I will document the sequence in which I plant the grains Spring of 2021. Ideally, I'll have blocks of grain mature for similar harvest times. This makes setting up anti-bird netting feasible. Also, it helps plan fall planting. These notes will make it possible to compute days to maturity. Usually, I do this in a notebook, but this will be more motivational.
Last year, my plans were put in disarray by COVID sending me on a special assignment for April and May to build ventilators in Kokomo Indiana. As a result, I greatly paired down my list so Eleanor could get my essentials into the ground. Also a result, for this 2021 season, many spring planted varieties are out of stock.
The drier soil that is ready to plant first is where I plan to put the first plot of oats and several hulled barleys as I won't be able to protect this area with netting. We are just meeting the requirement for the soil temperature to plant oats.
I did write about the preparation of the soil back in 2018 here.
April 4th--The planting for 2021 begins!
Wonderfully warm day with a light breeze. Saw a dozen dark colored bees buzzing around the winter grain, near where the wasps stung me last Fall. Not the same insects.
April 13th--Don't Stop, Keep Planting
So much for being ahead of schedule... We had periods of rain that kept me from planting. I never however relocate and reinstall about 200 feet of trellis in our most protected garden closer to the house. The critters had played havoc with some of the early tender peas. Hopefully this new location will be better for us.
Next up are many dozens of varieties that may only need a 4 ft by 8 ft plot which is very inefficient in terms of time and manual labor, but necessary to keep seeds in their 'adapting to the Great Lakes' state of growth.
April 15, 16 and 17
- Chernaya Persidsaya Wheat (Persian Wheat)
- Vavilov FHB 51990 (Persian Wheat)
- 1782 Wheat (facultative)
- Arnautka Wheat (facultative)
- Bjela Turka Wheat (facultative)
- Elva Wheat
- Etrusco Wheat
- Heines Hartveizen Wheat
- Melami White Paktia Wheat
- Missogen Wheat (facultative)
- Mindum Wheat
- Volo Wheat (facultative)
- White Champion Wheat
- Farro Lunga Wheat
- Leventis Wheat
- Mieri Bugdaj Wheat
- Sun Ray Wheat
- Yakubz Wheat
- AC Ultima Wheat
- OAC Wintri Wheat (facultative)
- Pisarev 1 Wheat
- Polish Wheat
- Pronghorn Wheat
- Siskiyou Wheat
- Iz Populyatcii Zanduri Wheat
And plain old bread wheat Triticum aestivum with a few others to boot
- Baart Early Spring Wheat (W18)
- Ghirka 1517 Wheat (W03)
- Hourani Wheat (W64)
- Huron Wheat (W17)
- Kamut Wheat (W65)
- Milagre Wheat (W14)
- Mirabella Wheat (W16)
- Pacific Bluestem No 37 Wheat (W04)
- Sin El-Pheel Wheat (W15)
- Spring Dinkel (W08--TS03)
- Vavilov Spring Wheat (W66)
- White Sonora Spring Wheat (W01)
- Dango Mugi Barley (B28)
- Eizza Black Hulless Barley (B61)
- Gopal Barley (B15)
- Karma Tibetan Barley (B09)
- Naked Food Barley NFB 111-621 (B19)
- Naked Food Barley NFG 113-204 (B04)
- Naked Food Barley NFB 113-834 (B23)
- Swedish Barley (B69)
- Valsergerste Barley (B44)
- Zou Xian Song Mang Da Mai Winter Barley (spring planted)
April 24 & 25th The last wave of spring grain planting!
I was off farm for the past week, hoping for rain, which we didn't get. On the other hand, that left the soil I tilled ready for raking and planting on this last weekend of Spring Grain Planting (at last).
I'm running out of places to plant slightly faster than I'm running out of seeds.
Oats
- Small Naked Oats
- Baku Barley (B65)
- Chuiga Barley (B62)
- Chushi Gangdruk Barley (B30)
- Black Hulless Black Barley
- Eizza Black Hulless Barley (B61) It's just so pretty!
- Ethiopian Barley (B31)
- Excelsior Barley (B48)
- Hulless Popping Barley
- Lawina Barley (B67)
- Lompoc Barley (B66)
- Kamamugi Barley (B64 2 types)
- Naked Food Barley NFB 111-585 (B20)
- Naked Food Barley NFB 113-545 (B21)
- Shelby Barley (B63)
- Swedish Barley (B69)
- Tibetan Purple (W35)
- Trysilbygg Barley (B52)
- Weihenstephaner Barley
- Zeocrithon Barley
Several different and unusual wheats
- Akmolinka Wheat
- Blue Durum Spring Wheat (W68 DW01)
- Brazilian Lavras Wheat
- Isphanicum Wheat
- Juan Triticale Spring
- Garnet Wheat (W63)
- Golden Spring Emmer (W09)
- Globe Strain 1506 Wheat (W12)
- Ladoga Wheat
- Len Wheat (W19)
- Militinae Wheat
- Moroccan Frost Durum Wheat
- Pika Triticale Spring
- Pima Wheat (W11)
- Pelissier Durum Wheat
- Pembina Wheat
- Petropavlovsky Wheat
- Prelude Wheat
- Reliance Wheat
- Shademaster Triticale
- Tadina Wheat (W22)
- Vavilov Spring Wheat
The Sardinian Barley continues to make fine progress without regard to a few nights below freezing as well as a light snow. The Bere Barley was slightly distressed. Finally, the Oats planted on April 4th are all filled in with great germination.
I used the wheel hoe to cultivate the April 4th plot...and working away at the weeds in the winter grains. I think I will start the Fall grains a week sooner, to give me more of a chance to get them weeded before the rains make it difficult.