Anyone growing SORGHUM?

[897tgigvib]

I'm not yet, but sure want to next year!

 

[Kassaundra]

This is my first year, the seeds have sprouted but just barely. I planted two kinds Mennonite and something w/ "white" in the name I'd have to go look it up.

 

[897tgigvib]

Are you going to press it for sorghum mollases?

 

[Kassaundra]

I am going to attempt it if I can find any non costly way of doing it. The apperatus that they say on all the sites to do it with is very costly and specialized, I have no equipment and am not going to purchase any and haven't found any "do it yourself w/ common household items" ideas out there yet. Gary did get an old fashioned mop bucket w/ two rollers and a foot pedal, but I don't think there will be near enough pressure w/ it???? He has another idea for using two hard rubber wheels and some woodworking tools don't really understand it when he explains it, but I am such a techno / mechanico idiot I'll just have to see what he comes up with.

 

[897tgigvib]

I've heard tell that an old fashioned washing machine with the wringer sort of works.

The real tool to do it is really cool. They were made by the same companies that also made plows. A heavy cast iron gadget with a bar at the top that had a long log set in it for a horse to turn. They had between 1 and 3 heavy rollers in them. A place where the juice came out, into a large steel pan that a fire was lit under to render the juice, sometimes with several tubs for quicker operation. It used to be a big deal during the pioneer days of history.