Growing sugarcane

[Carcharos]

I only found this website after I started, so I don't have any actual in-the-process-of images, but I wanted to contribute. This is one of the best places I've found that gives you good information along with pictures and helpful comments. So, thanks and on to the sugarcane!

I live in the southern US and when I was little I used to get sugarcane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarcane) pretty often, so a few weeks ago when I came across some at a flea market I just had to buy it. But, I rarely see it around here anymore, so I thought to myself, hey, why not try to grow it.

I found some information googling around, all of which basically said the same thing. Get some sugarcane, cut it, put in dirt, and wait.

There were a couple problems, though. Most of these sites were how plantations did it or little how-tos for science projects. Also, it was winter so I wanted to start it off inside.

In the end, I basically followed the directions. I cut an entire section of the cane, from the outside of one ring to another, got a plastic jug, filled it with dirt from the yard, and stuck the cane in it horizontally under an inch or two of dirt, watered it, and sat it in the window.

About a week later, I thought I'd try it with just a single ring, since it wouldn't take nearly as huge a pot as an entire section did. <-- Don't do this. It was a complete failure as apparently the sugarcane survives entirely off the seed cane for about a month after planting.

To Begin With

You'll need some sugarcane. Where to get it? Apparently flea markets, possibly farmers markets and maybe supermarkets. (Though I've personally never seen it at the latter)

To get the piece you want to root, cut an entire section from the outside of one ring to the next.

http://i47.tinypic.com/2n74i69.jpg

After you have the bit you want, you'll need to have a pot it'll fit in, along with your dirt of choice. To plant, just dig a shallow furrow and lay it so that the cane would be horizontal and then cover with a couple inches of soil. Water until moist. Sit it in a warm place.

The information I found says it should sprout in 1-3 weeks depending on soil temperature.

And tah-dah!
http://www.bunchofice.com/attachments/12577216351108091703a_0001.jpg

Thirteen days later I now have my first sprout, which also looks like some sort of alien clawing its way out. Before that I could see it putting out a ton of roots since it was in a clear plastic container.

I have no idea how big it will get by the time spring comes around or if it'll survive the transplant into the yard, but I hope so.

A couple days ago I stumbled upon a very useful site about growing sugarcane, too: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/SC052

Also, hope I put this in the right place since bamboo is the closest thing I saw to it on here.

[Riz]

hi..

thanks. never seen a sugar cane seedling before :)

well done ;)

thread is bookmarked :)

[aamirc]

Awesome post man... My mum tried sticking a sugar cane in the ground but it didn't grow. Now I know why, she forgot to lay it horizontally in the ground. She planted it like a normal cutting, vertically with the top bit above the soil level. It ended up drying out and nothing grew out of it.

[Riz]

found more info to

http://home.howstuffworks.com/easy-science-projects-for-kids1.htm

Grow Your Own Sugar Cane

Grow your own sugar cane -- it's one sweet and easy science project idea. Not only does this kids' science activity look great, you'll have your own sugar cane to use.

What You'll Need:



Sugar cane
Potting soil
Large flower pot (about eight inches)
Knife
Candle

How to Grow Your Own Sugar Cane:
Most people don't know that sugar cane is a type of grass. Like grass, it grows quickly and easily into an attractive plant.
Step 1: Find a fresh-cut section of sugar cane at least a foot long. (You may have to look in a specialty grocery store.)
Step 2: Look near the joints in the stem for a shield-shaped bud from which new stalks will grow. Below the buds are tiny holes where roots will grow. Cut the stalk off two inches below the bud and about an inch above the next joint.
Step 3: Fill a flower pot with potting soil up to about two inches from the rim. Stick the cane into the soil so that the bud is just barely covered.
Step 4: Light the candle and drip melted wax onto the other end of the cane to keep it from drying out.
Step 5: Keep the soil barely moist. In a week or two the bud will sprout. When the new sprout is about six inches high, add another 1-1/2 inches of potting soil.
Step 6: As more sprouts grow you can cut the sprouts, peel them, and cut them into sticks to stir hot drinks with.

[Riz]

step 4 is interesting :)


ps.. i wonder were in UK you can get sugar cane from :confused:

[Carcharos]

I didn't bother with the candle wax, as only a few places mentioned doing it, but I can't see any harm in doing it, either.

I read in a couple places that you can plant your cutting vertically, but only a few of them mentioned it and none provided any pictures. I think planting it vertically would be where you'd need the wax, since a cut end would be exposed to the air.

I'd really recommend http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/SC052 for fairly in depth information on growing it. (Too bad I found that after I started.)

Some google answers on where to find it in the UK say to try asian supermarkets

[edibles]

sugarcane is just grass but bigger it will grow to a certain size before clumping then it will grow quite large it will remain green for a long time and then when it turns purple u get a machete or axe or strong knife and you cut it from the base after this more should sprout unless u have a cold winter
oh and welcome
step 4 is interesting :)


ps.. i wonder were in UK you can get sugar cane from :confused:

they are available in some asian stores and are almost always available in specialist oriental stores (see woo)

[Carcharos]

Glad the site's back.

The sugarcane is growing a bit more than 1 inch a day.

Nov 9th - Day 14

http://i35.tinypic.com/1626x3d.jpg

Nov 10th - Day 15

http://www.bunchofice.com/attachments/12578609421110090745.jpg

Nov 11th - Day 16

http://www.bunchofice.com/attachments/12579495691111090905.jpg

Nov 13th - Day 18

http://i37.tinypic.com/2eqgpb9.jpg


I should probably note that this is the entire section, from one ring to another. The single ring I planted is still putting out a lot of roots, but no sprout has popped up yet.

[Riz]

its growing rapid :) looks just like a bamboo seedling too

[Carcharos]

Nov 14th Day 19

It's about 6 inches tall now

[Carcharos]

Nov 20th - Day 25

It's now about 14 inches tall. I think I'm going to have to repot it soon.

I'm thinking of getting a bucket with a lid, turning it on its side and chopping off some of it so it'll be easy to remove it in the spring when I need to plant it.

[Carcharos]

I've found some more information and I was wrong about being able to use just a single little ring as a seed piece.

It seems the sugarcane uses the reserves in the seed piece for nearly a month, so it needs a bigger piece. Which fits with the single ring I was trying to grow, which developed roots, but never managed anything more.

http://www.sugarcanecrop.com/growth_morphology/

[MustafaMc]

This thread reminded me of my parents growing a bit of sugar cane when I was growing up near the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I remember taking some of it to a press and bringing back gallon jugs of juice. It sure was deliciously sweet, but it gave me diarreah. I also remember peeling sections to chew.

[Kirsten]

This is such an awesome project! :)

[Riz]

yeah its a great project... how long will it take when you can harvest the sugar canes.. maybe September/November 2010 i am guessing though !! :)

[Carcharos]

From what I gather, you can harvest it just about any time you want. You just want to do so at the last moment so you get the highest sugar content, which for my area should be around September or October, I think.

If it all goes well, I think I should actually get better cane since the harvest time for sugarcane in the US is only around 8 months. Starting it inside should give it an extra few months. I'll just have to wait and see if it really makes a difference.

[Riz]

8 months huh !? :) pretty long season for the sugar canes, do you have a nice size garden, if the sugar canes gow anything like bamboo then you will get rhizomes popping out which will be a great site to see :)

[Carcharos]

We've got plenty of room, but I think sugarcane grows more like a clumping bamboo, so it shouldn't spread everywhere. (But I can help it along by planting more next year!)

[Riz]

^will you be growing other things to next season ? :)

[Carcharos]

We do a small vegetable garden every year, but nothing special.

I just happened to suddenly decide to grow sugarcane, then I was eating a pomegranate and decided to grow that, too. And it's been great fun.

Recently found a store selling dragonfruit and think I might buy one and join edibles in trying to grow some.

[Carcharos]

December 3rd - Day 38

I replanted it into a cut off bucket and I think I was underwatering it, as the very tiny tips of the leaves were brown.

Also, the two leaves at the very bottom withered away and I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that was supposed to happen as they didn't really seem like true leaves.

[Riz]

yeah i think they were true leaves too, now the plant has plenty of space to grow in that bucket :)

[Carcharos]

December 23 - Day 58

Not the best picture, but it has grown quite a bit. The longest leaf will touch the ceiling if you straighten it out.

[Riz]

yeah it has grown,, the stem is thickening up really well, No more rhizomes popping out yet ?? you gonna plant it outdoors in mid may or earlier !? sugar cane is from the bamboo family eh !? because ordinary bamboo is quite hardy and can tolerate cold and frost once they are established even after one season you can plant it straight outdoors

[edibles]

yeah it has grown,, the stem is thickening up really well, No more rhizomes popping out yet ?? you gonna plant it outdoors in mid may or earlier !? sugar cane is from the bamboo family eh !? because ordinary bamboo is quite hardy and can tolerate cold and frost once they are established even after one season you can plant it straight outdoors

they are all types of grass

[Carcharos]

yeah it has grown,, the stem is thickening up really well, No more rhizomes popping out yet ?? you gonna plant it outdoors in mid may or earlier !? sugar cane is from the bamboo family eh !? because ordinary bamboo is quite hardy and can tolerate cold and frost once they are established even after one season you can plant it straight outdoors

No more popping up yet, but it should happen any time now. Hoping to plant it out in mid-late April. And yeah, everything I've read says it'll be just fine through winter once established.

I happened to stumble upon some more sugarcane at a local gas station and I'm planning to cut it up and plant it outside in a couple days. Information I've come across says you should either plant it out in late spring/early fall so it's well developed underground before first frost or in winter so that it stays dormant until spring.

The gas station sugarcane is purple and, being generous, about half as thick as the one I've been growing, but I'm still going to give it a go.

[farah]

step 4 is interesting :)


ps.. i wonder were in UK you can get sugar cane from :confused:

Birmingham, Small Heath, Lady Pool super markets but they're white, not like in the picture and usually moist but cut down to about 1 inch long pieces... I'm going to try with one in sha Allah but doesn't seem like it will yield much in our climate... You can get them in the summer time... may be worthwhile checking any ethnic shops you may have locally and asking if they get any.

[Carcharos]

Birmingham, Small Heath, Lady Pool super markets but they're white, not like in the picture and usually moist but cut down to about 1 inch long pieces... I'm going to try with one in sha Allah but doesn't seem like it will yield much in our climate... You can get them in the summer time... may be worthwhile checking any ethnic shops you may have locally and asking if they get any.

I'm not sure, but the way you describe it sounds like the cane has already been cut up and peeled. If it's peeled, you genuinely can't get it to grow as the buds have been removed.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/LyraEDISServlet?command=getScreenImage&oid=9261198

There should be a bud similar to that on every ring

[farah]

Ah thank you for that warning there lol I always thought that sugar cane was white with maybe a green tint, the ones from birmingham must be peeled because they aren't smooth like bamboo sticks and you can bite in to them.

[Carcharos]

January 18th - Day 84

Saying it's getting a bit unwieldy would be an understatement. That's actually just a leaf that's growing straight up for some reason. The stalk itself is only around where the topmost leaves are sprouting.

Guessing I didn't provide good enough conditions for it to start tillering as no more stalks have popped up. Everything I've read says light and temperature are very important to tillering and I know I didn't provide the perfect temps for it. Not a giant loss, but would have liked to see some popping up.

[Riz]

it almost looks like a palm :)

keep it going though... i am intrigued by it :)

[Carcharos]

January 18th - Day 112

Too big to easily get it all into the picture now. Had to cut off one of the leaves as I broke it while moving it.

As you can see by the bottom leaf, it appears to slowly drop one lower leaf at a time as it puts out more at the top.

[farah]

are you going to try and pot some more as well?

[Carcharos]

I'm hoping to cut some of this up when it matures and plant that. Other than that I don't really have any plans to start a sugarcane collection or anything. Hoping this one works out, though, as it was great quality and I'd like to have a small patch of it.

[Riz]

cant wait untill you plant it out in the summer, it will grow really well :)

[Riz]

how is the sugar cane growing carcharos !!!?

[Carcharos]

Sugarcane updates will be a bit in coming. I planted it outside and, uh, forgot to water it for a couple days. It did not approve of such treatment and is now slowly coming back to life. Woops.

[Carcharos]

April 27th - Day Something

So, back in early april I planted it outside and forgot about it. When I remembered it, all the leaves had turned brown and I wasn't sure it would live.

Guess it just goes to show that you should never underestimate sugarcane.

Not the best picture, but it's green, green, green.

[Carcharos]

May 29th - Day who knows

Finally a decent picture. It isn't half as spindly as it was and though you can't really see, there's another stalk coming out of the ground on the right.

It looks shorter because I planted it a bit deeper when I moved it outside. It was barely under the soil in that bucket.

Have it in a sort of unused portion of the yard, moved the plastic container behind it for better contrast. Sort of worked.

[Riz]

oh yeah its looking good and healthy :)

[Carcharos]

June 3rd - Multiplication

Picture of the new stalks. There's a third forming on the left that you can't see.

It's staying a healthy green, so I guess I'm watering it enough. Basically just pouring a gallon pitcher on it every day without rain.

[Carcharos]

June 16th - Day 149

Looking good. Two new stalks are coming along great and there are another two coming up that you can't see. So, if all the of stalks survive I'll have at least 5.

[Riz]

wow it is getting bigger

good work :)


:GreenThumbs:

[Carcharos]

August 3rd - Day 197

Looking at the last picture, it has actually grown quite a bit. About 9 little stalks surround it. Only have about 3 months left for it to grow, though, so it needs to hurry up.

[Riz]

oh yeah, its looking a lot bigger now :)

[Carcharos]

October 21st

Not going to get much bigger before I harvest it around November. After looking around on the internet I think I figured out why it didn't grow very big this year, though. Need to provide it with a lot more fertilizer than I did. (I basically gave it none. Woops.)

I pulled some of the smaller stalks you can see in the August pictures so that it would focus on just 4 and earlier this month I harvested one of them, which tasted great. So at least I know they'll taste good even if there isn't much there.

Hopefully it'll do better next year when it comes back up now that I've learned how to take care of it.

[Riz]

its still pretty impressive :)

the stem on the right side looks as if it has really matured !!!

[Carcharos]

It's okay for a first go without knowing what I was doing, but pretty poor when you realize that a proper stalk of sugarcane should be around 6 feet tall and the tallest of mine is ~2 feet (60cm or so.)

I'll just have to do better next year!

[AndyStuart]

I know this thread is a little old, but I have a few questions...

1 - Does the sugar cane need to be in a hot place to grow well?
2 - How much processing does it take to get a usable product for cooking / eating?

I've never even thought of growing sugar cane before so thanks for all the info so far :)