How to Grow Millet at Home

Millet is a variety of grain that is common in birdseed mixes, livestock fodder and cooking. The plant is low maintenance and easy to grow in a small home garden. Gardeners can use the millet to draw wild songbirds to the yard or as a cover crop between soil rotations. Millet does not require regular fertilization or a strict watering schedule and is an appropriate beginning grain for a gardener with little experience.

Organic compost
Garden tiller
Mulch
Shears

Instructions

- 1
  Wait for the soil temperatures to reach at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit, after the last frost of spring has passed. Millet thrives in warmer temperatures.
- 2
  Find a planting site that gets full sun and has well-draining soil. Cover the area with 2 inches of organic compost and work it into the soil at a depth of 12 inches with a garden tiller.
- 3
  Insert the millet seed into the soil at a depth of 1 inch. Space the seeds two inches apart, and space the rows 12 inches apart. Water until the soil settles.
- 4
  Water the millet during drought periods, but average rain should be enough to help millet thrive. Monitor the bed for weeds while the seeds germinate, and remove them as you find them. Once the seeds germinate, cover the bed with a 1-inch layer of mulch to keep down weeds and help the soil maintain its moisture level.
- 5
  Harvest after the seed heads turn brown. Cut the seed head off the plant with a pair of shears.

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