Growing Millet: Why and What Benefits it Brings

You can easily grow millet in your own garden because the grain does not only thrive in large fields. Here you can read how it works and what you can do with your own harvest.

How the cultivation of millet works

If you want to grow your own millet, you need an optimal bed. This should be large enough for the roots to grow well. The soil should be as sandy and permeable as possible to prevent waterlogging. In addition, the millet plant prefers a warm location.

• First, remove weeds and roots of other plants from the bed.
• You can then create the lines. These should be spaced 30-40 cm apart.
• Sow the millet in April or May and cover it with a few centimeters of soil. Then let the millet bed rest for the next two weeks. You can use commercially available millet from the cob for sowing.
• Then water the millet regularly, loosen the soil of the bed and free it from weeds.
• If the plant has already grown ten centimeters high, remove some millet plants. The distance to each plant should be seven to ten centimeters.
• You can harvest millet five months after sowing, i.e. in September or October. Simply brush the grains out of the panicles into a basket or bucket.

This is the benefit of millet

Millet was already a popular grain in ancient times because it contains many important nutrients.

• With millet, you can bake your own bread. Salads can also be refined with lightly roasted millet and you can even use it to prepare healthy millet porridge. Millet is particularly well tolerated by people who suffer from a grain allergy.
• You feed many animals with millet – for example, your own budgerigars in the house. Or you can use it to prepare bird seeds for the wild birds in winter.
• Dried millet plants are a nice eye-catcher as a decoration in the house. To do this, cut a handful of plants low on the stem. Then dry the plant by hanging it upside down. That way the leaves don’t bend. Then place the millet in a large vase with other dry plants.
• Millet is high in nutrients: 100 grams of cooked millet contains 3.5 grams of protein, 1.4 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbohydrates, and 1.5 grams of fiber. Millet is also a supplier of magnesium, iron, copper, and vitamins B1, B3, B5, and B6.
• Especially as a source of iron and magnesium, millet is a pioneer among cereals. Both are important for the functioning of muscles and nerves. The vitamins support the metabolism, blood circulation, and the nervous and immune systems.