Sorghum, Ba Ye Qi (Organic)
Sorghum bicolor. 90 days.
By the far the earliest maturing grain sorghum we’ve grown. 7′ tall plants have one goal in mind and that is to make grain. Sugar content of the stalks and quantity of forage is not huge, which helps it mature grain so early. Sorghum flour is delicious and makes excellent gluten-free baked goods. Whole kernels can be cooked like brown rice and used just like rice, quinoa, couscous, or traditional sorghum porridge. In China, sorghum is also used to make beer and liquor. Plants thrive in sub-optimal growing conditions. Ba Ye Qi sorghum is from the Nei Mongol autonomous region of northern China. Our stock seed came to us from Sherck Seeds in Indiana, a seed company working to preserve unique staple food crop genetics. Aka, Ba Yi Qi.
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Sorghum does best when direct sown 1/4” deep, spaced at 10”-12” centers. May also be transplanted. Plant as early in the season as possible, when soil has warmed and danger of frost has passed.
Harvest and Seed Saving
Harvest for grain or seed when seed heads are dry. Save seed from 10 – 20 plants. Test for dryness with a hammer; dry kernels shatter. Thresh by hand or by dancing. No isolation is necessary for this self-pollinating corn relative.
Angela Minno –
Where did you grow this variety? Southeastern US
I have only grown this sorghum for two seasons – this year I grew two large plots from the seeds I’d saved from last year. It’s very productive and easy to grow in Florida! I planted it like corn, around mid-march in my planting area (North Florida). It grows very tall, and twice now after I harvested in late June/early July, I cut the stalks and they are re-growing from the roots. I fertilized it and hope that like last season it will make a second crop. I’ve asked other people who have tried growing sorghum if this happened for them, and they said no, so perhaps it is just this variety? It’s a wonderful variety anyway, and makes a very reliable staple crop.
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