Sorghum and Juicers

  • Sorghum and Juicers

    Posted by sunshine-homestead on September 9, 2023 at 12:54 am

    Last Fall I was gifted a large round bale of a mystery plant for mulching the bare ground in my new garden area. I was assured that the material was never sprayed with herbicide, 3 years old, and any seed was likely not viable. The vegetation worked very well to cover the ground 3-4 inches deep. Lo and behold, this Spring the mulch gifted this part of the garden with an abundance of big, beautiful, sorghum plants.

    . What to do? Billy, Perma Pastures, always says “the problem is the solution.”

    Sorghum looks like a very versatile and prolific plant. So, I’ve decided to harvest the seed heads and store in an aluminum trash barrel for next Springs chicken feed. Then juice the stalks and make syrup, Next, I’ll use the pulp for mulch. What an amazing plant!!!

    At first, I thought the Champion juicer might be able to handle extracting the juice but don’t want to destroy my machine. Should I be worried? Been looking at small presses/mills on Amazon. There are several choices for around $200. Is this a good idea? There are larger commercial models for a huge price. These seem like overkill for my needs.

    I can do many things but I’m not the least bit mechanically inclined. So, building an apparatus for extracting the juice, isn’t a happy thought. Would sure like to hear from all y’all who have experience in this area. Thanks, in advance.

    Emil replied 7 months, 4 weeks ago 7 Members · 13 Replies
  • 13 Replies
  • jaypatriot1845

    Member
    September 9, 2023 at 3:49 am

    I wish I knew more about the question you asked to be able to help you out. But I just want to say you made the best of that situation and that’s an inspiration!

    • sunshine-homestead

      Member
      September 9, 2023 at 3:50 am

      Thank you for your kind words. ❤

  • Emil

    Member
    September 9, 2023 at 4:32 am

    We bought one of these last year.Very well made. Works like a charm. Last year we did sorghum. This year we tried corn stalks.

    The only fown side i can think of is it’s heavy!

    • DeepSouthBamaGRITS

      Member
      September 9, 2023 at 3:23 pm

      I bought the same press/juicer last year for juicing my sugar cane. It was easy to use and did great extracting the juice! You are right, the only drawback is that it is heavy. I really like the large wheel you turn for extracting. It seems to make the thicker pieces go thru much easier and faster. I don’t know why it wouldn’t work for sorghum. I intend to plant sorghum this next year if I can find info/seeds and see if it can be grown this far south. I’m not sure it can with our heat/humidity but if at all possible, I’m going to try.
      The Arctic Freeze in Dec 2022 got most of my very heavily mulched sugar cane so I don’t have but maybe a dozen short but thick stalks to juice this year.

      • Emil

        Member
        September 9, 2023 at 11:39 pm

        I saved the heads for my chickens for a winter treat. I don’t think they have enough protein for a solo feed . I think it’s more forgiving than corn to grow. It’s quite humid here. I think harvest time is key. I just guessed 😂

  • sunshine-homestead

    Member
    September 9, 2023 at 11:39 pm

    Thank you for the great information. You’ve been great help. Blessing to you all.

    • Emil

      Member
      September 9, 2023 at 11:40 pm

      Thank you☺️

  • Pick-and-Grin

    Member
    October 11, 2023 at 3:23 pm

    We grew cane sorghum this year and it’s amazing. We plan on growing it every year now. Thought about using a juicer but just ended up feeding the stalks to the pigs. Next year I’m going to try “sapping” it similarly to Hoss Tool’s video on corn sapping.

    • sunshine-homestead

      Member
      October 24, 2023 at 4:49 pm

      Thanks for the info. Hope to read the updates on your Sorghum journey. 😀

    • Inquisitive

      Member
      November 7, 2023 at 12:52 am

      We grew sorghum for the second year this year. We have some friends with the processing equipment, so we split the finished crop with them.

  • RenegadeOutcast

    Member
    April 19, 2024 at 3:23 pm

    Sorghum mills sort of look like the old laundry wringers, except they have three massive vertical iron/steel rollers and a little spout underneath. You can sometimes find them at antique stores or estate sales. Most people have no clue what they are.

    This reminds me, I’ve got to go out and restore the one out at my brother’s place.

  • Emil

    Member
    April 19, 2024 at 11:58 pm

    I have the manual juicer. Ebay .Ot worked fine for me , $200

  • Emil

    Member
    April 20, 2024 at 12:09 am

    Manual press $200 .👍worked great.

    It is heavy.

Log in to reply.