I finally finished threshing and winnowing my barley yesterday (January 30th). Why so tardy? Simply because I have a lot of things to do and I see no problem with storing it on the stalk. I also had to finish my spelt first. I got 44.38 pounds for 630 square feet, so that calculates out to 63.9 bushels per acre. The North Dakota average for malting barley is 54 bushels an acre, so the variety I used, 2-row Hayes Awnless, yielded quite well - even with my primitive growing, threshing and winnowing. For the threshing, I used my electric chipper/shredder. For the winnowing, I used a box fan on a chair and poured the grain & chaff into another container in front of the fan. It is likely I wasted around 5% of the grain.

This barley is a 2-row variety, which is higher in protein than a 4-row barley. The 2-row barley is used more by microbrewers and produces a heavier beer. The 4-row barley is good for lagers and the sludge that usually passes for beer in America. I hope to malt some and make some beer this spring, but right now I am putting a little in my homemade bread. It adds a nutty, sweet taste. My bread is made without sugar in the first place, so a little natural sweetening is not too much.

Barley is an easy-to-grow crop and can be planted early. The old saying is, "Plant your barley in the mud and your wheat in the dust." It is also a very good cover crop and produces very nice straw. This year I have a new 4-row barley I will try, as well as my own 2-row seed. I am looking forward to April planting.