lorax

It's only an eyesore if you don't detrash the old blades, Mitch.... If you care for it the same way you would a banana, it's quite attractive.

Oh, I s'pose I should mention - the pic above is of cane growing on the sandbars (!) of the Pastaza River. It's a one-cycle a year crop there, since the river floods annually.

ewitte

Yes lots of people have trashy looking bananas around here.

momoese

I have no doubt, but the other half does. Well she likes my Tanglad so maybe I'll try to sneak some in, keep it purty for her, then devulge what it is later.

ewitte

Lol giving up information "after the fact" is a specialty of mine.

Eric

Aw, come on... That's the Fun-Side of growing nanners!!
Of course, it DOES help to be an honoured member of B.R.Us .

ewitte

I see them in the strangest places were people obviously are not doing anything to them. In ditches, next to trash bins, etc. My favorite is the walkway behind the houses in my subdivision. I found one banana type plant that came up on the other side of someones fence backing up to uncleared land. Took a few bananas but it was inedible. Lol I hate ornamentals.

Stange thing is I never noticed them before coming here

Eric

Hey Ewitte... 'Ornamental' bananas...!? !! Sounds horrifying !! In fact, my Zebrina could be destined to displacement should I get hold of the Zebrina cross that makes edible nanners .

Hey Momoese... Since you're Obviously not a member in good standing of B.R.Us, Definitely sneak a cane in & purty it up for her... she'll never know .

browndrake

I must admit that I know even less about sugar cane than I do about bananas. I figured though, that if I could grow bananas up here, then why not sugar cane. I was going to do it when I lived in the central valley of CA, but then moved away before reading up on it.

What are the differences in the varieties? I guess that I can find a link or two..and will, but if you know please pipe up. I would think that crystal is what i would want. Is there a difference in the cold hardiness of the various cultivars?

I would love to be able to so something like that. How much cane does one need in order for it to be worth while to do such (for personal use only).
As I said water is the biggest problem here. We have it, only we have to pay for it. I will probably be building a new home..but not for 3-4 years. I plan on putting in a gray water system...it will supply enough water for most of my agricultural en devours.
Is horse manure good for feeding them? I have a free, pretty much unlimited supply of horse manure.
how long before transplant to ground would you recommend starting seeds inside? Are the seeds easy enough to harvest? Also, I am not sure if it will go to seed before frost here..guess I will see next year.

Thanks everybody for all the info.. I think this might develop into a valuable thread for many people...definitely for me.

aaron

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Eric

Hi Browndrake,
Chewing varieties have a pulp that is easily spat out once the cane has been chewed on so it's more for eating raw.
Crystal varieties have the highest sucrose content and are great for making dry sugar with.
Syrup varieties contain sugar molecules that resist crystalization and, therefore, are great for making things like molasses from.

Your other questions would best be answered by Beth since I will only be growing it for ornamental purposes.

I Definitely think you're right ! This should continue to evolve as an Absolute guide to growing - even refining - Sugarcanes!

lorax

How much sugar are you trying to produce a year? I make about 100 kgs of panela each season from a field that's about 5 meters square (I have no idea how many canes that is, I don't keep count.) I'm doing it more for the molasses, truth be known - it's tough to find here, and I'm fond of pumpernickle breads...

As long as it's aged properly. I use a mix of cow and chicken, since it's what I have available; some fields here are done on (properly aged) humanure as well.

As soon as you have the seeds. There's no such thing as a ratoon that's too big to be planted out, but there is such a thing as one that's too small. They're attractive houseplants in the interim. Seeds are very easy to harvest - just like you would with any other grass; cane makes big plumes of seeds that are a) obvious and b) easy to cut down with a pair of shears and maybe a ladder depending on the height of your cane. Mine goes to about 10' in good seasons, but then again I never have to worry about ratoons.

When you do finally get to harvest, use a machete to cut the canes off just above ground level - if you've got a sharp one, it should take between one and two whacks. The best way I've found is to hold the cane at about waist height with my left hand and swing the machete in towards the ground with my right. Now that I have the rhythm of it, I can harvest my little patch in about half an hour.

Equally, I'm a bad person to talk to about cultivar hardiness. In Canada, I grew S. arundinaceum (hardy cane) which is nominally hardy to Zone 7, and colder zones with protection. It's a little less sweet than its southern relatives. Here in Ecuador, I grow various cultivars of S. officinarum (true cane) which is less hardy but much sweeter. As I mentioned before, the Ecuadorean cultivar 'Flor de Azucar' is a multipurpose cane suitable for both molasses and crystalline sugar...

HOWEVER

What you get out of your cane is highly dependant on how you process it. I've used "crystal" varieties for chewing (they're much less sweet than "chewing" varieties) and I've also used "syrup" varieties to make panela, which is a hard block of solid sugar. The amount of molasses in the finished product varies greatly depending on the cultivar, hence the "syrup" varieties which give more of this to less "mother of sugar" (which is what is further processed to make white sugar.)

This said, I usually use the more traditional "Ribbon Cane" method of refinement, because I like my sugar dark. It's also a great deal simpler than commercial refinement, since it only requires the copper kettles and a reliable candy thermometer.

bigdog

No problem, Mike!

Mitchel, have you seen the purple-leafed cultivar of S. officinarum? Highly ornamental AND still has the sugary goodliness!


Frank.

P.S. Lorax...Katoi Farang? LOL...isn't that "Lady-boy foreigner" in Thai?

momoese

No I haven't. If the stalks look like this I may be interested!

Saccharum officinarum

browndrake

thanks so much for all the info. I have lots more reading to do....
Now the search begins for seeds and working on preps for next year.

Everybody is going to think I am a nut...I started this whole mess taking on the project of trying to find/develop apricots that bloom late enough to successfully fruit here most years. Now I have bananas, and going to be getting sugar cane.... who knows what is next... People have already told me that all these things can't be done here.. I guess that I just don't listen too well at times.

I have many, many more questions, but they are premature until I get seeds and get some plants started.

thanks again

aaron

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bigdog

I've seen it called 'Pele's Smoke' and 'Violaceum'. Logee's has it called 'Purple Sugarcane', lol. Supposedly, it is sweeter also!

The old stems on the regular variety of sugarcane look like the one you linked to. At least the older canes on the one in our greenhouse do. I like the plant, but watch out for the little hairs where the blade meets the stalk! They can be painful!

Frank

momoese

More puple Sugarcane!

http://www.landcraftenvironment.com/...1/saccpscl.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2212/...1fe35b.jpg?v=0

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1099/...4c95f6.jpg?v=0

Bob

Beth, sorry haven't been up on things past few days............... you eat the grasshoppers and locusts............how?..........not just raw right?........any sauce or frying for example.......or what?

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lorax

Blah, no, not raw! I pop them in the hot-air popper.

Bob

Thanks for clearing that up. Some chili powder would seem appropriate.

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lorax

They're kind of nutty; if you roll them in sugar syrup first, they come out like caramel peanuts.

Eric

Oh God !!!!!! Not just before lunch!!!!!!

Browndrake: Go For It! My standing motto is 'If it can't be done, I wanna be the 1st to try !

Frank: Thanx for S. Officinarum info ! Think I'll give it a shot!