Rainbow Blend Broom Corn Seeds

This tall annual grass looks like a corn plant, but instead of ears, it makes fan-shaped seed heads. Broomblend is a high yielding colourful corn that has been used for years in broom making. The vibrant, colourful seed heads grow in a mix of gold, red, bronze and purple. The seeds are edible and can be sprouted, cooked, popped or ground into flour. The dried and mature straw can be used for ornamental crafts, dried flower arrangements, and, of course, as beautiful traditional brooms.

GROWING INSTRUCTIONS

It is advantageous to plant broom corn early because of its need for a long growing season. But, it will not fare well by being started indoors, transplanted or sown into cold soil. Wait until 2 weeks after the last frost to sow seed outdoors or when soil temperatures reach at least 16°C. Plant seeds 2 cm deep, 15 cm apart in rows 75-90 cm apart and water well.

Broom corn is a very heavy feeder of nutrients and water. If possible, plan ahead the fall prior and prepare the bed by mixing in a hefty amount of compost. When plants reach 8-10 cm tall, thin them out to a distance of 20-30 cm. Broom corn has shallow roots, so mulch, weed carefully and water well.

About 2 cm of water/week should suffice. Give more in times of excessive heat or drought. An application of high-nitrogen fertilizer a couple times throughout the season will appreciably accelerate growth.

QUICK FACTS

- Broomcorn is a type of sorghum that has been used for making brooms and whiskbrooms for thousands of years. Sorghum most likely originates from Central Africa before the production of the crop spread to the Mediterranean and Europe during the early Middle Ages. Broomcorn evolved over the centuries through repeated selection of seeds from heads that had the longest panicle branches. It was popular because it made better brooms than any other product. The plant was first described in Italy during the 1500s and Benjamin Franklin is credited with introducing broomcorn to the USA in the early 1700s. By the 1830s, commercial broomcorn production had spread to several states in the north east, covering up to 100,000 acres until the 1960s, when the crop virtually ceased to exist on a large scale.

- Broomcorn does not cross-pollinate with the Zea mays species.

- Broomcorn seeds will remain viable for 2 years if stored in a cool, dark place, ideally between 4 and 10⁰C. After that, the germination rate may start to go down.