Wheat

Last fall and winter I grew out some wheat seeds I obtained from a Seed Savers Exchange member who also runs Sourcepoint Seeds, a small seed company offering rare and ancient varieties of food crops.
This wheat variety is Rouge a Bordeaux and, according to growseed.org, is a "winter bread wheat preferred by French artisan bakers."
I started making artisan-type bread last year and thought it would be nice to try a wheat variety that is suited to such an endeavor.
I received a small packet of seeds in 2008 and planted it that fall. I did not have many plants, but the idea of Seed Savers Exchange is to share small amounts of seed and have other gardeners grow them out to make more seed. It helps expand the distribution of heritage seeds.
I harvested the wheat in the late spring, when it was looking dry enough to cut. I cut the shafts long and left them in an uncovered box in my warm, dark office, to dry fully.


Today I finally got around to threshing and winnowing the wheat. It wasn't too big a deal since I had such a small amount. I cut off the long straw so I only had the seed heads, then I rubbed the seed heads together to separate the wheat from the chaff. I then dropped the seed and chaff onto some row-cover fabric that I placed in front of a fan on low speed. The chaff blew away and I scooped up the seed.



I'll plant this seed in the fall and expand my stock further. I'll repeat this until I have enough wheat to grind into enough flour to make bread. Fun no?