I am currently using whole rye berry grain. It is and will continue to do the job until I run out. However, from what I am reading and watching millet & milo grain are two of the best choices. Therefore I am considering making the switch once I run out. I am leaning towards millet due to my favorite cultivator utilizing it, but I never want to make a decision of such without consulting people who have done the same test.
So, which grain do you use?
Why do you use that grain?
Any good literature on to read on this topic is always appreciated as well.
Millet is usually more expensive then milo, about 2x as expensive. Its not 2x as good as milo but its definitely better.
Pros for millet:
Its a whiter grain so u can see contam easier.
Its a smaller grain, so theres more innoculation points when u shake and break or g2g transfers.
Its usually a bit cleaner (less debris and sticks and sruff)
Pros for milo:
Its cheaper.
They almost always have it in stock compared to millet.
Millet is better in many ways but dont worry about getting the best, most grains will work just fine and at the end of the day once its mixed with sub they act the same. Millet just quickens the incubation period in the grain phase.
We use millet for master bags and milo for recievers.
I had used milo a while back, and liked it in comparison to rye berries. So hearing it is cheaper, almost always in stock, and millet is only slightly better. Makes the choice seem a little more obvious then.
I love that, being from Kentucky, that just makes me want to give it a try and see how it grows. Would give it a little special touch for me, well even more so.
I don’t care much about what grain I’m using as long as it’s cheap and available locally.
Grain size just changes the number of inoculation points when you mix to bulk, more inoculation points means faster colonization…even if it’s minimal.
I’ve used
wbs, smaller grain size, easy to prep. Always available and can be bought while getting groceries. Stinks in the PC and is dirty but it’s stupid cheap.
Rye, medium-large grain size, more expensive that wbs, easiest to prep imo. Availability can vary around me unless I wanna drive out of my way. Smells good in the PC too
Popcorn, larger grain size, harder to hydrate proper during prep. Always available and can be bought while getting groceries (bulk stores for 25-50lb bags) but is kind of pricey. Smells aight at first then gets stinkier as the PC cycle finishes.
Milo/sorghum, small grain size, more expensive than wbs but is more reliable in prep and just as easy. Only available in smaller amounts (5-10lb bags) near me unless I get a blend (supreme dove blend, ground feed, waste free finch) which then is just wbs again.
Oats! Racing Horse premium oats are the best pricewise…available in any feed store
Not all horse oats are the same try to get the best quality you can, generally whole oats…
Very cheap for big projects and more noutritious than birdseed (also another cheap and effective option providing lots of inoculation points when spawned)
I’ve tried pretty much every bulk grain available, and whole rye berries seem to be the winner. Milo and millet are good and colonize quickly, but moisture content is much more difficult to nail (with my prep).
I feel like a bare simmer to overnight in a mesh strainer, dumped out on a baking sheet lined with paper towels for an hour is foolproof. I’ve had too many contams with smaller grain, wbs included. Millet loves to explode into nasty starch goop with even gentle simmering. Once you get a couple solid bulk rye spawn jars going, go grain-to-grain for future spawn which will drastically reduce contams and colonization time. Putting LC on already-too-wet millet always ends in disaster, for me at least.
