Ba Yi Qi sorghum
$4.00
(Sorghum bicolor)
Sorghum is a unique crop: until they flower, the plants look distinctly like corn. But instead of cobs, they produce a head at the top of the plant which is covered with round seeds. It is easily threshed and does not require hulling before eating. Sorghum is gluten-free, and can be cooked and eaten whole, for porridge, or ground into flour for use in baking. The stems of some varieties can also be used for making syrup; however, this would not be useful for that, being quite unsugary.
While sorghum was domesticated in eastern Africa (probably in what is now Sudan or Ethiopia), this variety is from Inner Mongolia in northern China. Growing approximately 8’/2.5 m tall, with thin leaves and rust-coloured seedheads, Ba Yi Qi is a beautiful plant. Most sorghums need too long a growing season to mature here, but this one can just barely manage it, even when direct-seeded.
120 days to maturity.
120 seeds/packet.
In stock
Plant in late May-early June. Direct-sow ¼” deep 8-12” apart. Protect seed heads from birds with bags or scraps of row cover. Harvest stalks for syrup two weeks after milk stage, seeds when they cannot be dented with a fingernail. Likes similar conditions to corn.