We plan to evaluate the potential of sweet sorghum as an ethanol-producing crop for Nebraska. Another positive climate change value of this crop is that it consumes less water. If you are growing rows of sorghum, the rows must be at least 3 … Collect the strained juice in a large vessel, such as a 5-gallon bucket. Sign in with your online account. Already a Member? International Subscribers - Click Here Orders with all items in stock will ship in 3-4 business days, plus transit time. That's why we want you to save money and trees by subscribing through our earth-friendly automatic renewal savings plan. Marketing and Market Outlook Kentucky leads the country in sweet sorghum For more information on locating sorghum mills and the GrainMaker press, see “Equipment and More Info” at the end of this article. Already a Member? Growing sorghum is a good choice as a rotation crop due to its high heat and moisture stress tolerance. It is relatively drought tolerant, has a high forage and ethanol yield per acre, has relatively low cost of production, is adaptable to no-till, has a co-product called bagasse that could be used for animal feed, and the crop itself could be used for silage if needed. That's why we want you to save money and trees by subscribing through our earth-friendly automatic renewal savings plan. These aren’t only old, nearly forgotten memories. This sweet sorghum cane grows up to 12' tall with seed heads that turn amber red when mature. Comparatively, a smaller, 100-square-foot crop (two 50-foot rows) would produce about 6 gallons of juice and two-thirds gallon of syrup. Sorghum-makers press sweet, green juice from the sorghum canes and cook the juice down into a finished syrup. Sandy soils in warm climates are especially good for growing sorghum because it withstands drought and flooding better than corn does. Like to read more content, Join the Mother Earth News Community Today! The variety of cane grown, the type of soil it’s grown in, the maturity of the cane at harvest, the length of cooking — all of these factors work together to turn out a unique, natural sugar substitute each time. In summer, select vigorous plants for seed production, and make sure they receive adequate food and water throughout the season. Sorghum canes grow throughout summer and form large seed heads that usually turn brick-red as they mature, typically in late summer or early fall. Sweet As … Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) is an attractive crop for the biofuel industry in the arid-southwestern United States due to its high yields of fermentable juice as well as fibrous biomass, with lower water requirements and high water use efficiency. Best for small operations. I grew up helping my family make sweet sorghum syrup. Contributing editor Barbara Pleasant gardens in southwest Virginia, where she grows vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers and a few lucky chickens. If you haven’t tried sweet sorghum syrup, you’re missing out. The final summer party of the year is coming to a close, replaced with dreams of baked sweet potatoes and hot biscuits smothered with butter and drizzled with sorghum syrup. The syrup is sometimes incorrectly referred to as sorghum molasses. 24.05.17. Immediately ladle the sorghum syrup into sterilized jars and screw on clean lids. In addition, there was a lot of silage planted in June and July. When made at home, every batch of sorghum syrup turns out a little different because many variables play a part in the process. For example, we use a stainless steel pan that’s 6 feet long and 3 feet wide with 6-inch-high sides. Growing Heirloom Sweet Sorghum A Quick Look at Some New Varieties By George Kuepper, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist with Bruce Branscum, Kerr Farm/Ranch Technician, and Melanie Zoeller, Kerr Center Executive Administrative Assistant Kerr Center for HEIRLOOM VARIETY TRIALS Sustainable Agriculture P.O. At MOTHER EARTH NEWS for 50 years and counting, we are dedicated to conserving our planet's natural resources while helping you conserve your financial resources. Growing sorghum is as simple as growing corn, and you can choose between growing grain sorghum (milo), sorghum varieties known as broom corn, or sweet sorghum for making into sorghum syrup. One of the most versatile members of the grass family, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) can be grown for grain, crafting or for processing into sorghum syrup. Sweet sorghum grows as a cane from 6 to 10 feet tall and makes a cone-shaped seed head filled with BB-sized seeds. Sherry Leverich Tucker is inspired and fascinated by country skills — especially sorghum-making, market gardening and hog-raising. Farmers would need to judge if the sorghum has time to mature before the first fall frosts. After pressing the cane through the mill, transfer the juice to a long, shallow pan to cook down over a fire pit into the final syrup. The craft of sorghum-making requires special equipment to press the juice from the canes. Leave one narrow end of the pit open for adding firewood, and build out the opposite end with cinder blocks for a stovepipe large enough to ensure a good draw for the fire. We’ve always called it ‘cane’ – sorghum is known by many names; sweet sorghum, sorghum cane and all are correct. Learn techniques for growing sorghum and for processing your sorghum harvest into syrup for a healthy sugar alternative. Appropriate sorghum varieties must be chosen for each use, but all types are as easy to grow as corn. Keep weeds under control until developing sorghum plants are big enough to dominate their space. Factors Influencing the Yield and Quality of Sorgo Sirup Produced in West Virginia , Bulletin 450, West Virginia University Agricultural Experiment Station, July 1961 The seeds are eagerly eaten by chickens and other animals, and are most palatable when cracked. If the saline-based land and the sorghum-growing land are used for cultivating sweet sorghum, then the planting areas would amount to 970 kha, producing 0.35 million tons of bioethanol. Canadian subscriptions: 1 year (includes postage & GST). don't have an online account? Growing Sorghum. 859-873-8497; send an email to ccfarmdude@aol.com  or rabjrock@gmail.com. Drought tolerant. Edwards Engineering  For growing advice for many more garden crops, check out our complete Crops at a Glance Guide. Sweet Sorghum planting in China 713-849-6825 Unlike corn, sorghum is self-fertile, so a large plot is not needed for pollination purposes. I remember the sorghum canes growing in our garden, and the late summer day we harvested our crop. of Georgia, March 1999. You may also use the Bill Me option and pay $17.95 for 6 issues. Six weeks after planting, drench sorghum with a high-nitrogen liquid fertilizer to invigorate new growth. This corn could be very immature when it is harvested. Country Rock Sorghum Step aside, honey and maple syrup — there’s a new sweetener on the block, and it can be grown and processed right at home. Canadian Subscribers - Click Here The barely-mature seeds can be fed to animals, or cooked and eaten like other whole grains. For more specific recommended planting dates for your local climate — and to design your garden beds — try our Vegetable Garden Planner. Like corn, grains of sorghum go through an immature “milk” stage when a pierced kernel will bleed a milk-like juice. Typical values are presented here below (EU Trials): Stem fresh and dry matter and sugar yields of Sweet Sorghum in various EU regions. Many farms are growing sorghum or sorghum species for the first time. Unlike sugarcane, sweet sorghum has the ability to grow outside tropical climates, providing Heckemeyer another means of increasing his profitability by contributing a unique product for a growing marketplace. The cost of growing sweet sorghum is four times lower than that of sugarcane, P 17,820 compared to P 44,250/ha/year according to ICRISAT. It shouldn’t taste as raw as it does when it’s first squeezed from the stalk, and it should be thick like corn syrup (the hot syrup will be thinner than the final product). You can find vintage iron sorghum mills at farm sales or purchase new machines built following old designs. Sweet sorghum is a perennial crop in areas that don't have a winter freeze. Broom corn is a type of sorghum that holds its seeds on sturdy straws, perfect for trimming into brooms. You must decide when the syrup is finished based on thickness and taste, which is a learning process. • The National sweet sorghum regional test shows that lodging and low sugar content are the problems for biofuels. This requires a large pan (evaporator) and a heat source, typically a wood fire. I feed this byproduct to our pigs, along with the spent sorghum canes — they wallow in, sleep on and eat them with relish. Sign in with your online account. Sorghum seed must be planted, thinned and fertilized in late May to early June, after the ground is warm. Heckemeyer hopes to produce butanol, which nearly packs the same energetic punch as natural gas. Allow the stalks to dry in small bunches. The grain can be milled into fresh flour, and some varieties such as ‘Tarahumara’ can be popped like popcorn. Many factors work together to turn out a unique batch of homemade sorghum syrup each time. This is a relatively early … As you start squeezing the canes, build a fire in the pit. For most sorghum varieties, the maturity of the seed also marks the peak level of sugar content present in the juice. Sweet sorghum grown for syrup looks similar to corn but can reach 10-plus feet tall. Its harvest timing is very different than corn silage if you want to get it right. Thick, juicy stalks make for mighty fine sorghum syrup once squeezed and boiled down over a wood fire. We needed another ‘sweet’ option here on the farm too (we tap maple trees and have bee hives). By paying with a credit card, you save an additional $5 and get 6 issues of MOTHER EARTH NEWS for only $12.95 (USA only). Plant breeding efforts continue to improve the cold tolerance of sorghum for growth in the Midwest. Canadian subscriptions: 1 year (includes postage & GST). Sweet sorghum syrup is known as "sorghum molasses" in some regions of the United States, though in most of the U.S. the term molasses refers to … Already a Member but Researchers in Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas have started converting sorghum into ethanol. To see images of Sherry and her family milling and processing sweet sorghum visit the Image Gallery. The craft of sorghum-making requires special equipment to press the juice from the canes. Undercooking can cause it to develop mold, and leaving the “green” foam can make the syrup go rancid. That sounds like something that would require special equipment. Sweet sorghum. Fertilize and cultivate your sorghum planting as you would a crop of corn, though sorghum won’t require as much nitrogen. When the seeds of broom corn are hard and the plants begin to fail, cut stalks as long as you want them for decorating or crafting purposes. India is the second largest producer of sorghum in the world, producing ∼10–11 million tons from a … Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is primarily grown for the sweet juice that is extracted from the plant’s stalks. You can begin cooking after you’ve pressed at least half of your canes. Up to a week before your processing date, remove all of the leaves and seed heads from the canes, saving the seed heads for replanting. Sorghum also favours a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.8 on a Calcium Chloride Scale. Offers new mills in old and new designs for both small and large operations. Sweet sorghum is harvested about two weeks after the milk stage by cutting off the canes at ground level, stripping off the leaves, and setting aside the green canes. All orders are shipped by the United States Postal Service or UPS, either USPS First Class, USPS Priority, or UPS Ground. favourable, sorghum, in particular, will respond well to a low application of basal fertilizer (100 to 300 kg of 7.14.7 per ha) followed with a top dressing of 100 to 200 kg per ha of 28 - 34% N fertilizer. When you press the canes, you’ll need to catch the flow of juice and strain it to keep out bits of stalk, pith and dirt. When mature, canes are stripped of their leaves and seed heads and crushed, ... Before growing sorghum, consider the length of your growing season. Box 588 Poteau, OK 74953 Phone: 918.647.9123 Grain sorghum, also called milo, produces tall panicles covered with small, round seeds in late summer. The best part? Sweet As is great for grazing and also makes excellent silage. Six weeks after planting, drench sorghum with a high-nitrogen liquid fertilizer to invigorate new growth. 855-777-7096 Sorghum-making is a way to increase your food self-sufficiency, but more than that, it’s a meaningful tradition you can add to your homestead. Keep weeds under control until developing sorghum plants are big enough to dominate their space. Similar to sugar cane molasses in flavor and use, sweet sorghum syrup contains healthy doses of calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron. The ground, pressed canes yield a sweet, light green juice that is then cooked into sorghum syrup. Shorter season: ‘Della,’ ‘Rox Orange’ (aka ‘Waconia’), ‘Sugar Drip’, Longer season: ‘Dale,’ ‘M81E,’ ‘White African’. National Sweet Sorghum Producers and Processors Association  Several seed varieties are available (see “Sweet Sorghum Varieties,” at the end of this article). Varietal choice The two preferred varieties in Zimbabwe are: SC SILA International Subscribers - Click Here When the canes are ready for harvest, call in friends and family — the harvest and processing steps will require extra hands on deck. You may want to look into making a group purchase, as these large mills are often expensive. Pile all of the canes facing the same direction, and transport these piles to your mill and processing site. You say this can be grown and processed at home, but I am left wondering how on earth you grind and press 8-foot stalks at home. Sorghums are fast-growing, warm weather annuals that will provide plenty of feed in mid-summer when many other forages slow down. Sherry Leverich Tucker is inspired and fascinated by country skills — especially sorghum-making, market gardening and hog-raising. 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