How to Grow Millet: Grain, Birdseed or Cover Crop
Millet matures in 60 to 90 days on poor dry soil where other grains fail. Decide early whether you want grain, birdseed or a summer cover crop.
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Millet is the grain that performs where the soil is poor and dry — and it does it in 60 to 90 days. Decide at sowing which of three jobs you want from it, because the type and the spacing differ.
Pick the type first
| Type | Height | Days | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proso | 2–4 ft | 60–70 | Grain, birdseed. The quick one |
| Pearl | 6–10 ft | 80–95 | Forage, heat, very poor soil |
| Foxtail | 3–5 ft | 70–85 | Hay, fast cover |
Sowing
Warm soil above 65 °F, usually two to three weeks after the last frost. It is a warm-season grass and seed sits and rots in cold ground.
A firm, level, weed-free seedbed matters more than it sounds. Millet seed is tiny, establishes poorly in cloddy soil, and the usual cause of a thin disappointing stand is weed competition in the first fortnight.
Sow a quarter to half an inch deep, no deeper. Broadcasting then raking lightly is fine for a small plot — sow densely for cover, more thinly for grain.
Water until seedlings are up, then largely leave it alone. From that point its drought tolerance is the whole appeal.
Do not feed it
Millet yields on low-fertility ground. Give it heavy nitrogen and it produces tall, soft growth that lodges — falls flat in wind and rain — which makes harvest awkward and drops grain on the soil before you can collect it.
The instinct to improve the soil first is the wrong instinct with this crop.
Harvesting grain by hand
- Wait until the seed heads turn from green to tan and the grain resists a fingernail
- Cut whole heads with shears into a bucket or sack
- Thresh by rubbing or flailing the dried heads over a tarpaulin
- Winnow — pour the mixture between two containers in a breeze or in front of a fan. The chaff blows away, the grain falls
It is genuinely satisfying and genuinely slow. A small plot yields a modest amount of grain for a decent afternoon’s work, which is worth knowing before scaling up expectations.
Birds will get there first
Proso millet is a birdseed staple for a reason. On a small plot this is a serious loss, not a nibble.
Either bag individual heads in fine mesh or old stocking as they ripen, or decide to grow it as standing bird food — which is a perfectly good use of a patch of late-summer ground, and far less work.
As a cover crop
Millet is one of the better warm-season covers: fast to establish, smothers weeds, tolerates drought and poor soil, and builds useful biomass quickly.
One rule: cut or mow at flowering, before it sets seed. Millet self-seeds readily, and a cover crop allowed to shed grain becomes a volunteer weed in whatever follows it.
Leave the cut residue on the surface as a mulch rather than digging it in.
Step by step
- Time
- P80D
- Cost
- 10
- You need
- Millet seed of the right type for your purpose, A rake
- Tools
- Scythe, shears or secateurs, Tarpaulin or sheet for threshing
Choose the type by what you want from it
Proso millet is the common birdseed and a quick 60 to 70 day grain. Pearl millet is taller and better for forage and hot dry conditions. Foxtail millet suits hay and quick cover.
Wait for warm soil
Sow once soil is reliably above 65 F, which is usually two to three weeks after the last frost. Millet is a warm-season grass and seed sits and rots in cold ground.
Prepare a firm, weed-free seedbed
Rake the surface level and firm. Millet seed is tiny and establishes poorly in loose cloddy soil, and early weed competition is the main cause of a thin stand.
Broadcast or drill shallowly
Sow about a quarter to half an inch deep, no deeper. Broadcasting then raking lightly works well for a small plot, and a denser stand suits cover cropping while a thinner one suits grain.
Water to establish, then leave it
Keep the surface moist until seedlings are up. After that millet is markedly drought tolerant and needs little, which is much of why it is grown where maize fails.
Do not over-fertilise
Millet performs on poor soil and heavy nitrogen causes tall growth that lodges — falls over — in wind and rain, making harvest difficult and losing grain.
Let the heads fill and dry on the plant
Seed heads turn from green to tan and the grains harden. For grain, wait until the heads are dry and the seed resists a fingernail.
Cut the heads when dry
Cut whole seed heads with shears into a bucket or sack. If birds are stripping them before you get there, bag individual heads in mesh as they ripen.
Thresh on a tarpaulin
Rub or flail the dried heads over a sheet to free the grain, then winnow in a breeze or in front of a fan to blow the chaff away.
Cut cover crop stands before they set seed
If you grew it as a cover crop, mow or cut at flowering and leave the residue on the surface. Letting it seed turns a cover crop into next year's weed.
Common questions
How long does millet take to grow?
What is the difference between proso and pearl millet?
Can you grow millet as a cover crop?
Does millet need good soil?
How do you harvest and thresh millet by hand?
Will birds eat millet before you harvest it?
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