Plant 10 Delicious Cereal Varieties In Your Garden or Raised Garden Beds

Most people are familiar with common grains such as wheat, oats and barley, but do you know that there are many other grains available? In addition, did you know that many of them are easy to grow in your own garden or garden beds? Read on to discover 10 spectacular varieties that can be planted next season.

I recently received a recall notice from the grocery store that all my flour may be contaminated with E. Coli. I don't know you, but I use a lot of flour. We like to buy grains in bulk and store them in large glass jars on shelves.

However, when I heard about the flour recall, I knew something had to change.

I know I need to better control the quality of food. So I threw away the flour that might be polluted and began to study the locally grown grain varieties.

Benefits of growing your own grain varieties

Growing your own grain feels like a huge commitment, doesn't it? After all, when I think of growing grain, I think of huge, rolling wheat fields. But you don't need hundreds of acres of land to grow your own grain. Like all other crops, you can plant more or less as needed.

You can plant a garden sized wheat bed, or an acre of amaranth - it's up to you. Every grain you grow at home will make you more self reliant and control your food. In addition, growing your own cereal varieties will help you control the quality of your food. Even if you can only provide a small amount of your own food, you will double your grocery bill.

Growing your own grain means you will buy fewer grains in the store. When you need to buy fewer products, you can choose local planting options with better quality. Soon, all your food will be self-produced, or from local trusted sources!

Grow corn

Cereals are usually divided into warm weather and cool weather varieties. Warm weather grains are planted in spring and harvested in autumn, while cool weather grains are planted in autumn and harvested in late spring.

Cold weather cereals are more common, but both varieties will help you build a sustainable storage room. In fact, many grain growers like to grow winter and summer crops to maximize yield.

Cold weather grain varieties

Plant cold weather varieties in autumn and harvest them in late spring. These grain varieties grow rapidly in spring after the long winter stripes.

1. Linen

Flax is one of the simplest and most beautiful cereal varieties in the world. It is cultivated everywhere from Russia to Egypt. The seeds provide essential fatty acids and other vitamins, minerals and micronutrients. They can be ground into flour or sprinkled in smoothies. Flax can be planted in autumn and overwintering, or it can be planted in early spring to harvest in early summer.

2. Buckwheat

Growing buckwheat has many advantages. It can not only produce delicious grains (buckwheat pancakes?), but also improve the soil and prevent the growth of pests. Buckwheat likes to grow in the weather below 70 ℃, and fully grow and sow within 13 weeks after germination. Therefore, it is easy to start in early spring and harvest before summer.

3. Rye

Sow rye in early or middle autumn so that it can germinate in cold soil and be ready to harvest in spring. Rye bread is very popular in Russia for a reason, because this cold resistant grain can really resist the cold. It thrives in the long winter and late spring. If your garden is limited by cold weather, rye is definitely the right grain for you. It is cold resistant, easy to grow, and widely used. For those who are sensitive to wheat, this is also a healthy choice.

4. Winter wheat

Like rye, winter wheat begins to grow in the cool autumn, and then waits under the snow for spring to continue to grow. Winter wheat contains more gluten than summer wheat, so it is very suitable for making bread flour. Additional gluten interacts with yeast to provide you with light, open bread. However, it has been growing for a long time: nearly 11 months. So be patient with your wheat. It's worth waiting!

5. Encohen Wheat

Einkorn is an ancient ancestor of wheat today. It is rich in nutrition, and its sensitive body to wheat is more gentle. Rye and flax are planted in autumn to obtain beautiful grass flavor. It grows faster than winter wheat. You will harvest it in July. This is one of the best cereal varieties to replace modern wheat for making bread, cakes, pancakes and other wheat based meals. Most importantly, einkorn has a high protein count and a low gluten level.

6. Spelling

In college, I almost used Spelt flour and Kam flour to bake. Although Kam is difficult to grow in the United States, spelling is easy to grow. Similar to winter wheat and winter wheat, it germinates in autumn, easily overwintering, and then grows rapidly when snow melts in spring. It is ready to be harvested in June. This delicious nut grain is easy to cook, and is amazing with fried vegetables and garlic.

Warm weather varieties

These are the grains you will plant in the spring for the summer. Most of them can be harvested in late summer or early autumn.

7. Millet

If you tried millet many years ago and did not leave a deep impression, it is time to re-examine this grain. Mild nut millet is nutritious and can be prepared for anything. It is one of the oldest cereal crops in the world and is still cultivated by families and farmers around the world.

Millet grows fast, so if you live in a more temperate area, you can often plant its crops continuously. If your first grain planting attempt fails, plant some millet for a quick second harvest. As an additional reward, you can also use it to feed many different livestock companions and livestock!

8. Amaranth

This mild, seeded grain is a staple of South American cooking. Planting it at the end of spring to obtain delicious and nutritious grains will increase the complexity and flavor of stew, bread and rice. Give your amaranth a long growing season, because it thrives in Zone 7 and above. The Northern Gardens have also been successful in this area - you just need to plan ahead and start planting indoors to ensure that they have enough time to grow.

9. Quinoa

If you live in the right environment, quinoa is an excellent crop that can be added to your cereal garden. This is a slow growing South American seed grain that North American gardeners often fight against. However, if your summer is sunny but not too hot, quinoa may be suitable for you. Colorado and other mountains are ideal places to try quinoa.

10. Sorghum

This fast growing summer grain needs warm soil and long sunshine to grow well. Plant it in May or June, and let it settle in fertile, warm and fertile soil. Sorghum can easily withstand drought, flood and neglect. However, it needs a lot of nutrition because it is a heavy feeder. However, with a lot of nutrition and calories, you will have healthy and delicious sorghum plants before the cold autumn comes!

Harvest self-produced grain varieties

One of the most daunting aspects of growing your own grain is harvesting. Because we are used to large-scale commercial grain operations, we often think that grain harvesting is a complex matter. But this is not the case!

You don't need large machines or expensive devices to harvest and grind grain. All you need is a way to cut down plants (scissors, sickles, even pruning shears) and a way to crush seeds.

Many family grain growers like to use sickles to cut down their plants. It saves time, and once you get into rhythm, it's a great way to spend an hour. Other people on smaller plots just cut grain plants with scissors. Do what makes you comfortable.

Threshing

To thresh the grain you grow yourself, you really need only a stick, or something to beat the straw and release the seeds. I like to put them in paper bags and shake them, so that everything can keep its connotation and be easy to collect. Then, let the fan blow away the chaff.

Grain husk can be an important supplement to animal feed. You can blow the chaff out for your chickens to collect. Alternatively, you can blow it into a bag and save it for later addition.

Grind grain

For a long time, the idea of grinding grain by oneself seemed very tired. It's just another step in the already busy day. But grain milling is not tiring at all. The difference in taste between freshly milled flour and shop bought flour is extreme. It's hard to return to the baking aisle after eating a loaf of bread made and ground by oneself!

Table type grain mills are easy to find and relatively affordable. If you can find one, a quality blender or (unused) coffee grinder can also work well!

Recover one 's original simplicity

Don't be intimidated by the idea of growing your own grain. After all, they are usually easier to grow than vegetables. In addition, they are beautiful plants that can provide quality food for your family - even in small planting spaces.

You don't need a huge garden to affect your own crops. Even a relatively small backyard garden can provide enough grains for you to bake 90-100 completely homemade bread! This is a lot of good, healthy cereals!