If you want to be more self-sufficient or just like the idea of making your own flour, wheat is a great crop to grow.Even though a small patch won't produce enough wheat to feed a family for the rest of the year, you can still plant enough to get a good harvest.It's a good way to keep weeds out of your garden if you plant wheat in the winter.You can till the leftover parts of the plants into the soil in the spring to make compost.
Step 1: Pick a place with full sun.
Try to pick an area that doesn't get much shade during the day, as wheat does best with a lot of sunlight.To find the best area for full sun, watch your garden off and on throughout the day.Pick the sunniest spot you can if you don't have a full sun location.
Step 2: If you want to grow wheat, take out a large area of your garden.
The yield of wheat is lower than the space it takes up in your garden.The amount of wheat an average person consumes in a year is 50 pounds, which is about 90 square yards.If you want to produce enough wheat for one person for a year, you need an area that's at least 16.5 feet by 6.0 feet.You could always replace some of the wheat you buy with less than that.You will likely have a lower yield in the cold areas, as little as 60 pounds per 1,100 square feet.It's not a good idea to expect high yields with your first crop.Growing wheat involves a learning curve.
Step 3: The soil's pH level should be tested.
Purchase a kit from a store.To determine the pH level of your soil, follow the instructions on the back of the kit.You can send samples to a lab from your local agriculture extension office or from another soil-testing lab.If your soil is below 7 you should amend it.Add 2.5 pounds of limestone per 100 square feet of soil for each half a level you need to increase the pH.
Step 4: Get the soil ready for wheat by turning it.
The soil can be turned or dug to loosen it up and help the plant grow.The simplest way to turn the soil is to take a spade from the ground and flip it over.This is the way to go across the bed.Only dig 2 to 3 inches down into the soil.You can flip the soil from one trench to another.If your plot is large, you can use a rototiller.
Step 5: The soil should be tilled with a rake.
Wheat is best in soil with no clumps.If you want the soil to be ready for planting, you need to break up clumps with a rake or tiller.Walk over the soil and till it once more.
Step 6: Up to growing zone 3 is where you should choose winter wheat.
Winter wheat is a sturdy plant and can be planted in the fall.It will not survive very cold growing areas, such as zone 3 or above.Some winter wheat varieties can survive down to 10 F.6 weeks before the first expected frost, plant winter wheat seeds.You need to sow winter wheat when it's a bit warmer.It will help the wheat grow more quickly.
Step 7: If you live in a cold zone, try spring wheat.
Winter wheat won't survive where it's very cold, so choose spring wheat in those areas.Most of Montana, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Minnesota are in zone 3 in the United States, so you should plant spring wheat in those areas.After the last frost in your area, plant spring wheat.When the first and last frosts occur in your area, check the weather sites.
Step 8: You can toss the seeds on the ground.
You don't have to plant the seeds in holes.You can scatter the seeds with your hand.Aim for 1 seed per square inch.You won't be able to get exactly what you want.You can find a broadcast seed spreader in the lawn section of your local home improvement or gardening store if you don't think you can spread the seed uniformly.Roll the wheat over the garden area by adjusting the hole size at the bottom.The seed will be distributed evenly.
Step 9: To cover up the seeds, Rake the ground lightly.
Birds will eat the seeds if you don't cover them.To move the soil on top of the seeds, run a rake over the area.
Step 10: To start the process, water the ground.
To spray the ground with water, use a hose with a gentle head.The water will help the seeds grow.
Step 11: Repel the plants when they are young.
When the crop is coming up, these bugs can ruin it.Diatomaceous earth can be spread on top of the soil to keep the slugs at bay.Humans and animals are unaffected by diatomaceous earth.It keeps crawling insects away from your plants.You can find it online or in garden stores.
Step 12: In dry weather, water the plants 1-2 times a week.
wheat is fairly hardy, so you won't need to water it.If you haven't gotten any rain in a week, give the wheat a good soaking.You don't need to worry about weeds as they have no room to grow, because you plant wheat so close together.
Step 13: If you see rusty patches and drooping leaves, apply a fungicide.
You may have a fungus if you see these signs.To prevent the spread of the disease, apply a fungicide.When you see a disease popup, you'll only apply these once, and spraying is a common method of application.It depends on what kind of fungicide you choose, so always read the directions.Pick a fungicide that is meant to treat wheat.One of the active ingredients you'll need will be propiconazole.
Step 14: The maturing of the grain is something to watch for.
Check the growth of the grains once your wheat develops.You're near the end of the maturity cycle when the head starts turning brown.When it's time to harvest, the head of the stalks will bend over.
Step 15: When the grains reach the hard dough stage, cut stalks.
Grain goes through a process.It has stages that are similar to corn on the cob, soft dough, hard dough and flint.You should be able to make dents in the hard dough, but it shouldn't be big.The grains will reach this stage about 30 days after the heads flower.
Step 16: You can harvest the stalks with shears or scythes.
If you don't have a lot of wheat, you can simply cut off the stalks.If you have a scythe, grasp the stalks in the middle, then cut them at the bottom of the plant.
Step 17: The grain should be cured in bundles.
As you cut the stalks, make piles of them.If you have a large pile that you can still wrap your arms around, tie up the stalks with a bundle of string or just a green stalks of wheat.If you want to help them stand up, lean the bundles against each other and let them sit in the sun for 3 or 4 days.Grain won't be hurt by rain.If there is a couple of days of rain, cover the wheat with a tarp.After cutting the stalks, you can harvest the grain in the flint stage.If you let it dry to the flint stage after you cut it, you'll get a better-tasting wheat.