F.A. Farm

Here is a picture of me harvesting winter wheat with a sickle last Tuesday, July 21st. I grab the wheat at about knee height and cut the stalks about 6-8 inches below that. Then I place them in the wheelbarrow, all facing the same way. When the wheelbarrow is full, I take a wheat stalk or a piece of twine and slide it under the bundle of stalks. If using a wheat stalk, I overlap the loose ends and twist them under several times. You can sometimes tie a knot, if the stalk is not too brittle. However, the dryer your wheat, the more brittle the stalks. With a piece of twine, it is simple to just tie a knot. After the wheat is tied into a neat bundle, it is easy to stand them up in a patch of stubble. They are now shocks of grain and left in the field to dry. You can do a primitive moisture test by putting a handful of grain in a pint jar with the lid screwed on tight and left outside overnight. If there is still a lot of moisture in the grain, you will see beads of water condensing on the inside of the jar in the morning. By the way, the tall grain in the background is spelt, which is also fall planted. The stalks are a beautiful red color.