Hen Gymro Wheat Planted On A Garden Scale

 I keep thinking about my challenge of a years self-sufficiency and how I need to start growing more staples. I'll need carbs and dried goods to see me through lean times and to provide enough fuel for what I do day to day. 

The main one is bread. I need lots of bread, and for that I'll need flour, and for that I need to grow wheat (and possibly rye, but I'm not there yet). A good wheat that will make a good loaf.

After my day learning about adaptive agriculture, I knew I wanted a grain that had a large genetic diversity, and if it could be one that is good in wet conditions so much the better. I also got added to a wahtsapp group called "west midlands grain network", i asked on there some advice and they suggested I look for Hen Gymro, an old Welsh grain. 

I did some internet research and found a farmer that grows it, sent him and email and a few days later had a great chat with him, in exchange for one of my flour scoops he sent me some wheat and some flour to have a go with. It was lovely to speak to someone so passionate about what he does.

He said the wheat should be perfect, grows fast to out compete the weeds (essential in my plot), deals with cold and damp well, but does grow tall so can sometimes lodge (fall over).

 This year is just a garden scale plot to see how I get on. With plans to grow more the year after. I set to cleaning up the summer beds, ready for their crop of winter wheat. 

In the end I've planted twelve 10ft by 30inch beds with the wheat, 4 or 5 rows in each. Not a huge amount, but it should mean I can build my own seed bank and see how it grows here. 

I have also been a little tactical in where I've planted this. It's in the garden beds I've really kept on top of, the bottom end of the garden never receives as much love, so in planting the top of the garden up already, it means I have to get the rest of the garden sorted. A good incentive I feel! 

I'm going to try and do what I did a few years ago where I timed half an hour a day in the garden for months and months over winter, in the hope I can have an easier go of it in spring with lots of beds ready to go. 

Anyone else planting grains on a small scale?