Grow Millet
PLANTING DATES
MAY — JUNE (Outdoor Start)
Proso Millet can be directly seeded outdoors in late May or early June and harvested in late August or early September. Millet needs moderately warm temperatures and is readily injured by frost.
If using agriculturally (over larger acreages), it works well in rotation with winter annual crops such as wheat or warm-season broadleaf crops such as sunflower.
MAY—JUNE (PLANT OUTDOORS)
Since it is intolerant of frost, it is best to wait until 2 weeks after last frost. You can direct-seed Millet on average come mid to late May. Identify a sunny spot outdoors. Make sure to remove weeds, adequately prepare the soil, and add any required nutrients (NPK) or amendments (compost). This creates a healthy environment for your plants to thrive.
Around 2 weeks after the last frost— typically by mid to late May— you can go ahead and seed or transplant these in the ground where they’ll live.
DAYS TO MATURITY
Millet takes between 60 and 90 days to grow from planting to harvest.
PLANTING DEPTH
Plant or hand-broadcast Millet seeds about 1—3” deep. They can also grow from 4-5” depth either way.
SOIL
The Big Three. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) known as "primary nutrients," are the three main ingredients in most fertilizers, along with necessary trace minerals such as magnesium, and are vital to tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. Plant growth and chlorophyll production depend on nitrogen, and phosphorus helping these plants grow and cope with stress while aiding in energy production.
WATER
Ample water from drip will produce healthy happy plants with adequate yield.
LIGHT
Identify a sunny spot where the seeds will be broadcast or planted outdoors. These require at least 4-5 hours of sun per day for decent production. Spinach, Chard, Kale, and Broccoli will do OK in partial sun, but you'll have to wait longer for a full crop and they may be more susceptible to pests. The more light you have, the faster they'll mature and the healthier their immune system will be.
DID YOU KNOW
Proso millet, Panicum miliaceum, is the only type of millet grown seriously as a food grain in the United States. Other Millet is grown in the United States mostly for pasture and hay. The word millet is used to cover plants in up to four different families. It is used for animal feed, flour for humans, and birdseed mixtures. It is nutritionally superior to many of our common grains, containing more essential amino acids than wheat, oats, rice, barley, and rye. It lacks only lysine, the amino acid buckwheat is high in, making buckwheat and millet a good combination in your diet. Also, while most grains form acids in your stomach, millet, with its high alkaline mineral content, counteracts acids and is more easily digested. Millet, not rice, is the basic carbohydrate food in China, especially northern China. The Hunzas, whose reputation for health and longevity is well known, eat millet regularly. — Mother Earth News CONTINUE READING
