Saturday, August 28, 2010

Grains of the World ~ Curing and Hanging

They did live! Thanks to a couple of really hot days. And when I saw clouds again on the forecast, I cut off the ones that were ready, tied them into bundles and hung them in the carport to 'cure'. Threshing comes next... we will see how that goes.

The Millet, Rye, and Corn are all still in the bed and doing well... hopefully we will have enough hot days for them to ripen as well. The Rice and Quinoa died long ago in this climate, and taught the kids a valuable lesson in how different climates effect the growth of grain crops. We are lucky, honestly, to live in a climate where 7 of the 9 grains we are researching can actually grow. That is a huge number for any area. In history, many people live on one or two grain products because that is what their areas can support. Here, we have been able to grow numerous grains with little need to intervene and in a hotter year, that would be even more true (the corn is still struggling because there have not been enough warm days this year). What an amazing place we live in!

signature

1 comment:

Dawn said...

What a fantastic project! I confess our family is really detached from just how thankful we are for food. I mean, I am thankful, and we repeat this at the dinner table, but my kids just know that you go to the grocery store, and look -- food!