[Syrupmakers] Getting Started With Sorghum

[Raymond Weaver]

    Sheri, it has been very interesting to see what others had to say. I generally agree with them. It is pretty late in the game to be transplanting. I would definitely recommend that you thin your stalks to no less than three inches apart. I have found that sorghum ( Dale variety ) has an almost 100% germination rate. I bought my seed in 2001 and keep it frozen. I shoot for a stalk every six inches. Be ruthless in your thinning. If you have two stalks a half-inch apart, the weaker stalk has to go !
    Your stalks will be tillering soon. Most varieties tiller. A tiller is a "sucker" that shoots out diagonally at the base of the main stalk when the main stalk is about 16 inches high. They snap off real easy ( pull them sideways ). In my book, all tillers have to go when they are a few inches long. One large vigorous stalk will produce more juice than ten little coach-whips ! 
    You should keep them as clean of grass and weeds as possible. Soon you will "lay them by" ( not be able to cultivate them ). Keep your middles busted-out ( till between the rows ). They really shoot-up when they get about 24-30 inches, especially if you get a rain. 
    "Lodging" ( blowing down ) is a MAJOR problem, especially if they are too thick. I have a very small patch ( 330 feet of row ). I save the rods used for political yard signs ( after they are discarded ) to prop-up my lodged stalks. IT WORKS ! I'm talking about 30 to 40 stalks lodging. If the whole patch goes down you just have a ROYAL MESS on your hands ! They will continue to grow but they will be gritty and crooked. WHAT A PAIN ! ! !
    I agree that there is no real alternative to a sorghum mill to crush cane stalks. Even a cider press is not very practical. Trying to use a juicer will just destroy the juicer and make a big mess, in my opinion. The problem is that there has not been a sorghum mill produced in this country since WWII. Most sorghum mills, especially the smaller ones, were vertical mills designed to be turned by animal power. Very few sorghum producers use animal power today for obvious reasons. The smaller sorghum mills are eight to twelve hundred pounds of cast iron. 
    Restoring a mill is quite an adventure in itself. For that matter, just finding an old un-restored mill is quite an adventure. They usually go for $ 400. up. Invariably they look like they have been sitting on the ocean floor for the last 300 years. Fortunately they are very simple machines that clean-up very nicely ( not always easily ). Almost all of us ( me excluded ) have modified our vertical  ( horse ) mills to be motor-driven. Some of us have larger "power" mills that run off a belt from a tractor. 
    Keith Kinney's very generous offer sure sounds workable. Cooking on the stove-top or a small gas burner outside sounds workable. We are talking about several hours of serious steam.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Sheri Ann Richerson 
  To: syrupmakers at syrupmakers.net 
  Sent: Friday, July 04, 2008 6:14 AM
  Subject: [Syrupmakers] Getting Started With Sorghum


   

  Hi. I have planted my first sorghum this year. I am needing to find a way to juice it and was told I could use a juicer. I only planted one packet of seed just so I could try the process and find out what it was like and if we liked sorghum syrup. A friend suggested there might be someone in the area (Central Indiana) that would be able to juice it for me for a cost. I might also be interested in simply purchasing the equipment, again depending on cost. 

   

  I do have a 75 gallon cast iron pot I was going to use to cook it down. If I understand correctly I cook it until it turns amber and is thick. Is this correct? I would use canning jars (pints) to bottle it then. What is the process for sealing the jars? 

   

  Sorry to hit everyone with so many questions right off the bat but the sorghum is growing and I know time is short.

   

  Thanks so much!

  Sheri
   

   

   

   



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