How do I Grow Grain Sorghum in Iowa?
- 1). Dig the garden bed to a depth of 12 inches to loosen the soil. Remove rocks and other foreign objects from the garden bed, and break apart soil clods with your shovel.
- 2). Level the ground with the flat back of your shovel. Don't compress the soil, just smooth it out.
- 3). Monitor the soil temperatures with a dial thermometer. When the soil temperatures reach 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit, it's sorghum planting time. In Iowa, this is typically a couple of weeks after corn planting, from late May to early June.
- 4). Dig 1-inch deep furrows with a trowel. Sow grain sorghum seeds in the furrow leaving 1 to 1-1/2 inches of space between seeds. Cover the seeds with soil to finish planting. Leave 12 inches of space between rows.
- 5). Water the seed until the ground becomes moist but not boggy. Continue to water in this manner until the seeds germinate, typically within two weeks.
- 6). Hand pull weeds from your sorghum bed. Weeds are plants growing outside of your rows of sorghum, plus stray seedlings that appear different from your sprouting sorghum. If you aren't sure if something is a weed, wait to remove it until you are sure it's not sorghum.
- 7). Fertilize sorghum using a 10-10-10 fertilizer. Apply the manufacturer's recommended amount based upon the size of your sorghum plot. Mix water-soluble fertilizer with the right amount of water, then apply this to the roots of your crops.
- 8). Water maturing plants deeply until the ground becomes saturated. Then allow the soil to dry out before watering deeply again.
- 9). Harvest sorghum when the seed head dries out. Depending on the variety, the plants also turn red or white, making it easy to note harvesting time. Cut plants down with a sharp knife.
Source...