Sorghum
Sorgo · Sorgho
🧩 Role in the garden
- Family
- Poaceae
- Height
- tall (> 100 cm)
- Shape
- upright
- Roots
- deep
- Sun
- full sun
- Season
- warm season
- Grows in
- ☀ summer beds (warm season)
- Feeds
- heavy feeder
Jobs in the bed
- Cover cropSown on bare soil, it smothers weeds and adds organic matter when cut. It does not fix nitrogen, so pair it with a legume.
Rotation
Do not return Poaceae to the same spot for 3–4 years. Same family:
✓ Good neighbours
✗ Keep apart
None listed.
⚠ Use caution
- ⚠ Tomatoit is a preferred host of the corn earworm (= tomato fruitworm), so once its heads form, moths move on to nearby corn, tomatoes, peppers & eggplants; its roots and fresh residue release sorgoleone, which stunted or killed tomato, lettuce and broccoli transplants set into freshly killed sorghum (plant them only after the residue has broken down)
- ⚠ Lettuceits roots and fresh residue release sorgoleone, which stunted or killed tomato, lettuce and broccoli transplants set into freshly killed sorghum (plant them only after the residue has broken down)
- ⚠ Cornit is a preferred host of the corn earworm (= tomato fruitworm), so once its heads form, moths move on to nearby corn, tomatoes, peppers & eggplants
- ⚠ Pepperit is a preferred host of the corn earworm (= tomato fruitworm), so once its heads form, moths move on to nearby corn, tomatoes, peppers & eggplants
- ⚠ Eggplant / aubergineit is a preferred host of the corn earworm (= tomato fruitworm), so once its heads form, moths move on to nearby corn, tomatoes, peppers & eggplants
- ⚠ Broccoliits roots and fresh residue release sorgoleone, which stunted or killed tomato, lettuce and broccoli transplants set into freshly killed sorghum (plant them only after the residue has broken down)
✿ Helpful flowers & herbs
None listed.