home grown wheat - from seed to loaf

Alik Pelman

Enjoys Recycling
Joined
Jan 31, 2015
Messages
5
Reaction score
2
Points
11
happy to share a short video a made showing step by step growing my own wheat and making flour - from seed to loaf - all done on site with very simple methods (third year in a row) - great fun!. (Western Galilee, Israel):
 

FarmerD

Lovin' The Homestead
Joined
Jan 22, 2015
Messages
92
Reaction score
53
Points
57
awesome! this is a near term future goal of mine. i also plan on small paddies for rice. its inspiring to see someone making it happen!
 

Alik Pelman

Enjoys Recycling
Joined
Jan 31, 2015
Messages
5
Reaction score
2
Points
11
I really really like your method of threshing! Very clever!
thanks! it took me a while to come up with the idea, and I'm rather pleased with the results. Although I could use a better lid (have some idea, yet to be tried).
 

FarmerD

Lovin' The Homestead
Joined
Jan 22, 2015
Messages
92
Reaction score
53
Points
57
have you established how much area you need to devote to raising grains to have an adequate supply? my situation consists of two adults, and currently i have now experience with grain or how large an area would be required for a couple to have bread continously
 

Alik Pelman

Enjoys Recycling
Joined
Jan 31, 2015
Messages
5
Reaction score
2
Points
11
have you established how much area you need to devote to raising grains to have an adequate supply? my situation consists of two adults, and currently i have now experience with grain or how large an area would be required for a couple to have bread continously

A relatively conservative estimate is something between 0.8-1 ton of grain per acre. if wheat is not your only source of grains/carb, i guess two medium loaves a week would do for two adults, which means about 1kg (2lbs) a week (i.e., ±50kg a year). So you'd need to saw about 1/15 of an acre in order to be self-sufficient with wheat flour. Hope this gives you a rough idea. Good luck! Alik
 

Britesea

Sustainability Master
Joined
Jul 22, 2011
Messages
5,676
Reaction score
5,732
Points
373
Location
Klamath County, OR
There's a book called something like Small-Scale Grain Raising that I remember reading years ago. I think the author suggested somewhere in the region of 1000 square feet for wheat, but I also vaguely remember that he wasn't making all his bread from it; he called it his Pancake Patch. I suspect you would need close to twice that in order to provide all your wheat needs.
That's a plot 20 x 100 feet- more than I have room for on my piddly half acre- and even if I had the room, I wouldn't want to tackle that by myself without at least a small tractor. I guess I'll have to barter
 

Alik Pelman

Enjoys Recycling
Joined
Jan 31, 2015
Messages
5
Reaction score
2
Points
11
if you can afford irrigation over summer you can grow corn in the summer and mill it, and thus double your grain harvest from the same plot (winter grain - wheat/barley and then summer grain corn/rice). this would by rather intensive in terms of using the nutrients in the soil so you'll have to compensate by scattering clover seeds and/or having some poultry roaming the field to balance nitrogen.
 

Britesea

Sustainability Master
Joined
Jul 22, 2011
Messages
5,676
Reaction score
5,732
Points
373
Location
Klamath County, OR
We have barely 90 days frost-to-frost so most field corn won't have time to mature. I'm planning to try some Painted Mountain corn which was bred specifically to grow in Montana so it might work here as well. As for winter wheat-- I'm not positive, but I don't think wheat will actually grow through the snow, will it?

If the corn doesn't pan out, I may be stuck with quinoa, which was the main grain crop of the Incan empire and was bred to grow in the Andes mountains.
 
Top