'Madara' Sorghum

Sorghum bicolor subsp. bicolor

Origin: Chad

Improvement status: Landrace

Seeds per packet: ~50

Germination tested 12/2024: 92%

Life cycle: Annual

Introducing 'Madara', an heirloom sorghum from the town of Melfi in south-central Chad (interior central Africa). It's an early (80-90 day) sorghum with sweet stalks and starchy reddish-orange-brown seeds. While most sorghums tiller from the base (that means they send up additional shoots from the base), 'Madara' creates branch-like tillers many feet above the ground, and over a long season these can each also produce full heads of grain, offering the possibility of a second or even third harvest from each plant.

We're still getting to know this variety, but after a strong first attempt we've decided to offer seeds to you all. The panicles (seed-heads) are on the smaller side, but they're densely packed with seeds and the seeds are quite lovely. On the inside, they're pure white, so flour from this variety is a pretty pale orange.

Please let us know what you think about 'Madara' and how this special sorghum does for you!

These seeds were grown by EFN co-founder Nate Kleinman at the great new non-profit Reed's Organic Farm in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.

GROWING TIPS: Direct-sow 8-12 inches apart, planting seeds one inch deep, around the same time you would start sweetcorn. Seeds can also be started earlier indoors in flats for places with a shorter growing season.