is anyone into grains? we are experimenting with them this year. we planted some 'perennial' rye and 'perennial' wheat. just about 100 plants so far. i'm hoping they come up every year on their own instead of us having to seed every year. we also are growing Hulless Barley, Black Amber Sorghum and Northern Sugarcane. some pics of some of the grains we're growing this year... perennial wheat http://www.imageuploads.net/ims/pic.php ... M&i=156138 wheat closeup...see how it grows like a clump of grass then shoots up stalks with the seed on it...the perennial rye does the same thing.... http://www.imageuploads.net/ims/pic.php ... M&i=156137 barley...right now i'm trying to find out when to harvest this, have found no info on the net so far... http://www.imageuploads.net/ims/pic.php ... M&i=156141 northern sugarcane and barley http://www.imageuploads.net/ims/pic.php ... M&i=156139 northern sugarcane, barley, sorghum...sorghum's starting to head (a couple).... http://www.imageuploads.net/ims/pic.php ... M&i=156140 and a couple pics of one of the gardens...very few flowers this year with the greenhouse collapse and late snows in June... toms, wintersquash, bean teepee, carrots, beets, etc... http://www.imageuploads.net/ims/pic.php ... M&i=156135 toms, winter squash http://www.imageuploads.net/ims/pic.php ... M&i=156136
You have really been working your buns off.I love your photos.The sugarcane brings back lots of memories .My dad raised Sugarcane and I stll remember munching on the stalk to get the juice out .Oh so good.
We used to grind our own wheat and corn but we bought it from the Morman mills in Mesa, Az. We haven't since we moved up the hill because it's too far to go. We only raised it one time. Separating the grains from the chafe was really time consuming. Now, we buy it in bulk when we want some or buy the already ground stuff from the organic store. dooley
That is a great looking garden. You have a nice variety going on there. I've never grown grains before, but we do have the barley growing wild here. Left overs really from when this farm was a real farm. But my husband and his friend have a hops and barley field, their waiting for it to be tall enough to harvest. They make beer and mjød, a honey beer/wine. On the barley pic, it looked like the one stalk is about where you want your barley to be when its harvest time. plump and turning color. I would think their about ready to harvest real soon.
Oh, big garden! And so lovely-looking too. What are you going to do with your grains once they ripen?
biita, thanks for the info. i figured the dark color was a sign of ripeness. we also have a hops plant that we planted about 15 years ago and every year it produces like crazy. have never made beer yet. perhaps you can share a recipe sometime?! droopy, we're going to clean them and then store them, probably for next year, the perennial wheat and rye. i want to plant these new seeds next year so we have a nice patch of both that come up every year. then we'll grind them for flour and also use them for sprouts. the hulless barley we'll be eating and saving some seed this year...maybe making some beer if we get a recipe...hint hint the sorghum we'll be saving some seed and eating too. thanks for the compliments all! will take some picks of our other garden later...the Jeruselum Artichoikes are just starting to bloom! everything's late here as we had wicked cold weather in late June and heavy snow!!! not at all the norm for this area.
lol,,my husband said if you can prove you have some norwegian in you, and your mate counts too (his words not mine) then you can have the recipe,,lol. He said after all it is a Viking recipe. But then everyone can be a Viking even for a day! Don't worry, i'll break him down. He and a few other men get together to brew beer each yr. Kind of like a mens beer club, but they are so into it. And i think they also do it the old viking way too. But not sure.
bwahahahaha...oh biita, now i really want the recipe even more!!! let's see, i don't know about Vikings, but i do know we had some pirates in the family waaaaaaay back! i remember as a kid, my dad used to make home brew, for the adults, and a batch of homemade rootbeer for us kids. i remember him trying wine once and stomping grapes in the bathtub! ah yes, i remember the bottles in the basement popping open every now and then too...great memories!
