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Hi all

I covered my allotment plot in straw. The farm where I bought it from, said the shoots popping up were left over wheat kernels. I wanted to grow wheat anyway, so I thought great.

Now all the plants are fully grown, I've noticed I have three varieties of plant.

I'm pretty sure I know which one is wheat but what are the other two?

I had to upload larger photos so you can so clearly, so I've attached them here: http://www.thebreadcrumbtrail.org/galle ... /Allotment

Photos 1,2 and 3 show what I think is mostly wheat, with a few strands of a more blueish colour plant with bigger kernels.

Then photos 4, 5 and 6 seems to have something completely different. A bunch of plants with much smaller seed heads.

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks

OK, photos #1 & 2 has Wheat in the foreground, the bluish coloured ones, all the rest are Barley. Barley has long whiskers (awn) where Wheat is just grain kernels.
Photo #3 is all Barley.
Photos #4, #5 & #6 I think are all a variety of grass, although they could be Oats, but I think it's more likely to be False Oats (Arrethenatherum Elatius) or Wild Oats (Avena Fatua) both of which are common in corn fields.

So it could be that you have sown some wild oats

you have wheat, barley and oats, the hairy stuff is the barley and the frondy stuff is the oats, so you must have had barley, oat and wheat straw given to you. If you pick them green and dry them, they make really nice dried flower arrangements, I tie them in bunches and hang them up, but maybe that is just a lady thing

diggernotdreamer wrote: but maybe that is just a lady thing

You think ?

Thanks to everyone for replies. Now i know what I have, makes life a lot easier.

I gather I just wait until the stalks turn brittle and yellow before harvesting barley and wheat?

Hi again

This is the state of my (mostly barley) now http://www.thebreadcrumbtrail.org/galle ... Harvesting

I read that you harvest when the stalks are yellow, and the head starts to dip.

Well they're not all completely yellow. I'm worried about the birds getting them. Will it be soon? I can imagine with the warm weather we've got in london now, it won't be long

thanks

The way to tell if any corn is ready is to pick a head and rub it between the palms of your hands. If you are left with a handful of grains and the remnants of the head (chaff) then it is probably ready.
The final test is to bite through one of the grains. If it is soft, then it needs a few more days, but if it is firm and crunchy then it is low enough in moisture and will safely store without going mouldy.
That's when you need to get your combine harvester fired up.

Does the same apply to barley then, because that's mostly what I have

Thanks

Well yes, "corn" in the UK is the blanket name for wheat, barley, oats and rye.

That's great everyone thanks. Well I've posted more photos "Barley end of July" in that folder. It certainly looks ready now. All fully golden, but still tastes a bit chewy. Get very close I'm sure