Divisi
How to grow Teff
Eragrostis tef · Poaceae
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Rasbak assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0
Teff (Eragrostis tef) is a fine, tufted grass that carries the smallest grain of any cereal in the world — seed almost as fine as dust. It is the crop behind injera, the everyday flatbread of Ethiopia and Eritrea, and its grain is naturally gluten-free. Two things set teff apart. It will grow on heavy black clay that stays wet and would drown maize or sorghum; and its thin, whippy stems fall over easily — a problem farmers call lodging, and teff's single biggest headache. The grain comes white or brown/red: white usually sells for more, while brown types are hardier and good for home food. Teff asks little of the soil and wants only modest feeding, but it demands one thing above all — a very fine, firm seedbed — because a seed this small has almost no strength to climb up through clods.
- Days to maturity
- 60–120 days
- Sowing depth
- 0.5–1 cm
These are general figures for the crop, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. The right choice for your field depends on your soil, rainfall and the yield you are aiming for.
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Other names for Teff
ጤፍ (tef) · teff · tef · xaafii · tafi · taf
Working in buckets, bags or paces? The farming glossary turns the measures growers actually use into kilograms and hectares — what a 20 litre bucket of each crop really weighs, and how to size a field by walking it — alongside the Shona, Swahili, Ndebele and Yoruba words used in the field. Open the glossary →
Growing teff, stage by stage
Your teff season, step by step — build a very fine, firm seedbed, scatter the dust-fine seed evenly and barely cover it, feed it lightly so it stands up straight, protect the moisture at flowering, then cut and thresh carefully so none of the tiny grain is lost.
- Get your field and seed ready — the fine, firm seedbed
- Sow the dust-fine seed and get an even stand
- Tillering — weed early while the crop is small
- Heading and flowering — the make-or-break moisture window
- Grain fill and ripening — beat lodging, shattering and birds
- Harvest — cut low at first full yellowing
- Thresh, winnow, dry and store
14 step-by-step tasks in the app
Every task for teff — what to do, when to do it and why it matters — with the amounts worked out for your own field, reminders as each one falls due, and warnings before extreme weather.
Pests and diseases that attack teff
2 more threats tracked in the app
Divisi tells you which of these is a risk on your teff right now, when to walk the field looking for it, and what to do the moment you find it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does teff take to grow?
Teff takes about 60–120 days from sowing to maturity, though the exact length varies with variety, temperature and how the season runs.
How deep should teff be planted?
Sow teff at about 0.5–1 cm deep. Shallower risks drying out; deeper wastes seed energy before the shoot reaches light.
What pests and diseases attack teff?
The ones covered in this guide are Grasshoppers, Red teff worm, Sorghum head smudge. Each has its own page explaining how to identify, scout for and control it.
More reading
Grow teff with a plan, not a guess
Divisi turns this guide into a dated plan for your own field — what to do each week, reminders as tasks fall due, and warnings before extreme weather. Free for farmers, works offline.
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