wildedge
gopher
Subtropical Australian Hinterland at 100 m altitude. Humid summers, rare winter frost, 1500 mm rain.
Posts: 11
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Post by wildedge on Jul 28, 2017 3:26:53 GMT -5
Anyone had much experience with the millets? I have had excellent growth and reliable harvests from foxtail (Setaria italica) but barnyard and finger millets don't seem to follow through to harvest. The foxtail is interesting as we have clouds of finches and wrens here that decimate other small grains like oats and buckwheat. I plan on trying finger millet for this first time this spring, but its nutritional profile isn't great due to thyroid effects.
I am kicking off a open pollinated/mass selection type breeding project with Amaranth grain this year. I have a very tall orange variety that grows and crops reliably for me and has given me lots of seed in storage, but will trial about a dozen other varieties this season. I am planning on not saving this season's seed, but replanting only the best 3-5 varieties (plus pure seed of the tall orange strain) to kick off a more focused foundation. Any feedback on the pros and cons of doing it this way rather than just mixing everything on hand then selecting?
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Post by philagardener on Jul 28, 2017 12:46:25 GMT -5
Welcome, wildedge ! It sounds like you have some interesting projects underway, and I look forward to hearing more about them. I am trialing a grain Amaranth this summer but it has been slow to get going - we had a lot of weather oscillations this year, and a lot of things have been slower than normal.
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wildedge
gopher
Subtropical Australian Hinterland at 100 m altitude. Humid summers, rare winter frost, 1500 mm rain.
Posts: 11
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Post by wildedge on Jul 29, 2017 19:24:13 GMT -5
There has to be a trick to germinating it other than temperature and depth. Sometimes it germinates like crazy for me in one location and hardly at all in another. I suspect it responds to fertility somehow during germination as it volunteers on soil that is high in manure/urine but low in organic matter (much like wild Amaranths).
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Post by templeton on Jul 30, 2017 8:21:28 GMT -5
soil fungi?
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wildedge
gopher
Subtropical Australian Hinterland at 100 m altitude. Humid summers, rare winter frost, 1500 mm rain.
Posts: 11
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Post by wildedge on Jul 30, 2017 21:46:34 GMT -5
Wouldnt be surprised if it was microbial. I almost wonder if Amaranth is meant to be grown as a useful volunteer in other crops. The seed is so small you can easily cast it about everywhere, and it comes up when and where it wants to. Does anyone know if it is grown as pure stands in its homeland?
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Post by 12540dumont on Aug 2, 2017 10:51:20 GMT -5
Amaranth...a bane to my existence. I have the hogweed type and the giant red....As you say, they come up everywhere. Millet is not a single plant species (as are most other cereal grains), but rather interpreted broadly may comprise about 500 species of grass seeds worldwide. Only a few species of millet are commonly cultivated as food crops. Worldwide, pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely produced millet and is cultivated extensively in Africa and India. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana, proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), fonio millet (Digitaria exilis), and foxtail millet (Setaria italic) are also important crop species in developing countries. www.adaptiveseeds.com/seeds/grains/millet/ I grow them for my chickens and the wild birdees.....hopefully it keeps them out of the lettuce. This link to adapative seeds, shows all the ones I have had luck with here.
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wildedge
gopher
Subtropical Australian Hinterland at 100 m altitude. Humid summers, rare winter frost, 1500 mm rain.
Posts: 11
|
Post by wildedge on Aug 3, 2017 22:05:32 GMT -5
I have had my best experience so far is using Foxtail (Setaria italica) but no luck with proso and finger millets. Pearl millet and teff are up for initial trials this year but the thyroid effects of pearl millet are worrying. Not sure I can get fonio millet in Australia. Thanks for the link though. Learning how to process foxtail millet will be interesting, but I suspect it can be boiled, blended and strained (and maybe fermented) to make a useful porridge or pancake batter.
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Post by steev on Aug 4, 2017 2:24:55 GMT -5
That teff is gonna want plenty water.
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