Sorghum

Description:

Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants, either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents in addition to the southwest Pacific and Australasia. Sorghum is in the subfamily Panicoideae and the tribe of Andropogoneae (the tribe of big bluestem and sugar cane).

Habitat:

Growing in a neighbor's field.

Notes:

“Harvesting sorghum had always been a family-centered enterprise. Stripping, cutting, heading, and loading the stalks are all labor-intensive activities begging for large families. At that time, mills were powered by horses or mules. Many an old-timer speaks of the days when it was his or her job to ride a horse in an endless circle to grind the cane. Cooking was commonly done on a copper pan over a wood fire, without all the instrumentation most modern processors rely on today. The person who cooked the sorghum was regarded an artisan. Since sorghum is made from September through early November, it is part of the fall harvest tradition. Fall festivals and parties were, and continue to be, centered around cooking and eating.” (Keupper, pg xiii) After World War II, the availability of less-expensive granulated sugars and corn syrup led to a decline in interest in Sorghum Syrup. However, it remained a strong local tradition of self-reliance well into the 1950’s for family farms to supply themselves with syrup by bringing their Sorghum cane to be processed by a neighbor with a mill. My neighbor still uses mules to power his mill.