I've had best luck by preparing a good seed bed and raking it with a furrower that I made from fence pickets. It makes a furrow every six inches, so that when I'm done the ground looks like a giant grout towel has gone over it. I use a hand cranked seed spreader to sow it and then rake it flat by pulling a garden rake over it at a 45 degree angle to the furrows. This leaves the grain in rows, more or less, and evenly distributed. It's worked great for rye and oats.
Great and informative video. I've been growing wheat for about 5+ years in SW Michigan. At first it got a really nice crop. I but after each successive year, the crop has been less and less productive. I've grown the wheat from the feed store that is a "cover crop" wheat. Also each year I've been getting a crop of very low thick growing cover weed that I feel it has been robbing both nourishment and moisture from the wheat. The wheat comes up good in the fall but in the spring when it starts up go really growing, so does the competing undergrowth. The plot that I have grow is about 25' x 90'. I also am using a seeder just like the one you use. I have been planting my rows about 4" apart which will consume about 8 pounds of seed. Last fall I made the decision to not plant on this same plot again but try and rotate my grain to a different part of my garden which is about 30' x 70'. I have been tilling my garden very thoroughly, not just lightly as you do. Also I'm going to plant Khorasan or Kamut wheat. I also harvest my wheat with a scythe. I'd like to know how you adjusted your scythe for harvesting your wheat. Thanks for your presentation!
Hi Abdy, Sorry for the slow reply. Yeah, I think you'll have better luck with the heritage wheat. I grow Maris Widgeon, which I like a lot. My first year was using red winter wheat from an industrial-ag. farm. The wheat had tons of bran, it made poor flour, and it was likely a hybrid, so the vigor declines drastically after the first year of planting. Plus, it is dwarf wheat, so not easy to harvest without a combine. Tall, heritage wheat is much more conducive to harvest. I was just weeding my wheat this weekend. The 8" rows make it easy. Give it a try on a few rows and see what you think. With the extra space, the heritage-type wheats will tiller and fill the space, so you don't really lose production. Good luck and I'd be interested to hear how the Kamut wheat turns out. Cheers.
Oh great! Good luck. Have you seen Eli Rogosa's work on this? www.einkorn.com/tag/eli-rogosa/ She suggests a seeding rate of 1 seed per square foot for winter einkorn. I'd experiment. I've had trouble keeping the wheat ahead of the weeds with that open of a spacing. And thanks for watching!
This is something Im interested in learning about. Ive never grown wheat or oats because I was raised in the south where it was too hot. Corn and rice yes, cant grow those in MN.
Makes sense, although there is corn that grows up here, just has to be selected for the right variety. Also, they're working on dryland corn in Wisconsin... Fingers crossed
Apparently in the south many grains were winter crops, and there were varieties more suitable for the south. I do know rye can be grown as far south as Florida, but just read books mentioning other grains.
Thanks for watching. I built the cradle out of metal conduit and wooden fingers. I'm still perfecting it. Lots of folks make them out of bent willow boughs.
Good question. Look up C4 plants, which are better evolved for the tropics. You won't be surprised by the types because they were domesticated in the tropics: corn, sugarcane, sorgum, etc. Good luck!
Different methods and conditions may do better with that spacing. My weed load is too high and when I experimented, the 100 plants per 100 sq. ft. was too sparse. I encourage everyone to do A-B testing: try two different ways side by side and then test the winner against a new method next year until you have one you like. Good luck and thanks for watching.
I've had best luck by preparing a good seed bed and raking it with a furrower that I made from fence pickets. It makes a furrow every six inches, so that when I'm done the ground looks like a giant grout towel has gone over it. I use a hand cranked seed spreader to sow it and then rake it flat by pulling a garden rake over it at a 45 degree angle to the furrows. This leaves the grain in rows, more or less, and evenly distributed. It's worked great for rye and oats.
Great and informative video. I've been growing wheat for about 5+ years in SW Michigan. At first it got a really nice crop. I but after each successive year, the crop has been less and less productive. I've grown the wheat from the feed store that is a "cover crop" wheat. Also each year I've been getting a crop of very low thick growing cover weed that I feel it has been robbing both nourishment and moisture from the wheat. The wheat comes up good in the fall but in the spring when it starts up go really growing, so does the competing undergrowth. The plot that I have grow is about 25' x 90'. I also am using a seeder just like the one you use. I have been planting my rows about 4" apart which will consume about 8 pounds of seed. Last fall I made the decision to not plant on this same plot again but try and rotate my grain to a different part of my garden which is about 30' x 70'. I have been tilling my garden very thoroughly, not just lightly as you do. Also I'm going to plant Khorasan or Kamut wheat. I also harvest my wheat with a scythe. I'd like to know how you adjusted your scythe for harvesting your wheat. Thanks for your presentation!
Hi Abdy,
Sorry for the slow reply. Yeah, I think you'll have better luck with the heritage wheat. I grow Maris Widgeon, which I like a lot. My first year was using red winter wheat from an industrial-ag. farm. The wheat had tons of bran, it made poor flour, and it was likely a hybrid, so the vigor declines drastically after the first year of planting. Plus, it is dwarf wheat, so not easy to harvest without a combine. Tall, heritage wheat is much more conducive to harvest. I was just weeding my wheat this weekend. The 8" rows make it easy. Give it a try on a few rows and see what you think. With the extra space, the heritage-type wheats will tiller and fill the space, so you don't really lose production. Good luck and I'd be interested to hear how the Kamut wheat turns out. Cheers.
Great info thank you for your efforts to help others
Excited to watch
you need to look into manure spreading. look into how grounds keepers spread sand over the green. I've done landscaping and it works the same
I really enjoy your videos. Thanks for the work.. This will be my first year trying Einkorn
Oh great! Good luck. Have you seen Eli Rogosa's work on this? www.einkorn.com/tag/eli-rogosa/
She suggests a seeding rate of 1 seed per square foot for winter einkorn. I'd experiment. I've had trouble keeping the wheat ahead of the weeds with that open of a spacing.
And thanks for watching!
Love Homestead life ❤
I love it. Thank you brother!
Super helpful video. Gonna grow me some rye this year ♥️
Good luck!
Thanks
This is something Im interested in learning about. Ive never grown wheat or oats because I was raised in the south where it was too hot. Corn and rice yes, cant grow those in MN.
Makes sense, although there is corn that grows up here, just has to be selected for the right variety. Also, they're working on dryland corn in Wisconsin... Fingers crossed
Apparently in the south many grains were winter crops, and there were varieties more suitable for the south. I do know rye can be grown as far south as Florida, but just read books mentioning other grains.
I read in gene lodgson book on grains that Asians grow grains in rows on small scale if I remember correctly
Where do you get the wheat catching attachment for the scythe?
Thanks for watching. I built the cradle out of metal conduit and wooden fingers. I'm still perfecting it. Lots of folks make them out of bent willow boughs.
I live in the tropics, what other grains and pseudo grains can I reliably grow aside from the usual rice?
Good question. Look up C4 plants, which are better evolved for the tropics. You won't be surprised by the types because they were domesticated in the tropics: corn, sugarcane, sorgum, etc. Good luck!
I have been looking into growing grains and most sites say for home growing 100 plants per 100sft is good.
Different methods and conditions may do better with that spacing. My weed load is too high and when I experimented, the 100 plants per 100 sq. ft. was too sparse. I encourage everyone to do A-B testing: try two different ways side by side and then test the winner against a new method next year until you have one you like. Good luck and thanks for watching.
@@LowTechInstitute That is good to know, our weed load is bad here too.