sugarworm
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Joined: Fri May 18, 2012 4:00 am

How grow several varieties of barley without cross breeding?

I'm planning to grow a barley seed crop for home-brewing later on and I got three different breeds from my brew shop started together in a raised bed that I'm planning to transfer out after I realized that there might be some accidental cross breeding. Barley's self pollinating, but what's a safe distance so there aren't any chance of hybrids?

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lorax
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Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:48 pm
Location: Ecuador, USDA Zone 13, at 10,000' of altitude

Distance isn't the factor to worry about here. Timing is. If you've got different types of barley, what to look for are types that mature at different rates - that way only one type will be producing pollen at any given point, and no hybridization will occur.

GardenGnome
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Location: paradise,ca

For pumpkins and its family they say 100. But I bet that's not fool proof. One little bug that goes that extra way will mess it up. But what lorax say sounds like the number 1 answer. But your doing yours in the same bed do you grow your own hops also?



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