Comments on: Small Scale Grain Growing Update 2012/2013 Season http://sustainablesmallholding.org/small-scale-grain-growing-update-20122013-season/ Permaculture, and Sustainable practices on a Lincolnshire Smallholding Fri, 17 Oct 2014 10:35:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0 By: Deano Martin http://sustainablesmallholding.org/small-scale-grain-growing-update-20122013-season/#comment-7794 Fri, 13 Sep 2013 10:53:46 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=4019#comment-7794 Hi Mike
Thanks for the link. A good reason to exercise some caution as a soil drench, but possibilities as a foliar spray.
That’s the corn. Currently I’m happy with the variety that I have, but am curious about actively crossing something like the Gaspe with soe of the other flints, to create a different mix. Sadly I’m not knowledgable enough on the specifics of corn breeding to do so with any degree of certainty as to the outcome. Nice to play with though.

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By: MikeH http://sustainablesmallholding.org/small-scale-grain-growing-update-20122013-season/#comment-7712 Mon, 09 Sep 2013 17:46:47 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=4019#comment-7712 Not exactly your problem but who knows – Antifungal activity of aqueous extracts from the leaf of cowparsnip and comfrey – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11525124

Faust is spring sown. It’s a fairly old variety dating to the 1930s. From http://smallfarmcanada.ca/2009/grains-for-the-garden/: Faust Barley: Commercial varieties of barley have a tight-fitting hull that is removed by “pearling”. For many years, I have been researching barley cultivars with looser hulls that can be easily removed by hand or foot rubbing. Faust is one of these “hulless” varieties. Most barleys also have long, hair like extensions sticking out of the seed heads that are called awns. These awns can make threshing a bit cumbersome because they latch on to everything. Faust Barley doesn’t have these awns so is a rare barley that is both hulless and awnless. Faust is a fine-flavoured barley that matures in about three months.

Is this the Gaspe flint corn – http://www.heritageharvestseed.com/corn.html – that you were looking for? Being in Canada, I can buy it for you. Email me if you are interested.

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By: Deano Martin http://sustainablesmallholding.org/small-scale-grain-growing-update-20122013-season/#comment-7665 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 20:03:23 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=4019#comment-7665 I tried to get hold of some Gaspe flint corn, but the supplier would only dispatch to Canada and the US. I’m growing Carol Deppe’s flint corn this year and next, and it’s doing well.

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By: Deano Martin http://sustainablesmallholding.org/small-scale-grain-growing-update-20122013-season/#comment-7662 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 18:36:53 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=4019#comment-7662 Hi Mike
I have plenty of Naked Oats, but the hulless barley sounds interesting. Is it a winter or spring sown grain?
If I can find it, I have some black oats to so, along with rivet wheat. I have delayed sowing the rivet as it comes from a site with bunt, but I’ve researched a chemical free seed treatment (milk powder slurry. 160gms powder per kg of seed), and am now happy to use it.
Not aure if I could get the same effect from a spray/soak with a lacto-bacillus serum, but perhaps I’ll try that at some point.

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By: MikeH http://sustainablesmallholding.org/small-scale-grain-growing-update-20122013-season/#comment-7657 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 15:20:51 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=4019#comment-7657 I’m probably going to add some Naked Oats in the spring.

Deano,

I grew a naked oat variety this year that I am extremely pleased with so far. By comparison to a variety that I’d grown previously, this year’s trial was extremely satisfactory. Threshing was far, far easier to the extent that it was approaching the ease of Faust hulless barley which is so easy that you can roll it between uncalloused palms and listen to the plinking of the seeds as they shower down on the plate. Because I was trying to get past what I think was a germination inhibitor on the seed, I first had to germinate the seed and then pot it up. As a result, I was growing from starts not from seed. The yield was sufficient to allow me to do a planting from seed next year so that I will have a better idea of performance. If performance is good, I will have a keeper since I already am very pleased with its threshing characteristics. I have a bit of excess seed if you or anyone is interested.

Regards,
Mike

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