Growing beets of all kinds

[IDTANDY]

Found this.

Sugar beets
"A mature sugar beet measures up to a foot long, weighs three to five pounds and can produce about five ounces of sugar."

[Grumpy Old Man]

Or you might try sorghum, grows easily and is a relatively simple process- much like maple sugaring.

AGR-123: Processing Sweet Sorghum for Syrup

Kerr Center Publications: Sweet Sorghum Production and Processing

Agricultural Marketing Resource Center - General Sorghum

Sorghum also has the added benefit of being a good base to make ethanol for fuel. Just a thought.

[IDTANDY]

Sugar cane is another.

Sugar Cane - Bill's Corner - Growing Cane - Southern Matters

[Taz Baby]

I don't think I can grow sugar cane where I am at. Because it snows there. When I was in Fla I grew it and ate it off the cane.

[carly]

They grow sugarcane in areas here where it snows. Not sure about total hardiness.

[bacpacker]

Are there mulitple varities of cane? Maybe some of them are more cold hardy. Maybe not as productive, but still worthwhile. Sorghum is a crop that has been grown around here for many years. It would probably be a good idea to try and find plans on making a press and extraction system.

[Grumpy Old Man]

Ask and ye shall receive!

sorghum | mills | presses

Scroll down to the old press section and you'll find 3 for sale. They are kind of like a washer ringer, only set vertically instead of horizontally.

Here is an antique press.

Meriden Antique Engine & Threshers Association

Instructions for using an old wringer washer

How to Construct a Sorghum Mill | eHow.com

And pictures of old presses. I figure with all the tinkerers here one of you guys can build a passable press from looking at the photos.

Sweet Sorghum or sometimes known as Sorghum Molasses

[Grumpy Old Man]

I think you could make a press using 2 conveyor belt idlers with sprockets on the end. Sniper, start designing!

[Sniper-T]

not quite what I had in mind grumpy... but I'll post tomorrow, with an effective cane/beet juice extraction system

I plan on growing cane this year, here in CANADA. land of the freeze. It is unlikely that it will last as a perennial, but as long as I keep some canes, to over winter indoors, I should be able to grow it indefinately.

From what I read, unless it gets stupid cold, it will 'hibernate' if it gets stupid cold, the stocks will burst.

BTW Canada gets stupid cold. Southern USA... Not so much!

[Taz Baby]

Ok I found a place for all syrup. Just found it and haven't read it yet, but it looks good enough info on it. Even for cane Sniper

SYRUPMAKERS