Anyone can grow vegetables in their own garden. Try your hand at growing millet yourself. In many parts of the world, grain has long been considered a staple food. It is also culinary versatile and tasty. The grain tastes particularly good when it is harvested from the farm itself. But when and how is millet actually harvested? Find out here.
Millet is harvested as early as September
harvest time
Millet is a type of grain that is rarely cultivated in Germany. Varieties like corn are much more popular. Compared to this type of grain, millet is harvested much earlier, namely in September. Don't wait too long or your millet will germinate again.
Conditions for harvesting
Especially very humid days in autumn promote the renewed germination of the small panicles. Humidity generally plays a crucial role in the millet harvest, because you should only remove the edible grains from the plant under the right climatic conditions. A humidity of 15-20% is recommended. Exact values vary from variety to variety. In order to be able to process the millet grains further, you have to let the moisture content dry to 13% after harvesting.
Which variety brings which yield?
The global area used for cultivating millet is not only a long way behind the number of corn fields. The grain variety is considered to be the one with the lowest yield in relation to the hectare area. This is around 25-35 quintals per hectare. This information is also subject to variety-dependent fluctuations. Basically, farmers distinguish between two types of millet varieties:
- sorghum millets
- and millet millet
The former are characterized by larger grains and a higher crop yield, amounting to around 14-17 quintals per hectare.
Millet millets with a significantly lower yield include those varieties that are better suited for growing in your garden:
- pearl millet
- foxtail millet
- teff
- and finger millet
Here the harvest yield is about 7-9 quintals per hectare.