28 May Thu 2009
Winter Wheat Experiment
My winter wheat is now fully headed out. I planted it September 9th last year. I also planted spelt, but it has not headed yet. My planting methods for grain are crude but effective. I tilled the ground as well as I could and then broadcast the seed by hand. My throwing arc is getting better and it really is not too difficult to get good coverage. After sowing, I set my tiller on the shallowest setting and tilled in the seed using my tiller's second gear. I like to till in second gear anyway as I think it lowers the risk of tiller sole (i.e. the hardpan you get 6-8 inches down when you till too much at the same depth), but going faster also makes for less footprints in the fresh soil. The spot where I have my wheat was newly tilled from sod last year, so there is quite a bit of new organic matter for the soil bacteria to munch on. There are also some spots of poor germination because of the low, wet spots. This is just a small plot, only 2500 square feet, and I only expect a bushel (60 pounds for wheat) out of this experiment. When I did spring wheat last year, harvesting was not a problem, using only a small sickle and tying up the grain into shocks. I pulled a wheelbarrow along as I cut and the wheelbarrow held about two shocks worth of grain. Tying up the shocks with a wheat stem worked well. Threshing by hand was a pain and I finally used a lawnmower to shred the shocks and I got a very low percent of cracked grain. I winnowed out the grain by hand using a house fan and pouring the grain back and forth between two containers. I am looking at getting an electric chipper/shredder for easier threshing. It is not necessary to bring the machine to the grain; it is only necessary to bring the grain to the machine. I already have a hand grinder and if this experiment is successful, I will have to get a pasta maker. Then we can have homegrown pesto on our homegrown pasta.
You too, can grow your own grain. This might become important in a year or two.
Gene Logsdon has an old book out in a new edition on growing your own small grains. I hear it is supposed to be good, though I haven't read it yet. I guess he has been interested in that for quite a few years. Have you read it or do you know of it? But I am not much interested in taking that step. I've got more than I can handle trying to get my new garden area into shape. But maybe in a couple years...? I really am interested in trying to be more food sufficient with each passing year.
Yep - I am aware of Gene's book and I have it on request with the local library system. If you don't want to get into small grains right now, I suggest dry beans. Easy to grow and a high calorie value. I do my own kidneys, cannellinis, Vermont cranberry, Arikara and Bird Egg. I also got some Black Kabouli garbanzos this year to try. You can dry the beans in the field, pull the plants for easy picking and put the pods in open containers for winter storage. Then you just shuck them out while you are doing something else - watching TV, chatting with your spouse, etc.