Sorghum Almum

[bird dog]

Sorghum Almum is a close cousin to Johnson grass IMO it is a superior plant. Here you can see it is still doing well this late in the year and with no rain in over 3 weeks. It doesn't grow as tall and stringy as Johnson grass does and the stems are a smaller diameter but seems to put out just as much tonnage.

Now these cows have not been grazing it steady, its on the rotation and was last grazed about 35 days ago. Like Johnson grass it has to be managed.

 

[callmefence]

Tell me more. Prep before planting?
Pounds per, ? Do you get a stand the first year.

 

[bird dog]

This bottom land field had oats in it and the sorghum almum was no tilled into the oat stubble after the cows grazed it off. Planted 10" OC at about 10 lbs per acre. The field has some Johnson grass in it which is the taller yellowish plants in the picture. Last year I planted some strips in the pasture and like what I saw, so planted the whole thing this year. It grows similar to sudan and I grazed it the first time when it was about 16" tall. The oats had come back some so the first graze was some of both.

Seed cost 1.25 to 1.50 per lb. I was ordering it from Turner but we have a new branch of Producers Co-op in Hillsboro and the seed was cheaper there. This is mostly one years stand but the existing Johnson grass has also thickened up since I am managing it a little better.

Its hard to tell which is which early in the year but the JG seems to grow quicker but is much stemier as the summer goes on. The sorghum has done much better this fall.

The seed is small and needs to be planted shallow. If it is reseeding itself, I doubt I can tell the difference between it and the JG.