The requirements of broom corn are very similar to that of growing corn, or sorghum.įor starters, it takes a long growing season to obtain a plentiful crop. Growing broom corn isn’t a skill to simply sweep under the rug, so let’s go over what you need to know.Īfter all, it is a survival skill, that can grow in your survival garden, and can help keep your house clean for years to come. Yet, sometimes we grow plants for the nostalgia of it all. It takes a ton of broom corn to produce several hundred brooms. The reason you don’t see large fields of it anymore, is because it isn’t exactly a high-value crop. Large acreages were planted in the 1830s, and for several decades more, as the popularity of broom corn production, along with the making of brooms, moved west. However, if you consider the number of people needing brooms before electricity came along, you can envision a need for an alternative. We’ll get to this later on, but it’s worth knowing that it takes several plants to make your own broom. It’s known that broom corn was originally planted in home gardens, not plantations. The sweeping sensation of broom corn production… But my question to you is this: have you ever seen fields of it waving in the breeze? Probably not, though you can attempt this by planting it in your backyard. From there it spread west as far as New Mexico and Colorado. In the 1700s, Benjamin Franklin was credited with introducing it to the United States. It’s even possible that some seed selection went along with helping to evolve the longest panicles (the loose branching clusters of flowers, like oats, growing singly from the top of each plant). Due to its appearance, it immediately shows us what it wants to be – or to do. Sweeping the bad jokes aside, it seems that brooms were made first from broom corn in the Dark Ages. How it spread to the Mediterranean and beyond, is anybody’s guess. Origins and a Brief History of Broom CornĪlthough not for certain, it appears that broom corn ( Sorghum vulgare var. If not for the sake of going plastic-free, then for the sake of returning to a simpler, self-reliant way of life. Then you can get rid of your plastic “broom”, sweeper, swifter, whatever you want to call it, and get back to your natural origins. By the time you’re done reading, all that’s left to do, is purchase some seeds and wait for the right time to plant them. Or maybe you are here to learn a thing or two about diversifying the bird feed that you can easily grow in your backyard.Įither way, let’s tuck into the subject of growing broom corn. © Copyright Protected 1995-2021 Botanical.So, you’d like to try your hand at making a broom, am I right? This should be taken into account as some of the information may now be considered inaccurate, or not in accordance with modern medicine. In the semi-arid districts of western America it is reported that cattle have been poisoned by eating the green sorghum of the second growth possibly due to hydrocyanic acid in the leaves.īear in mind "A Modern Herbal" was written with the conventional wisdom of the early 1900's. of seeds to 1 quart of water, boiled down to 1 pint, is used in urinary and kidney complaints. The plant is extensively cultivated in America for the manufacture of brooms and brushes. The grain is diuretic and demulcent if taken as a decoction. Medicinal Action and Uses-It yields a very white flour which is used for making bread, and the grain is used for feeding cattle, horses and poultry. The saccharine sorghums are not used for producing sugar owing to the difficulty of crystallization. Sorghum is generally classified under two varieties, saccharine and non-saccharine. Is cultivated in the same way as oats or barley in northern Europe the seeds are small, round and white, the plant is canelike and similar to Indian Corn, but producing large heads of the small grain. Description-Known as Millet or Guinea Corn. Cultivated in the United States of America. Medicinal Action and Uses -Synonyms-Sorghum Seeds.Broom-Corn Botanical: Sorghum vulgare (PERS.)
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