Sorghum bicolor subsp. bicolor
Origin: Africa via Richmond, VA
Improvement status: Cultivar
Seeds per packet: ~50
Germination tested 11/2025: 70%
Life cycle: Annual
'Sugar Drip' is a famous heirloom cane sorghum variety introduced around 1930 by T.W. Wood & Sons of Richmond, Virginia. It's known for producing exceedingly sweet juice and syrup, but the small brown seeds are also a tasty and nutritious gluten-free grain. 'Sugar Drip' is a relatively early maturing variety, ready for syrup within 100-120 days, with seeds ripe around the same time (gotta love a dual-use sorghum!). Plants grow to between 7 and 12 feet tall, depending on the weather, and have some good tolerance to drought. Like most sorghums, can be used for animal fodder as well.
Sorghum is a staple grain crop developed thousands of years ago in East Africa (the center of diversity is in the South Sudan & Ethiopia region). It has spread around the world and is widely grown today on every continent but Antarctica. It requires less water or soil nutrition than corn, but has more protein. It's a crop we'll likely need to rely on more and more as the world continues heating up — but thankfully it's delicious and versatile. Sorghum flour makes excellent cookies, biscuits, flatbreads, and pie crusts. The grains are excellent in soups, stews, salads, and much more, including brewing beer or other alcoholic beverages. And, of course, many varieties like 'Sugar Drip' also have sweet juicy stalks that can be pressed to make sorghum syrup or molasses. If you haven't fallen in love with sorghum yet, all you've got to do is grow some and you will!
This seed comes our way from our friends Dylan Bruce and Cody Egan of Driftless Seed Supply in Wisconsin.
GROWING TIPS: Direct-sow in rows a foot apart, with one or two seeds per hole, with holes spaced 10 or 12 inches apart. Plant after soil warms in spring (when you might plant sweetcorn or green beans). Keep well weeded at least until plants reach two or three feet tall. Seeds are ready to harvest when biting one in half reveals white flour-like interior.
