growing grains

[soil]

I'm not sure if this is the best place for this, but it seems to get the most traffic.

does anyone grow small scale grains or is anyone planning to. post up any information you have.

I am planning on growing wheat, barley, oats this winter. I have some grain amaranth going right now.

I have some hullless oats and barley seeds but still deciding on the wheat. I have a few sonora white wheat but I like hard wheats for baking.

[applestar]

I tried all kinds of grains as cover crop last fall. Their germination was spotty and total failure as *cover* crop, but I've been letting the ones that did grow to maturity and harvesting them. So far, I'm really liking spelt -- the large grains squeeze/pop right out of the hull. Triticale has been productive as well. Until now, hull less oats have been my favorite. I'm going to try barley next. I've decided I don't like winter rye as much.

The amount I'm getting is way too small for flour production but they have been serving me well as whole grain mix-in to cooked rice.

[rainbowgardener]

I grow a little bit of grain amaranth, more for the birds than me. I have grown small amounts of barley, wheat, and rye in the past and some purple millet because it is so ornamental. But I've never really used the grains for anything but bird seed. So if you are looking for info about threshing, grinding, etc. I've never done any of that.

Applestar grows some rice (or did last year -- AS, haven't heard much about your rice this year?).

[applestar]

Aww, you were thinking of me while I was posting.

My rice is in sad state this year. I had some health issues this spring at the most critical time; then we've been suffering unseasonable significant drought since spring (probably something like 1/2"-1" rainfall each month).

I did sow Humong Sticky Rice and something IS growing in the rice paddy along with the "red-bottomed imposters" I need to weed the paddy and see if I can salvage the situation.

[digitS']

This must be the first year out of about 10 that I haven't grown wheat. It has only been a small patch that was used for ornamental purposes and to feed the chickens . . . they like it.

I've also grown foxtail millet for about that long and have a little strip planted. Once again, it is for ornamental use in the fall and the chickens get some. The millet is Highlander and the wheat - Black Tip. Seed was purchased from Johnny's and I've saved seed since.

I did order a small packet of Terra Hulless oats from Fedco this year and have that planted. It went in late and I hope it grows well but despite me kidding DW that if it doesn't make a crop, we won't have breakfast to eat all winter - I'm not sure what to do with it. Of course, it can go into fall wreathes like the other things.

Steve

[cynthia_h]

I posted this some time back, but the information hasn't changed:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=53760

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[orgoveg]

You said to post up any information that I have, so here goes:...

My only experience with grains is with amaranth and lamb's quarters (unless you count mustard seeds and flax). I've decided that the yield I get from a small crop and the work involved in getting to the winnowed seeds just isn't worth the effort. I'm sure that when it is done on a large scale with machinery, it can pay off. I don't have the space or the equipment. Because of that attitude, I've never tried wheat, oats, or the like.

[digitS']

I don't find threshing and winnowing difficult for wheat. Certainly not for the about 100 square feet that I usually grow. Justifying the purchase of a mill seems beyond me, however.

(There was a time in my life when you might have found me sitting on a combine for 11 or 12 hours a day. Now that got difficult . . . )

I cut the wheat, lay it out on a tarp on a concrete slab and commence to walk on it. The displacement of weight with big feet probably doesn't help but 200 pounds needs a lot of displacement to be ineffective.

After walking around on it for 15 minutes, I can toss some of the straw off. I'll soon get down to the time when I can sit down and begin my version of flailing . . . I use a short piece of 2 by 4. It should be fairly short and light since crushed seed isn't what I'm after.

After the seed heads are no longer recognizable and most of the straw is tossed off - I set up the ladder in the yard and prepare to make a mess. It helps to mow the lawn after the winnowing .

The amount of wind movement determines how high I have to go on the ladder with my bucket of wheat and chaff. Usually, too little wind isn't a problem here. The tarp is now down there on the ground and I begin pouring from the bucket.

After maybe 3 trips up the ladder with the bucket, I'm down to sitting around and picking a few heavy pieces of straw out of the seed. And, I'm done.

Steve

[jal_ut]

I have grown wheat and barley, but on acres using farm machinery.

I have a hunch it will take quite a bit of space and lots of work to grow enough wheat to make a batch of bread. It hardly seems worth the effort when you can buy a sack of wheat so cheap.

I have used wheat for cover and green manure crops. It always germinates and grows well for me.

BTW, we do use quite a bit of whole grain wheat for bread and pancakes. We do have a mill to grind it into flour.

I bake bread every Thursday.

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/bread_blue.jpg[/img]

[soil]

glad to see so much interest and people already growing grains.

It hardly seems worth the effort when you can buy a sack of wheat so cheap

NONSENSE!!!! I hate that excuse more than anything. lazy people always ask me why I grow potatoes when I can get a big bag for 2-3$.

one top reason is QUALITY.

another is variety, its possible to grow grains that no commercial grower will grow. things that have superior flavor and nutrition.

now I can agree that most people don't have the space to grow grains for a whole year, but supplementing that loaf of bread, or that pizza dough with some homegrown grains will just make them that much better.

I wonder how much wheat the USA could produce if everyone converted their lawn to crop.

I'm mainly interested to grow enough grains for homemade pizza dough, a lot less demanding than a years supply of bread.

[rainbowgardener]

glad to see so much interest and people already growing grains.



I wonder how much wheat the USA could produce if everyone converted their lawn to crop.

.

I have no idea, but substantial. During the World Wars, the government was pushing Victory Gardens, grow food to support the war effort, gardening as an expression of patriotism. During that time the cities mostly fed them selves from the Victory Gardens with most of the farm produce going to the soldiers overseas. We could do it again -- roof top gardens, back yard gardens, vacant lot gardens... There's actually tons of gardenable space in even the densest city. My son lives in the Bay Area, Calif in an apt on the 8th floor and has a roof top garden.

[applestar]

Whoa! OK ... (taking one step back)

But, you are right -- I do enjoy growing even the little bit that I grow. As I said before I just add them to my (store-bought) rice so only one handful of grains is needed to supplement the whole pot. The rice I've been growing gets added as precious mix-in too.

It's very satisfying and totally the reason I garden and grow food.

Even tomatoes and stuff, I started out as a small addition to the total grocery, so who knows. Hey?

[soil]

so I went to visit a fellow local farmer I know. I knew he did small scale grains for himself but didnt talk much about it with him. in the end I came home with a few varieties to grow out.

prairie gold
bronze chief
hard red winter wheat
a variety from Jordan ( very climate hardy he said)
one from Afghanistan
two from Italy
and farro or emmer wheat

also a few kinds of barley.

going to to a grow out plot for each to determine which I like best and which one would naturalize best in a fukuoka no till system.

[digitS']

I read "small scale grains" as "small grains" and your choices show that was your intent, Soil.

This is the 2nd year for me to grow Painted Mountain flour corn. It was bred in Montana and did just fine here the last time I grew it.

What about corn?

Steve

Edited: Ah! Now I've read your post over on the Blue Corn thread again. "(R)ainbow inca sweet corn. which is a sweet eating corn, as well as a dry flour corn all in one."

[soil]

yup already got the corn, also got lots of amaranth going too.

Even tomatoes and stuff, I started out as a small addition to the total grocery, so who knows. Hey?

yea its funny, things start out as supplements to what I can buy, but over time I realize I don't want to buy that junk anymore and end up growing it all myself.

I am doing a few germination tests today, I will make wheatgrass juice after they grow for a few days.

[!potatoes!]

this year:

sorghum - tarahumara popping (like it says, for popping, not flour)
rice - for the first time, trying a central american 'upland' variety - which doesn't need flooding, or, apparently, even need it very wet.
also trying, for the first time, teff. thought the seedlings got taken out by slugs earlier, but they seem to be coming back...whether they've been set back enough to keep me from getting a yield, I don't know.


my wife is allergic to gluten (not quite celiac disease, but not far off), so we've never messed with any of those; wheat, barley, spelt, rye, etc.

[soil]

so ive been collecting grains still for some decent trials this winter/spring.

just got

black emmer wheat
einkorn wheat
durum wheat
and two more kinds of hard red winter wheat

and also a hull-less barley that is supposed to be excellent for barley risotto.