Last autumn, with rising prices, and war in the East (still going on of course), we looked at ways to protect ourselves from some of the worst possibilities and knowing how much the chickens eat, we thought growing our own might be a good idea. We had a strip of not exactly the best vegetable plot that didn't have anything in it, and sacrificed half a yoghurt pot of "blé" or chicken grain to the experiment. Germination was OK, not brilliant, but then the autumn was quite dry really and it is quite possible that local critters helped themselves to some of the seed. As it wasn't sown in rows, and was also pretty densely distributed, it was nearly impossible to weed, and I defy you to distinguish between wheat, barley, oats and grass. So we let it do what it wanted, didn't water it, didn't weed it, but did talk to it.
Today I sweltered in the hot morning sun to harvest the grain. It was hard work as it needed secateurs and as I cut each handful, I then had to triage out the weeds, the grass, the false oats and the heads of wheat and barley that had no seeds in, had been eaten or had gone a bit mouldy. The resulting harvest is shown here:
Of course, 90% of it is straw - useful for chicken bedding except ours sleep on a broom handle slung across the run. Then another 5% of it will be chaff, assuming I can get it off somehow - winnowing is fine in principle but, well, you need to have it all broken down a bit first! So 5% of it will be grains that the chickens may or may not eat, depending on how bolshie they feel - perhaps 3 yoghurt pots or 2 days? Was it a worthwhile experiment? I'm not so sure - but lots of learning obviously.
A farmer will sow into drills, having prepared the land rather better. She will have proper seed rather than repurposed chicken feed, but it will be on the land for 7 or 8 months. And it can't be any old rough bit of land, or the plants will not grow strong and true. Timing the harvest is a matter of keen judgement - too early and it will not be ripe, too late and critters will have taken a good portion, and add the weather into the mix, particularly unpredictable storms - not to mention when you can get your hands on the combine harvester and drivers to actually do the harvesting (they are mostly owned by co-operatives or contractors). Growing grain isn't as easy as it looks!
Carrots can also be a bit tricky but ours are looking OK in between the parsnips. Not too many parsnips - I think there are about 14 in the mix, but that might well be enough if they do well. The carrots are a mix of colours, although knowing my luck, it will be the orange ones that make it!
In an excess of hope over reality, I buy cheap bulbs from Aldi, and sometimes I remember to plant them in good time too. This year I got a packet of fancy gladioli, and at least three of them have come up true and are flowering!
Something that we don't plant, but we don't weed out either is stonecrop and it just lurks around being dull. This year it has decided to flower and is looking very pretty on the steps to nowhere, guarded by Winnie the Gargoyle, who is also supposed to stop intruders.
Limited action from the trail camera this week as the WiFi watch had run out of juice today, but it is always nice to see the hare passing through. When passing in daylight, you get some decent action shots too!
Have a good week!
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