growing cereal crops

[ljgeoff]

We're thinking of trying out a quarter acre each of several cereal crops:

- duram wheat
- khorasan wheat
- hard spring red wheat
- dent corn
- rye
- barley
- millet
- oats
- buckwheat

So that's two plus acres that'll need to be cleared. More like four acres, since we'll be companion planting our veggies in with the cereals.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> We're thinking of trying out a quarter acre each of several cereal crops: <<

That sounds exciting!

What is your local environment like? Some of those crops need much more or less water. Some need more nutrients than others -- corn in particular is an energy hog and here in central Illinois is typically alternated with beans. But cultivars matter too; some Native American corns will grow on next to no water or nutrients, and have charming flavors not found in commercial cultivars. Recently we visited a flea market where someone was selling blue masa sugar cookies, which were delicious.

>> More like four acres, since we'll be companion planting our veggies in with the cereals. <<

That certainly helps confuse pests and minimize nutrient depletion. What's your harvesting plan for cereal crops? One drawback of interplanting is that it doesn't suit mechanical harvesting. If you're alternating strips or blocks, though, a scythe is still feasible.

I lean toward laissez-faire permaculture myself, and most of what I grow is fruit or herbs. I'm a fan of multigrain for cooking, though, so I like hearing about other people's adventures in growing different grain crops.

Re: Thoughts

[ljgeoff]

Thank you for your comment! The idea here is to try things out, see what works in our area (just south of the southern shore of Lake Superior), and see what companions work best.

We'll find out how much grain we get from each plot, and how much flour from that grain. And how much time and energy we must expend to plant, grow, harvest, thresh, winnow, and grind the grain.

A lot of time and energy, I'm sure. Our goal is to build a permaculture farm that will provide for the 20 or so families in our group.

As it's planned to be permaculture, I'm thinking that we will do all of that by hand, with hand tools. We'll see! We are gardeners, but not farmers. Yet.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> The idea here is to try things out, see what works in our area <<

Good plan.

>> (just south of the southern shore of Lake Superior), and see what companions work best.<<

Hmm, cold and a short growing season, but extra-long summer days and probably some lake-effect rain. Rye, oats, wheat, and barley are among the more cold-tolerant. Corn was originally a more southerly crop. I've seen some delicious rye recipes in Scandinavian cuisine. I think I'll bet that rye does well there.

>> We'll find out how much grain we get from each plot, and how much flour from that grain. And how much time and energy we must expend to plant, grow, harvest, thresh, winnow, and grind the grain.<<

Plus the work documenting all that, which probably needs a spreadsheet. I suck at spreadsheets. Electric mill or hand-crank? Around here I see mostly hand-crank because we're near Amish territory.

If you like multigrain recipes, you have a splendid variety of grains to experiment with. I'd enjoy hearing about that if you do. Gods, I'd be baking for months. :D Some of those can also be rolled for use in hot cereal, granola, etc. Multigrain flour can be lovely. Used to be, you could buy it premixed in hippie co-ops but nowadays you pretty much have to mix your own.

Another fun opportunity is sourdough, if anyone's into that. There is wild yeast everywhere, but the interesting thing is, each type of yeast has different preferences. So if you experiment with different flours, or add a bit of sweetener, or toss in a mashed fruit, then you will get all kinds of things. I've had sourdough that tasted like flowers, or nuts, or wine. That white bloom on blueberries, grapes, plums, and some other fruits? That is wild yeast that you can lasso and play with to see if you like its flavors.

We recently scored a bag of Quaker oat flour with a blueberry muffin recipe on the back, using maple syrup as the sweetener. They're among the best morning snack muffins I've ever had, and they taste like pancakes! Pure oat flour, no wheat flour added. <3

>>A lot of time and energy, I'm sure. <<

Really a lot, grains are exhausting to grow and process. But if you have a group of people, you can use the historic approach of turning things into social occasions.

>> Our goal is to build a permaculture farm that will provide for the 20 or so families in our group.<<

Wow, that's so awesome! :D

Permaculture can be challenging to get started, but if you do a good job of that, it gets to be less work later on because you don't have replant everything every year. Perennials like rhubarb, asparagus, fruit trees -- they're a lot less work than annuals. You're up in blueberry territory too. *envy*

>> As it's planned to be permaculture, I'm thinking that we will do all of that by hand, with hand tools. We'll see! We are gardeners, but not farmers. Yet. <<

Farming, like gardening, is a skill that can be learned. You're off to a great start by testing different crops. Anything that doesn't perform well enough can always be tilled under as biomass. Starting small is good. Especially with hand tools, watch for blisters. I always have to be careful with spring planting until my hands toughen up. On the bright side, it's great exercise.

DW has a permaculture community but it doesn't get much traffic nowadays. However, gardening, common_nature, and birdfeeding (if you like gardening for wildlife) are all active.

I frequent the Charleston Food Forest. It is small, but it is a brilliant example of what can be done with just a little space and very dense plantings.

Re: Thoughts

[ljgeoff]

Ohh! Thanks for the rec of the food forest! Sounds like a road trip!

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Ours is small but very densely planted. I would call it a great example of what can be done with small-scale suburban permaculture in the Midwest.

Here is the main website:
https://www.cultivatedwithcare.org/welcome

This page lists more food forests. There are several in Illinois and Indiana, so if you can afford a research trip, you might try to catch more than one.
https://www.cultivatedwithcare.org/foodForests

There are also a bunch of food forests in Michigan, although I couldn't find a concise list of them.

Wisconsin Food Forests has a list of resources:
https://www.wisconsinfoodforests.com/resources/

Also check out the ebook Midwest Permaculture Plant Guilds. An easy way to start a food forest or other permaculture project is to build one guild at a time. Me, I tend to do miniguilds -- planting helpers around the bases of trees such as comfrey, garlic chives, daffodils, etc.