sugar cane starts

[x101airborne]

Well, I just worked three days for one quart of syrup. Actually, that is not true, let me retort.
My uncle planted about two acres of sorghum for syrup. This all came as a surprise to me because I knew nothing about it till harvest time (now). So, we cut it, stripped it, pressed it and cooked it. My yield was one quart out of 3 1/2 gallons of finished product. I don't mind it, I did very little work and got a great product, but I did work almost 3 days straight making this stuff. An awesome time and good to visit with the distant family again.
But, I would like to get back to the original "sugar cane" molasses. Sorghum is great, but I prefer the other.
Finding sugar cane starts is EXPENSIVE online, but maybe some of you guys have it available around? I would be willing to pay whatever if we can make a deal. Please PM me if it is available as this is planting season.

[Iowa Fox]

When I was a kid here in Iowa we had a huge sorghum plant (Waconia) about a mile from our farm. Sprinkled around every 10 miles or so would be a family operation cooking down molasses. The cane fields were all around our farms and the farms we rented. They planted from seed. If you can find someone raising it they might be willing to save you the seed heads or let you know where to buy it reasonably. Good Luck. I really miss watching them harvest the cane and haul it to the plant. The Amish also cooked it down and hauled it on big horse drawn wagons. What always amazed me is the noise of the mechanized harvest and the silence of the Amish as they harvested by hand and hauled with horses. Even the Amish have given it up around here.

[akajun]

Problem is that most can grown by commercial farmers is now hybrid cane. Most of the syrup mills want to use the old blue ribbon varieties. However if you really want some stubs, Ill fill up a flat rate box for you of hybrid, just show me how you want it cut.

[w5pv]

They have a couple of web sites that sell the old time ribbon cane,this is blue red strip cane and is what the old timers grew in east Texas.I would give you the sites but my search engine show blank lines on the results.

[sparkz]

I have tryed for past 3 years to find Cane to grow here in Eastern KY, I guess no one grows it here anymore
with all the other stuff not grown anymore seems like the young people will not farm and want to grow tobacco or get on the contracts to not grow, but any canes a rare thing here

Patrick

[Ed Barrett]

When I lived up in St. Joe, MO a friend of mine used to grow cane for sorghum every year. He would save me 6 or 8 bushels of seed heads to feed the birds in the winter. can't help you with seed though he's dead.

[DLCTEX]

I think he is wanting sugar cane starts, not sorghum. Sugar cane is only propagated from planting sections of a stalk in the ground and new plants spring from the nodules.

[.45Cole]

Time to make RUM!!!!!

[waksupi]

Try a Korean or other oriental market. Lots of them sell the cane sections. Sugar canes have eyes on the cane itself. A cane is cut about a foot then is planted horizontally.

http://www.plantdelights.com/Saccharum/products/333/

[wills]

http://www.chewingcane.com/

http://www.plantdelights.com/Saccharum/products/333/

[Firebricker]

There is an amish farm in middle TN were I used to deer hunt the sorghum fields as far as you could see. It was pretty cool they had a store and you could watch them process it. Definitely a lot of work getting to the finished product. FB

[x101airborne]

Correct. I am looking for someone who has true cane growing somewhere that they need to cut and I can get some starts.

[x101airborne]

time to make rum!!!!!

sssshhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

[x101airborne]

Actually, beyond syrup and cow feed (I have access to a good hammer mill) I wonder how the stalks would work for char coal for black powder. I cant get black locally for crud. Making my own or ordering a ton is about my only option.

[Oreo]

The sugar cane stalks are regularly carried at a few Asian grocery stores around here. I have no idea if those stalks would sprout anything or even what variety they are but they are easy to find.

[Katya Mullethov]

A yeast farmer , ye are not .

[sparkz]

I checked on web and theirs a few people with bold links for cane (sugar) for chew, and also e-bay but ya pay for a garden or house plant price for a section of cane, guess if you had Patience you could find a heirloom and grow first year and lay whole cane down for next year for cheaper,, Me I would chew it tho,, haha

I did fine and order a bunch of sorghum for our lower bottom for next year tho, we can use some and our stock will love the rest


Wonder if we have a mild nuff winter to grow some of the sugar canes offered here in Kentucky anyone know, (Eastern Kentucky)
as i think back think we had sorghum when i was a kid chewing

Patrick
Lost Creek, Kentucky