Sugarcane planting

We recently found a place to buy sugarcane (Hana World market in Austin) and discovered what seems to be a not-terribly-expensive sugarcane press (~$200) on Amazon.  So, we decided to give it a try!  Planting is pretty simple - cut up the can to leave one or more joints on each piece, and plant in a trench.  Our kids helped, which was fun for them.  We hope to see sprouts in under a month, some growth before it dies back at the next frost, then a real harvest sometime next summer/fall.

 

The goal is to produce a sugar we can use in chocolate production and PBJ jam.  We've tried sugar beets before, but I'm hoping sugarcane is easier to process...