Ugandan Foxtail Millet Setaria italica
LATIN NAME: Setaria italica
COMMON NAME: Foxtail Millet
The foxtail millet is the old golden grain of the dry fields, and the dense, bristly heads nod like the tails of the foxes. The tall, upright, annual grass carries the broad, flat leaves and the dense, cylindrical, bristly heads of the small, golden grains through the late summer, one of the fine, golden sights of the dry field. The grains have a very long record as the staple of the dry regions, and the plant is a fine, historic presence of the warm garden and the grain plot. It is a grass of the open, sunny, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The foxtail millet is an old, fruitful subject of the plant science, and the bristly heads keep showing up in the work on the ancient grains. The breeding of the foxtail millets, one of the oldest of the cultivated grains, has been looked at closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the millet genetics, the drought-tolerant cereals and the members of the grass family. The broad, flat leaves and the tall, upright habit have also made it a fine field plant, and the foxtail millet is a regular subject of the work on the old grains of the dry world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The foxtail millet is a fine, historic grain of the dry field and the warm garden. The dense, cylindrical, bristly heads of the small, golden grains have a very long record as the staple of the dry regions, cooked into the porridges and the flatbreads, and the same grains feed the birds of the garden and the small farm. The plant stands the drought and the poor, dry ground with the ease, and it is one of the fine choices for the grain plot, the bird garden and the dry-field planting of the warm regions. It has been written about in the agricultural and the culinary papers for the golden heads and the very long history, and it is a fine, generous grass of the open, sunny, well-drained garden.
The foxtail millet is one of the oldest of the cultivated grains, and the golden heads feed the birds of the garden. The grains cook into the porridges and the flatbreads of the dry regions.
To grow the foxtail millet from seed, sow the small, round seeds across the surface of a pot of fine seed compost, with a light press, keep the pot in a warm, bright spot and water gently, then set the young plants out after the last frosts. The seedlings thread up within a week and grow on tall. With the sun, the warmth and the well-drained ground, the golden heads will nod through the late summer.
Uses: Culinary/Medicinal
Millet may be the first grain cultivated by man, predating even rice. Man learned to cultivate it in East Asia about 10,000 years ago, paving the way for the shift from a nomadic hunting and gathering to a more settled lifestyle based on farming. It is still one of the important grains in Africa grown for a variety of uses, including brewing, cooked staple use, and as a cereal and porridge. This particular variety is ground for flour and used to thicken stews and cooked with vegetable greens as a hearty and rich porridge. Foxtail millet does well in well-drained soil in sunny locations but needs a long warm summer in order to produce a good crop. It produces reliably in the southern U.S. states but in the cooler, more temperate northern zones it must be started in pots indoors and transplanted outdoors after the danger of frost is past. Very drought resistant.