind of steep. If anyone has information on a mill in my general area, give me a shout.


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## Davarm

Have you considered Ribbon Cane for syrup, "I" dont know much about growing/processing either one but a lot of it was once grown around here.


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## ETXgal

I love the sorghum molasses from the health food store. Molasses will last an awful long time. I don't know if what is called syrup, is the same as molasses. If anyone knows, please clarify. I think if sorghum will grow in your area, why not give it a try?


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## Wanderer0101

My family used to buy several cans of the syrup every year when I was a boy. Good stuff! I would like to try growing some myself.


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## goshengirl

I do not know how different the two sorghums are, but I offer a caution in case the sugar sorghum grows similar to the grain sorghum. This year we grew the grain sorghum and barely got a speck because the birds beat us to it! We will try growing the grain sorghum again, but in small plots and utilizing t-posts to keep them covered with bird netting. It must be good stuff, because the birds are truly tenacious!


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## crabapple

goshengirl said:


> I do not know how different the two sorghums are, but I offer a caution in case the sugar sorghum grows similar to the grain sorghum. This year we grew the grain sorghum and barely got a speck because the birds beat us to it! We will try growing the grain sorghum again, but in small plots and utilizing t-posts to keep them covered with bird netting. It must be good stuff, because the birds are truly tenacious!


Blackbird pie anyone?


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