Limelight foxtail millet
$4.00 – $8.00
(Setaria italica)
In the Maxima group; plants are 3-4’/1-1.3 m tall with seedheads 8-12”/20-30 cm long! Highly ornamental, with minimal awns, this variety is good for grain production but would probably be just as happy in a dried-flower bouquet. As the star of the show. The name is presumably a hint to script-writers.
125 days to maturity.
Plant once soil is warm, a week or two after the average last frost (about the same time as common beans and amaranth). Sow seeds ¼” deep, 6” apart in rows 8” apart. Millet likes heat. Bird like millet; when the heads near maturity, pay close attention, and take precautions if you observe the birds beginning to feast. Seedheads can be harvested after frost kills the plants and dried further if necessary before threshing, which is easily accomplished by treading on them.