Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Hand-scything grain
Sorghum
Sorghum is a very good grain crop in warmer climates. The plants like their weather dry
and warm, so up here in Iowa I never plant sorghum until mid-June, when the corn is up
and growing. Sorghum takes more than 100 days to mature.
Do not plant sorghum too thick. I use a row seeder with a seed plate designed for
beets and I either tape every other hole shut or thin plants later. Keep at least 4 inches
(10 cm) or so between plants. Careful selection of varieties is important because birds
prefer certain grain sorghums over others. If you grow broomcorn, a type of sorghum,
the birds will pick the seed from the broom straw. Sweet sorghum seed heads are favor-
ites for poultry.
Be forewarned: wild birds also love sorghum and will harvest your crop just before
it's ready. Before they can get to it, cut the heads off the sorghum plants, throw them
into the pen, and let your flock do the work.
