Sorghum- The Best Backyard Grain. Episode 21, Explosive Metabolism.

In this episode I discuss a segregating F2 or F3 population of Sorghum I’ve been working with. I also discuss all aspects of growing, harvesting, and using your own Sorghum at the Backyard scale. Topics include Sorghum “ Dale”, Sorghum “ Texicoa “, Grain Sorghum, Syrup Sorghum, Popping Sorghum, Sorghum genetics, breeding, selection, and seed saving, harvesting and threshing Sorghum, feeding Sorghum to Poultry and Pigs, malting and brewing beer from Sorghum, Nixtamalizing Sorghum, grinding Sorghum for flour, making syrup and pancakes both from Sorghum, Sorghum vs Corn ( Maize) in many areas, yields, disease, insect, and pest tolerance, and levels of pixie popcorn that shouldn’t be possible.
Opening sequence music-
Mary Celeste by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Main sequence music- Fiddles McGinty 2014 Music by Kevin MacLeod. Available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license: creativecommons.org/licenses/b....
End card music- Deep Horrors by Kevin MacLeod. Courtesy of KZbin free audio library.

[@judotube1]

Please don't mind if my input may be irrelevant to ya'll. Where I came from in Asia, sorghum sake 高梁酒，is very expensive because it's rare. The prices double the rice sake and not many countries know how ro make this type of liquor. Taiwan makes it. Red sorghum sake even tops all other sake in profit. It's called Daughters Red Sake 女兒紅。In countrysides during the old days, when a baby girl was born, they buried a couple of jars of red sorghum with yeast underground until the daughter grows up to be married. It's a wedding sake. Don't know if this too boring for you but I think there is a lot of economic potential in this sorghum winery business for sushi bars, Asian restaurants and Asian exports.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Actually that’s super interesting. Thanks so much for the great memories and the fantastic comment.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

That’s so interesting, thanks for sharing!

[@TheVigilantStewards]

I find that very interesting!

[@watrgrl2]

That’s actually fascinating! Nice to know about this interesting tradition! Thank you for your input!

[@smueller12244]

I appreciate this comment Judotube1. Thank you

[@charnellcoetzer2226]

In South Africa we have a sorghum porridge called matabela and its delicious. Grind red sorghum down to the consistency of coarse polenta. Boil 1 cup of sorghum meal and 1/2 a tsp of salt with 2 to 3 cups of water for 15 to 20 minutes. Enjoy with sugar, honey, golden syrup or a syrup of your choice.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Thanks for taking the time to comment! I plan to test your recipe soon and will report on the results in a video!

[@charnellcoetzer2226]

@@esotericagriculture6643 Just remember to stir your sorghum meal into COLD water and bring it to a boil whilst stirring from there. You will end up with lumps if you don't. It will begin to thicken as it boils. After it comes to the boil you can turn it down and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

[@judotube1]

Incredible!

[@robertseller8129]

Do you have to shell it before you grind it? I am growing black sorghum. Please advise

[@esotericagriculture6643]

I never have shelled it. Seems fine to me. Not as fine as wheat flour but finer than flint corn flour. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@robertreznik9330]

When the sorghum is heading put a paper bag to keep head's pollen from moving. Easily air born pollen can travel 1000 feet or more. One seed can normally make 1000 seeds. Plant one seed per sq ft. I have produced 100's of million lbs on my farm in Texas. It takes much education to get a doctorate in sorghum breeding.

[@Battle.Tested.]

Came here looking to learn just a bit about sorghum and after watching your video my mind is going bonkers. I have 13 acres in Hawaii and want to plant a quarter acre and see where that goes. Thank you for this video and God bless you

[@indigenousinterbay4068]

I love feeding birds seeds in my backyard. I was surprised how fast the uneaten Sorghum seeds sprouted all over the yard, wherever I moved my bird feeder station to. I ended up with a shorter plant in some areas, to the very tall plant in others. After watching this video, I plan on harvesting the seeds.

[@Chickmamapalletfarm]

Great video! This is exactly what I was looking for, ans this comment section is gold! I am one of those folks who can’t eat gluten, and I am growing amaranth snd sorghum this year 2022, as a buffer to the instability in the world. Thanks for all the great explanation in this video.

[@vidproquo918]

An Indian method is to just grind the seeds hulls an all because it is more nutritious. Then use a regular sifter to get out hard chunks that didn't grind

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Thanks for watching and commenting. Great advice, thanks.

[@nirvachoritchy2933]

Sorghum flour is delicious for cooking breakfast cream-like , and also for making delicious cake .

[@The21stKam]

So informational and well done. Thank you!

[@Dajaphil]

Thanks for the great video! I've been reading up and the nutritionists say that red and black have the most nutrient quality. They are also very high in protein and antioxidants. Just FYI

[@thomasglasscock2570]

GREAT vid Sir. Lots of info. Anticipated Questions. Stuck to the essentials. Well Done!

[@claireanderson5903]

Thank you for the very informative and interesting explanation of sorghum. I couldn't have found a better introduction to this plant. Gonna try it!

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Thanks for the praise! Thanks for watching and talking the time to comment!

[@deecooper1567]

Just came up on my feed….. very interesting. I live in the high desert of Nevada & my ground is Nothing but sand lol. I’m planning on trying my hand at growing some with amendments added of course . After watching this I think I may try the Texaco’s as it’s shorter. We get some outrageous winds 💨 👵🏻👩‍🌾❣️

[@barbarag1382]

Thank you. I am fascinated with learning all I can about sorghum and have been searching a long time for information.

[@farmervee_yt]

I'm not sure why I've never heard of sorghum, but I just looked it up and I see syrup, grains & popcorn. Wow! Thank you!

[@melodyjogibson6791]

Excellent information, thank you

[@artbyadrienne6812]

Thanks for the tip on thrashing the seeds. I grew broom corn and mixed sorghum this year.

[@jeffcauhape6880]

Thank you! I am looking into planting sorghum next year, and now I now the name of a less bitter white variety!

[@Sbannmarie]

Love it ... I'm on the Sorghum train!

[@minutemandefense3935]

This was an enjoyable video. Very good info.

[@sparklyhomesteader5414]

I planted one sorghum plant from Baker Creek seed I’d bought years ago. It came up strong and ended up with 3 heads full. I picked one today and just wanted to manually get the seeds to see what it was like. Fun. Pinching my thumbnails and the seed pops right out. I noticed in July there were red wasps and blue daubers all over the plant. Also ladybugs. I’m wondering if it had aphids? Anyways.. next year I’m going to grow a boatload of this stuff. It’s too easy!!! Thanks for your video!!!

[@esotericagriculture6643]

They can indeed get aphids and what you saw was probably the predators showing up. Glad you are happy with your sorghum. It’s really easy to thresh the seeds clean, I do have a video showing how, threshing seeds. Basically you just bang the seed heads around in a large trash can or barrel and they fall off. You have to swing pretty hard. 😁 . Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@jennifera6542]

Thank you so much for sharing

[@julianachandler2975]

Very thorough video. Thanks!

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@joxxxyalpharius2008]

very informative ! thank you

[@two16rcp]

Great video!!

[@lululopez40]

Wow never knew all those uses, best sorgum video I have seen!! loved it!! I'm gonna have to find some seeds. J

[@Sparklfoot]

Ease of seed harvest is another good reason to grow Sorghum, just shake it!😊

[@wonderclear1750]

Nice video 👍👍

[@jett888]

thank you!! Heading out to plant both my Texacoa and White Dwarf Sorghum.

[@cedwoo2436]

I love sorghum. I went to a sorghum festival in north Georgia and found some seeds and planted them. They grew 6 feet tall. I save seeds to plant every year and use also as a cover crop. (not sure what variety they are) I also use the dried stalks to start fires in my fireplace.

[@TheVigilantStewards]

Nice video! Sounds like it would also be a good carbon source for compost, will check out some of your other videos

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Absolutely! Sorghum is a GREAT cover crop. Will provide an enormous amount of biomass in fairly poor soils with low moisture and high temperatures. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@AAHomeGardening]

Planning to grow some this year

[@justinjeffries1554]

This is so cool! You can eat the stalk like sugar cane?! Wow. How long does it take to dry?/how much use do you get out of a single harvest?

[@farmnerstv2311]

Planning to cultivate this in our farm

[@Ableurself]

Fantastic!?! Do you sell seed from the short red one!!!! Ever drink the juice raw!?!

[@Kusunoky]

As for me I would say I rather grow sorgum. Best plant ever for any occasions and very easy beside corn. Also sometimes bee are attracted to it for the pollens if I am not mistaken.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

It’s probably really the better option when compared to corn. I do very much like corn though! I think corn can be grown in shorter seasons than Sorghum but otherwise Sorghum is probably better for the backyard grain Grower.

[@thursdayswiththor8421]

Great video! Will sorghum grow in moist conditions? I have an artisan spring that keeps a low area on my property in standing water. I am going to try growing wild rice in the water for the wood ducks. It’s the damp ground around this water where I want to create cover and food for wildlife throughout the winter. I am in northern Wisconsin

[@douglassauvageau7262]

Curious to learn if sorghum can thrive in coastal climates. Many beef and dairy producers here on the Oregon coast rely on hay and alfalfa, but sorghum might be better(?) I love the cheese, ice-cream, and other dairy products grown here; and I love me some choice steak.

[@raymondferguson3358]

If you have maintained a line of the shorter red seeded grain sorghum are you able to sell a small amount. I'd want to buy several hundred if possible, but would be glad to have even a few dozen seed to try. Thank you very much!

[@frankmcmahon5820]

I have pop sourgum seeds like popcorn they are little small the kids really like it

[@birage9885]

What is the best way to know when to harvest them?

[@user-rk5fy8ur6o]

น่าสนใจมาก Sorghum

[@jasonostrander4100]

How do you seperate the hull?

[@TacklingTheGiants]

To make popcorn out of it do you leave it in the seed and heat it up or do you still deseed it? Also, if you wanted to make flour you would just deseed it and blend it?.

[@TheTomBevis]

Sorghum seed sounds surprisingly like hemp seed. The stalks of hemp are used for fiber instead of feed or sugar, though.

[@chrisharvey7461]

my stalks are dried still there outside, can i still peel and cook them down, Canada!

[@nicksmith7719]

Does it have a white powdery coating on the stalk when it's only about 3 ft tall? I had some recently just show up in my yard and didn't really know what it was so I started looking at videos on KZbin.

[@Over9000Unicorns]

You ever have issues with it lodging? I've been growing flint corn for a couple years now and I always get some plants falling over when we have rain and high winds.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Hello, thanks for taking the time to comment. I’ve never had Sorghum lodge in any meaningful way, even in high winds and heavy rain. Flint Corn is terrible for lodging, I’ve grown lots of Flint Corn. Sorghum is definitely superior in this regard.

[@ybois3]

Beautiful video! What is your growing zone/ state? ..

[@nspowers7130]

Mines fabulous, in Florida. My uncle grows for years in Montana

[@alexandracduke]

Were you able to plant the dwarf red seed sorghum this year? I'm curious to know if it's homozygous recessive height and if the seed color is heterozygous or not.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Sadly, no, I didn’t plant much this year as it’s been the wettest year ever recorded where I live and most of my gardens have been standing water most of the season. I do still have the seeds though, so I will plant another year. Thanks for watching!

[@thomasglasscock2570]

Thanks for sharin. Reckon you can grow it at high altitudes?

[@esotericagriculture6643]

I don’t see why not, the dwarf types are fairly short season. None of these are tolerant of frost or freezes.

[@thomasglasscock2570]

@@esotericagriculture6643 How tall are the dwarfs? And thank you very much for responding Sir.

[@thomasglasscock2570]

@@esotericagriculture6643 Whoops, never mind. just gettin to the part where you talk size

[@bvcnvnbcvn]

Is this the variety that makes broomcorn for weaving. How did your dwarf red seed do the next year?

[@dojodance]

Broomcorn is in the same family as sorghum but bred to have longer wisps, sorghum can be used instead of broom corn but isn't bred for brooms, for one that is an all around ok for syrup, grain, feed-stock and brooms try an Amish type.

[@mattm5001]

How do you process the stalks for syrup ? Thanks for the video. Subscribed.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

I have actually never done it myself, although I have seen it done a few times. Typically it is done using heavy steel or stone roller/crushers, typically pulled by a mule or an ox. I have been looking for many years for a hand scale method, haven’t found a really great one, although in southeast Asia they do sell small hand sugarcane presses which may or may not work some people say they work. Once the juice is out you’re just doing a simple boil reduction. Another option I have read about but not tried is just cutting the stocks up roughly and then boiling them for a while to extract as much of the soluble sugars as possible into the water and that might be a reasonable way to go about it as well. Thanks for watching, subscribing, and taking the time to comment.

[@mattm5001]

@@esotericagriculture6643 I got one of those small presses off of amazon. It worked out pretty well and we got a decent amount of juice from the small patch we harvested. It boiled down to a nice syrup.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Wow! Awesome! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Great to hear about that kind of success! I’ll have to get a press now. 😁

[@sarahmiranda7130]

@@mattm5001 what kind of press?

[@justtom1820]

I am interested in growing sorghum for my chickens this year. I am in southern Michigan and a bit concerned about the maturation time. I don't know where you are, but what do you think about growing in zone 6? Would it be practical to start it indoors in April? Thank you!

[@nspowers7130]

It grows everywhere in north America. Remember in this video he said it had been hit by frost or cold. Well I'm in Florida and mine is awesome for growth. My uncle grew it in Montana.

[@teemomain8268]

Could you help me identify? I'm from PA and I believe I have some short red wild Sorghum growing but want to be sure

[@dojodance]

be careful, might be Johnson grass.

[@user-jy4ur9zs5d]

Sir, Madam,Where can we buy sorghum seeds ?

[@elviegloriaagad3438]

Please clarify 3 colors of sorghum??

[@nikos1288]

Hi I am from Greece and I don't know good English. Your channel is great but I want to ask you if the red shorgum is for humans like making flour or it is for chickens

[@andrefernandes2975]

Hi Nikos. For sure you can eat both, but probably, as the corn grains, the white grains are for people and the darker ones is for animals. An interesting thing to know is that as darker is the grain, more nutrients it have.

[@nikos1288]

@@andrefernandes2975 what I can do with red shorgum

[@andrefernandes2975]

@@nikos1288 you can use it for your food and for animals food. You can cook like rice and you can make a flour with the grains and make sorghum bread, etc ...

[@nikos1288]

@@andrefernandes2975 thank you very much my friend

[@ZE308AC]

I use to eat sorghum and i would cook it the same as any rice dish.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Yeah, totally! I’ve made it that way and it’s very good! Takes longer to cook than rice and needs more water but it’s growable in backyard easily while rice is not. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@ZE308AC]

@@esotericagriculture6643 your welcome

[@dojodance]

@@esotericagriculture6643 I know this is old post but since you are into exploring, you might want to try dryland or upland rice I'm growing it in zone 6 and it is producing rice (first part of Aug.), I'm also growing sorghum and it is growing slowly but is very healthy.

[@dojodance]

@@Disabled.Megatron not dryland rice mine is growing great and producing.

[@nicholasnapier2684]

You're adding to my collection of videos that I've been watching about the subject of sorghum I've wanted to do this because I think this is the better idea to feed animals and feed people on a mass scale if communities did this cross the country would never run out of food but you know people got 2 be controlling.... thank you for your video helps every bit of the way to see what I need to go at..

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Thanks for taking the time to comment! I’m pleased you found the video useful. You should check out my threshing and winnowing seed video as well, there’s a good bit of Sorghum processing in that one. Sorghum is a great choice for backyard grain production, in my opinion much better than wheat, rye, barley, rice, quinoa, teff, oats, so long as you have the climate to grow it. Don’t discount corn (Maize) however, it’s similar to Sorghum in being a great grain for the small grower, they each have their own strengths and weaknesses but corn is very excellent as well.

[@nspowers7130]

This is what all farmers fed their livestock before commercial bagged feed.

[@dojodance]

@@esotericagriculture6643 Agree about corn, in my zone 6 midwest, I find that growing Indian or feed corn to be even easier and more abundant than sweet corn in good and bad weather so if food is short and you have the choice indian corn is the best bet for growing corn for grain. than sorghum and than dryland rice for backyard gardens.

[@downbntout]

Sorghum will be the next plant milk, ythink?

[@brandonvonbo9708]

Is sorghum sudangrass the same thing?

[@esotericagriculture6643]

They are not exactly the same thing but are very similar. Same genus and can be hybridized.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@offlimit88]

What about prussic acid in sorghum? Is it a concern for human consumption?

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

Very small amounts of Prussic Acid is only very rarely produced while the grass is extremely stressed from being sprayed with herbicide toxins, dying of drought or sudden freeze. Prussic Acid is quick to evaporate after the grass is severed from its root. Prussic Acid is only in the living green leaves of the grass, never produced in the stalk used for syrup nor the seeds used as grain. The hay made or silage is safe for all livestock as it the food for man. You must research beyond articles created for herbicide sale if you are to get past their fear mongering. Most never bother.

[@stanweaver6116]

@@inharmonywithearth9982 In the study done in Canada, where they used it to winter graze cattle it could have high nitrates when it got frozen down to early apparently, so if using it as a grazing crop in frosty areas that is something to watch for.

[@Krankie_V]

I'm pretty sure I'm going to start growing Sorghum once I own some property.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Go for it and good luck!!

[@danny-rj6dh]

Hey i want to plant this in our land in Spain. But I have one big question: will it seed itself alot? Is it a danger to take over the land?

[@danny-rj6dh]

I will set it out and leave it

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Hi danny, I know it’s been a while since you watched this video but can I ask how it went?

[@danny-rj6dh]

@@ourportuguesehomestead It's growing now on our land ask again in 2 months ;)

[@PsychicIsaacs]

@danny It is an excellent livestock fodder. If you have too much of it, just chop it and feed it to your animals.

[@uglytruth4467]

Is Sohrgum perennial?

[@xianseah4847]

Seems to be so.

[@rogerscottcathey]

Good source of vitamin B17

[@stephencoleman3578]

My sorghum is very difficult to thresh. I have to run it through a hammer mill. The birds just ruin my sorghum.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Yes, birds can definitely ruin Sorghum! In this way it it inferior to corn( maize). The few varieties I’ve grown have threshed easily, but , I’ve only ever grown 2 varieties and crosses between them. Thanks for watching!

[@charnellcoetzer2226]

If you are growing a small amount (10ft x 10ft) have you considered a screen box? I have a larger patch and have screened it off completely. The gas canon scares birds from most crops but they brave it for the sorghum.

[@danny-rj6dh]

Does it seed itself out?

[@charnellcoetzer2226]

@@danny-rj6dh It will but not to the extent had you sown it. Of course, if you let it go to seed and you harvest nothing, you will have to thin it out.

[@danny-rj6dh]

@@charnellcoetzer2226 so I have a land in Spain where we have a dry maintain and a green valley. I was thinking in leaving a bit on the dry party. To increase birds and test it. So when I will not harvest it will it reproduce alot?

[@johndeereman3363]

You talking about the genetics made me cringe because I remember biology last year and I hated it. Good video

[@uttamadhiklyop7407]

ffycdd

[@Dave-ht7dx]

Interesting, but dizzying; at least get a basic tripod. Please, for anymore.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Yes, fair criticism. I made these videos some time ago and my challenge was to only use an iPhone. Much better results could be had with more and better equipment for sure.

[@peteacher52]

That explosive concussion at the beginning is unnecessary and off-putting when one has set volume levels appropriate for speech. Think of folk who have to wear hearing aids or those who choose to wear headphones. Didn't watch after that.

[@mattm5001]

Another question, how do you know when to harvest the seeds that will be viable for planting next year ? Thanks again for the video.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

That’s a great question. Generally with seeds when the seeds are fairly hard they are mature enough to germinate but not enough to store well. For good storage you want the seeds hard enough to shatter if hit hard. I almost always have to cut the seed heads and finish drying inside as my growing season isn’t quite long enough. I just cut this year’s Sorghum last Friday and it wasn’t quite dry enough to store but mature to germinate. Frost was threatened last week so they had to come out of the garden.

[@mattm5001]

@@esotericagriculture6643 We harvested late we just got ours out this past weekend. We had frost a couple of times before we were able to get to it. The seeds seem ok, rather hard. The stalks are brown and sorta dry. Do you think the stalks would still produce syrup if processed ? Thanks for the reply.

[@wayneben7195]

They regrow when cut at the base

[@nspowers7130]

@@wayneben7195 seriously. Wow thank you

[@willbass2869]

@@nspowers7130 on a commercial basis, that technique of planting early and then harvesting twice used to be done fairly often here (Texas Gulf Coast) for BOTH rice and grain sorghum (milo). It's called "ratooning". The trick is when you harvest the first time you need to set combine cutter bar high as possible to leave as many leaves as possible for regrowth in declining late summer/early autumn. However, especially, on rice, you might miss a sizeable amount of rice. The other thing is you harvest earlier than usual but then you have use the natgas driers to bring down moisture content to 12%(?) or so. Then immediately after harvest you need to deliver a shot of fertilizer to hurry along for the second (& smaller) harvest. Not many guys ratoon anymore. Price of natgas, fertilizer, more diesel, the partial loss of first cut grain AND finally the threat of hurricane wipeout on second crop just convinced a lot of guys it's not worth the cost & risks