Anyone can grow vegetables in their own garden. Try growing your own millet. In many parts of the world, the grain has long been considered a staple food. It is also culinary versatile and tasty. The grain tastes particularly delicious when harvested from our own harvest. But when and how is millet actually harvested? Find out here.
When and how is the millet harvested?
The millet harvest in Germany usually takes place in September, with an optimal humidity of 15-20%. In order to further process the grains, they should be dried to 13% moisture content after harvesting. The yield varies depending on the variety and is between 7-17 decitons per hectare.
Harvest time
Millet is a rarely grown type of grain in Germany. Varieties like corn are much more popular. Compared to this type of grain, the millet harvest occurs much earlier, in September. Don't wait too long, otherwise your millet will germinate again.
Requirements for harvesting
Especially very wet days in autumn encourage the small panicles to germinate again. Humidity generally plays a crucial role in the millet harvest, because you should only remove the edible grains of 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 further process the millet grains, you must allow the moisture content to dry to 13% after harvesting.
Which variety produces what yield?
The global usable area for millet cultivation not only lags far behind the number of corn fields. The grain variety is considered to be the one that produces the least yield in relation to the hectare area. This is around 25-35 decitons per hectare. This information is also subject to variations depending on the variety. Farmers basically differentiate between two types of millet varieties:
- Sorghum
- and millet
The first mentioned are characterized by larger grains and a higher harvest yield, which amounts to around 14-17 decitons per hectare. The millet millet varieties with significantly lower yields include those varieties which, however more suitable for growing in your garden:
- Pearl Millet
- Fashion millet
- Teff
- and finger millet
Here the harvest yield is around 7-9 decitons per hectare.
