A question about growing wheat

smwon · Post: # 90091Post **smwon** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:47 am

I am intensely interested in growing my own grain in my own garden. In studying this I have read many times in John Seymour's book 'Farming for Self-Sufficiency'

Post: # 90502Post **MKG** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:20 pm

I'm so frustrated for you!!! I can't help, but I keep looking in to see the answers ... (lack of) ...

smwon · Post: # 90519Post **smwon** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:03 am

Thanks... I thought for sure someone on here would know the answer... much more so than the American forums I frequent. But I'll give it time... somebody, somewhere...

marshlander · Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:21 am

I've no first hand experience I'm afraid, unless escaped bird seed counts!

Some simple wheat growing instructions are in this BBC item based on Andrew Whitley's (Bread Matters) experience. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7284011.stm I wonder if you ask him sweetly if he would suggest books/sources of info? He seems very enthusiastic. http://www.breadmatters.com/about.htm

More technical;- Wheat Growth Stages and Associated Managment http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0126.html tillering depends on observing your crop and feeding the correct amount of nitrogen at the right times. Too much and you'll do more harm than good.

Hope this helps!

smwon · Post: # 90529Post **smwon** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:06 am

That is a big help! Thank you very much!

Ellendra · Post: # 91209Post **Ellendra** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:27 am

Jackie Clay at http://www.backwoodshome.com has written about grains several times in her advice column.

I'm going to be planting a few grains, namely buckwheat, amaranth, and chufa in my garden this year. We'll see how those work out.

Andy Hamilton · Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:46 am

Kew gardens did an experiment a while back with growing wheat. They discovered that 1 m square was the amount of wheat you need to grow to get one loaf of bread. - A fact that could prove useful.

Hang on do you use metric in the states?? 1m = 1.196 yards.

smwon · Post: # 91213Post **smwon** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:39 am

Hang on do you use metric in the states?? 1m = 1.196 yards.

Thanks *I* don't use metric... there is a difference.

So that would be equal to about 3 1/2 square feet? That doesn't sound right.

Mainer in Exile · Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:23 am

I found this article on the Survival Blog on a wheat growing experiment. Anyone wanting to try can learn from his mistakes:

My Adventure in Growing Wheat, by Carl in Wisconsin

ina · Post: # 91247Post **ina** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:46 am

I know that in the past some farmers used to graze the winter sown grain - which not only gave the sheep or cattle some badly needed fresh feed, also encouraged the "tillering". I think it's not a very reliable way of improving your crop; the ground may not be in the right condition for it when you need it. But when it works, it also saves on seed.

mrsflibble · Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:08 am

smwon: as someone who regularly has to convert my british recipes into "american" for my sister in law, there's great conversion charts and programs available if you google "length conversion".

Post: # 91276Post **MKG** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:10 am

Errrmmm ... that's about 11 square feet, Linda ....

smwon · Post: # 91329Post **smwon** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:55 pm

Mainer in Exile wrote:I found this article on the Survival Blog on a wheat growing experiment. Anyone wanting to try can learn from his mistakes:

My Adventure in Growing Wheat, by Carl in Wisconsin

Thanks I will read that article...

ina wrote:I know that in the past some farmers used to graze the winter sown grain - which not only gave the sheep or cattle some badly needed fresh feed, also encouraged the "tillering". I think it's not a very reliable way of improving your crop; the ground may not be in the right condition for it when you need it. But when it works, it also saves on seed.

I was thinking of hand cutting the wheat rather than grazing per se. I was hoping that by cutting it, there would be more tillers and therefore more seed heads. I have been doing some research on it and found a little more about it. I will try to compile that information and post it.

mrsflibble wrote:smwon: as someone who regularly has to convert my british recipes into "american" for my sister in law, there's great conversion charts and programs available if you google "length conversion".

I should have used one...

MKG wrote:Errrmmm ... that's about 11 square feet, Linda ....

Glad you set me straight... I am NOT good at math and I KNEW what I was thinking was wrong!

But a loaf of bread in 11 square feet is really good! Of course two would be better!

ina · Post: # 91370Post **ina** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:55 pm

smwon wrote: I was thinking of hand cutting the wheat rather than grazing per se. I was hoping that by cutting it, there would be more tillers and therefore more seed heads. I have been doing some research on it and found a little more about it. I will try to compile that information and post it.

Well, grazing was done in the times when farms were typically mixed farms... And of course, cutting by hand is much more manageable - not so dependent on the state of the ground.

smwon wrote:Glad you set me straight... I am NOT good at math and I KNEW what I was thinking was wrong! But a loaf of bread in 11 square feet is really good! Of course two would be better!

Maybe we should establish first what size the typical American loaf is compared to the typical American one?

smwon · Post: # 91396Post **smwon** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:48 pm

ina wrote:
smwon wrote:Glad you set me straight... I am NOT good at math and I KNEW what I was thinking was wrong! But a loaf of bread in 11 square feet is really good! Of course two would be better!
Maybe we should establish first what size the typical American loaf is compared to the typical American one?

Hey now that is an awesome idea... when I make one loaf of bread I use 3 cups of flour.