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Great Lakes Staple Seeds

Bere Barley

Bere Barley

Regular price $7.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $7.00 USD
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(Hordeum vulgare); Heritage - Centennial; 6-rowed; Hulled; Landrace; Spring planted

This 6-row spring barley makes a beautiful plot of amber waves of grain.  An old variety, archeological evidence indicates Bere was grown by Viking farmers in Scotland and the Orkney Islands in the 4th century BC. Later, it became a staple in the camps of 5th century Roman Legionnaires.  In our modern days it is associated with craft beer and whisky in Scotland. A landrace cultivar that is now multi-generational on our southeast Michigan homestead, Bere is well adapted to a short growing season of the high latitudes, with long daylight hours and low pH soils. 

Traditionally Bere has also been used for making bread, biscuits and bannock.  I do not know how they handled removing the hulls, perhaps by sifting? The stalks were used for animal feed and thatch. 

I find the heads to be easily 'broken' during harvest and handling, however, that does make for an easily threshed barley.

Please use the drop-down menu to select between packets options, minimum:

a) 50 hand selected seeds
b) 7 grams (quarter ounce)

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