| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Marlies Schmitt |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 07:36:23 AM
Does anyone know where to find information on growing your own wheat, how to prepare it for grinding, and then making your own bread from your home grown wheat?
This would make a great topic for one of Mary Janes Farm magazines!
Marlies
Duck Lane Winery |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| cranberryrose55 |
Posted - May 21 2011 : 3:47:26 PM
Lanikyea,love your post- we never really got the harvest of the wheat we grew. I cut off enough heads with scissors so that when we visited the class room, we put the wheat head for each student in a ziplock bag. We had the students take their shoes off and roll the plastic bag with their stocking foot or their hands until the berries came out. We put the contents of the bag on a sheet, turned on a fan and blew the chaff away. Then lifted the sheet and poured the wheat berries into a container.
Jan--
Have hope in your heart, and darkness has no home. |
| kathleenshoop |
Posted - May 21 2011 : 05:51:15 AM
Wow, what a priceless story, what priceless information! How lovely you know exactly how your great-great gram did this!
The Last Letter
http://tinyurl.com/3tedamb
http://kshoop.com
quote:
Originally posted by lanikyea
My great grandmother in Va grew her own wheat. When I knew her it was in her later years so she no longer cut and shocked the wheat herself but she whipped the wheat heads (literally with a switch) to shell the grain. Next she washed the chaff away in the creek in a basket, then dried it and then ground it in an old coffee grinder she used just for wheat. In The mts fo NM the wheat was laid out on the ground and then a herd of goats and or sheep where run around on top of it the shell it out. Then the wheat is swept up, put some in a pan or basket shapped like a wok and then tossed in the air for the breeze to blow away the chaff and then it is picked for stones etc and then washed, dried, and then taken to a mill and traded part for grinding. /these days I get my whole wheat from a neighbor when he combines it and then we grind it for baking.
Author, The Last Letter, The novel for every daughter who thinks she knows her mother's story... |
| cranberryrose55 |
Posted - May 20 2011 : 09:49:10 AM
You don't sow so that seed is heaped and touching a lot or it rots with white fluffy mold. I discovered this by experience, my great teacher.
Any space will work, but in a small space, you get less berries. We used a 20 by 15 foot bed.
I used Lauen Banar Swezey's article in Sunset Magazine, Nov. 1993, "From Seed to Bread," p. 88-91. This article gives easy numbered steps. The only way I could do this. Rosalind Creasy sows the wheat in October/ November,harvests in early July. (CA) She says, "it's one of the easiest crops to grow. However, the article says," CJ told his mom, 'No wonder the Little Red Hen didn't want to share. It's a lot of work to harvest!"
Jan--
Have hope in your heart, and darkness has no home |
| Lorraine Michelle |
Posted - May 20 2011 : 08:13:01 AM
Wow what a regeat idear. do you need alot of space to grow this?
lorraineMichelle
#3007
Chickens are like potato chips...
You can't have just one! |
| sonshine4u |
Posted - May 20 2011 : 07:46:39 AM
Ginny,
It should work just fine with the snow. It's called winter wheat because it's supposed to have that cold time in the ground. My dad grows wheat and they get snow in the winter and it works out great!
~April
Playing in the Sonshine
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/sonshine4u |
| Oggie |
Posted - May 15 2011 : 07:35:40 AM
Thank you Jan!!! I just need to figure out if it will work that way when instead of rain in the winter you have 4 feet of snow!
Ginny
Farmgirl #2343
www.thedewhopinn.com
"I always have a wonderful time, wherever I am, whomever I'm with."
"Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." Both by Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart) in the Movie Harvey
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| cranberryrose55 |
Posted - May 14 2011 : 11:07:30 PM
We grew our wheat for public school tours at 4-H Ranch. I used Spring Wheat and sowed it in the Fall, so it would work for bread.
We sowed it and then raked the plot lightly, so it covered the seed. Then we watered it. We kept it wet like we were starting a lawn. We didn't have a problem of birds or rodents eating the seed, but it can happen. When it started to sprout, backed off on the watering.
The rains took over watering for us that year. In the Spring. the wheat was beautiful. We waited. It dried. (Really really dry wheat stems, like forgetting to get to doing the cutting, and the wheat berries will fall out of husk, and you lose your crop when you pick.) When the wheat is brown and dry and the seed husks nice and plump, then cut the wheat heads off. We used hedge clippers over a container to collect. Put wheat heads dry between 2 sheets of cloth and use a rolling pin on the wheat heads between the cloth layers. This separated the wheat berries from the husk. Then, pour the wheat berries and chaff(broken up husk) into a container with a fan going. Chaff will blow away. Then store berries in moth-proof place. When you want to grind, get berries and put in grinder. I like a medium grind for bread.
Have hope in your heart, and darkness has no home. |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - May 07 2011 : 7:56:04 PM
also, invest in a good grinder if you go that route! It's worth it in the long run!
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
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| Celticheart |
Posted - Apr 03 2011 : 11:12:06 AM
We also get our wheat to grind from a local farmer-friend, straight off the combine usually. We barter. He brings us wheat and he gets eggs year round in return. I would like to grow some of our own but so far haven't convinced DH. We have the space to do it.
"Let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other art follows. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization."
Daniel Webster
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| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Mar 25 2011 : 02:01:55 AM
Just last summer, while going through one of the sheds on our farm we found an old grain mill-I mean 1800's! We grow wheat as a cover crop, and while it took forever to grind, it was fun to use!
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
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| Oggie |
Posted - Feb 10 2011 : 8:22:00 PM
Thanks for the info girls! I had my hubby by 50 pounds of wheat seed at the feed store last fall for no real reason but thought it was a good idea. I had no idea how to do this either so now we will be able to get this book and plant it this spring! I can't wait for spring!!!!!
Ginny
Farmgirl #2343
Life is Beautiful with Bunnies
www.thedewhopinn.com |
| Breanna |
Posted - Feb 08 2011 : 2:09:26 PM
Hey Marlies, I have a wonderful book that contains info on growing your own wheat. It is called The Backyard Homestead and contains a whole lot more ideas on how to "produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre"! The author\editor is Carleen Madigan, if you want to check it out at the library.
~Breanna
Farmgirl Bre
"...that my glory may sing praise to you and not be silent, O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever." Psalm 30:12 |
| Turtlemoon |
Posted - Jul 19 2010 : 08:50:54 AM
thanks for the info, funny but i just received that book but have not been home this past week to go through it! the link on the grinder is wonderful, much thanks!
Raggedy Ann stuck in a Barbie Doll World
http://www.etsy.com/shop/moonhonu |
| Mama Jewel |
Posted - Jul 18 2010 : 8:14:09 PM
Gals, what I found in my search is a book called The Backyard Homestead by Carleen Madigan (p. 86 it starts & covers: planting your own wheat field, harvesting, threshing, winnowing, storing, grinding; then the next section is on cooking with grains & another section on the basics of bread making. Basically, the premise of the book shows different plans that shows how a 25 x 50' patch can produce up to 50 lbs of grains!! As for a grinder, I found a reasonably priced one at BiMart for $39.99 by Norpro. A friend mentioned to me what Lani just mentioned about using an old coffee grinder, & she said you can find those at antique shops. I would love to know if anyone knows of any other helpful info about growing wheat/grains along with finding an affordable grinder, too. Oh yeah, MaryJane did touch upon Heritage Grains & Seeds in her Apr/May 2010 Garden Secrets edition (just got that one :-) on pg 39-41
Farm Girl Sister #1683 Living Simply & Naturally on our lil Sweet Peas Farmette
"Do Everything in Love." 1 Cor 14
http://www.piecemama.etsy.com |
| Turtlemoon |
Posted - Jul 18 2010 : 7:31:58 PM
i would so love to learn more on this! Ihave been keeping an eye out for a small mill for home use too. So much nicer for self sufficient control.
...life is what you make it!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/moonhonu |
| lanikyea |
Posted - Jul 17 2010 : 6:20:40 PM
My great grandmother in Va grew her own wheat. When I knew her it was in her later years so she no longer cut and shocked the wheat herself but she whipped the wheat heads (literally with a switch) to shell the grain. Next she washed the chaff away in the creek in a basket, then dried it and then ground it in an old coffee grinder she used just for wheat. In The mts fo NM the wheat was laid out on the ground and then a herd of goats and or sheep where run around on top of it the shell it out. Then the wheat is swept up, put some in a pan or basket shapped like a wok and then tossed in the air for the breeze to blow away the chaff and then it is picked for stones etc and then washed, dried, and then taken to a mill and traded part for grinding. /these days I get my whole wheat from a neighbor when he combines it and then we grind it for baking. |
