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Popping Sorghum ‘Allu Jola’
90-100 days to harvest
6-8' tall
Sorghum bicolor
HEIRLOOM If you’ve never tasted popped sorghum, imagine the richest, most nutty popcorn you’ve ever tasted, melting in your mouth even as you crunch…our entire team lost our minds this fall with this delectable revelation! The popped grains are about as large as a grain of classic popcorn, easier to grow and thresh compared to popcorn as well as more abundant and earlier to mature.
Hailed as the most pop-able sorghum, this sorghum strain is beloved in India where it is also ground and cooked whole. A ‘dry’ sorghum not ideal for syrup, we love to trellis pole beans on this sorghum, before we harvest the large, gorgeous seedheads. Even as a dramatic ornamental, this sorghum holds its own! We are grateful for the Experimental Farm Network for sharing this incredible seed with us all.
Organic Popping Sorghum
Planting Method: Direct Sow Only
When to sow: After last frost
Sowing and seedling care: Sow every six inches, or 2 every 12 inches, thinning to 1 per foot. Crows often eat germinating corn and sorghum, so be prepared to dissuade them! And don’t skimp on fertility, friends.
Seed Depth: 1/2 inch Sun Needs: Full
Days to Germination: 7 days in 75°F (24°C);seed rots in soil cooler than 60°F (16°F)
Spacing after thinning: 1 foot; rows 30-36” apart
Days to Harvest: 90-100
Height: 6-7 feet
Harvest: Harvest in fall when stalk & seedheads (called panicles, isn’t that lovely?!) are gold, drying down and when seeds are becoming hard. If your fingernail pressed into a seed leaves in imprint, your sorghum is still maturing.
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Jillian Yarnell (verified owner) –
I planted 10′ rows each of this and two other varieties of sorghum in 2023. We had drought for most of the summer in NE Iowa but they all did well with minimal attention, growing to 8′ tall with full heads of seeds. Unfortunately I was waiting for all three varieties to fully ripen and harden off before harvesting, and this variety, which has an open, droopy panicle like broom corn while the other two had tight, round clustered panicles, dried down earlier and dropped all it’s seeds before I could collect any. The other varieties held onto their seeds even after cutting and drying for storage. I’ll have to try again next year with the leftover seeds and make sure to harvest as soon as they are ready.
Melissa Knox –
Hi Jillian, thanks for sharing your experience with us! Melissa