Has anyone grown grain? (On v.v.v small scale)

[SquishySquirmy]

...or other cereals?
Where do you get the seeds from?
I was thinking of using a small bed to grow a small patch (prob about 1m square) of grain. I know it is a bit of a waste of time for the amount I'll get, and I am not aiming for self sufficiency or anything!

I just thought it might be fun to do with the dc... grow it, harvest it, thresh it, grind it, maybe if we're lucky make a teeny tiny loaf of bread from the results!
Problem is I can't find anywhere that sells small quantities of grain seeds to random members of the public (rather than proper farms).
I've been reading about wheat ans fallen down a rabbit hole of spring vs winter varieties etc. I think I will want to plant it in the spring.
I have thought I could maybe buy a bag of wheat grains from a health food supplier (sold for eating or sprouting) and germinate these... but of course there is no way of knowing if this will be a suitable variety. Seems like some are sold for the purpose of growing wheat grass, but I want to grow mature plants!

Has anyone done this? Is it a totally mad idea? I suspect pests will be a problem, but other than that what are the difficulties?

Sorry thread title should say wheat.

Although I am in Scotland, so maybe oats would do better!

I think it's a lovely idea! Like the Little Red Hen!

Do you live near an arable farm? If so, try to identify a nearby field that is growing wheat (it looks a bit like long grass for the first few months). You could ask the farmer if you could snip of an ear of wheat just before harvesting (or look in the field after harvest for any bits the farmer's missed), and use the grains from that to grow your wheat next year.

If you want to start it this spring, perhaps you could knock on the door of a nearby arable farm and ask to buy a small quantity of wheat/oats directly from the farmer.

You might also be able to get some suitable grains of wheat if you buy a packet of granary bread mix - I think this would contain wheat grains.

Alternatively, mixed bird seed usually contains wheat grains - but I don't know if this would be suitable for growing bread, so probably a last resort.

Thanks!

We do have some arable farms near by... but no idea who owns them, or how to get in contact. Tbh, I'd feel like a bit of a weirdo asking the farmer for seeds, I'm not very good at that kind of thing!
Also I think there may be some controls on who is allowed to sell wheat seeds for planting, which maybe complicates things.

Actually the granary bread mix is a good shout, because I assune the grains in that are likely to be from a variety optimised for bread flour, and also a variety suitable for UK conditions. I've seen whole grains of wheat for sale (for eating not planting) but have no idea what the variety is.

wheat has grown on its own below my bird feeder. but 3 ears is not enough for bread.

King's seeds sell wheat and barley.

I've never grown it. I love the idea - I have picked escapee wheat growing as weeds on verges etc. and showed it to the kids, then we ground it into flour. If you keep your eyes peeled you'll spot wheat and other crops all over the place. But councils often mow it down before it's ripe 😔.

Try asking an organic heritage flour mill where they get their wheat? You may have to buy more than you need and use the rest for sprouting or cooking.

I saw this:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7284011.stm

Are you any further forward with this? I’d been speaking to one of mine about growing some oats for porridge, but like you ran into a seed search problem. You have reminded me & im going to look again.

There used to be a display at the Chelsea Physic garden education department showing children where food comes from with lots of different foodstuffs grown in a container that reflected how they are more normally seen by children, so tomatoes grown in an old tinned tomatoes can, peas ina frozen peas packet, a potato in a large crisp packet, wheat in a bread packet, there were obviously lots more that I can’t remember, but it was a lovely idea for children I thought.

lobworm sorry for slow reply...

I have decided to order some wheat seeds from King's seeds, which deplorabelle mentioned (thanks!).
However it is winter wheat, so I will wait until later in the year to plant it, and harvest it in 2023!

I think that if it grows ok, it will look quite beautiful... I am going to try to plant some poppies to grow either amongst or next to the wheat as well.
I have recently acquired an allotment (after long time on the waiting list), so I am thinking if I put it in one bed it might make a good break from the normal rotation iyswim, and keep the grass and weeds down. Otherwise I might try it in a container on my patio at home.
Then if we manage to get enough to make a loaf of bread, that's a bonus!

Thanks all for the ideas - I will hope fully update on my progress when I start growing!

Not a grain but my parents grew chickpeas once and had a v decent crop … you could make hummus to put on top of your bread

How big a plot are you growing OP? I think it's something like 2 m2 per kilogram of grain.

Baystard Only a small patch for the grain - I was thinking about a square metre, maybe 2.
But more if I devote a whole bed to it (which I would only do if I wanted a cover crop I think).
1kg of grain sounds quite a lot in a small area!
I guess the amount of flour produced is much smaller, though? I'm not expecting to produce an amount that would really be considered "worth it", but enough to make a small loaf of bread would be amazing. Or maybe a pizza! I'd love to eat a pizza that was almost entirely home grown... flour, tomatoes, toppings... except for the cheese.

DespairingHomeowner chickpeas sound great! I'd always assumed that sort of crop would need either a warm climate or a greenhouse? I am in North East Scotland, so our summer growing season is quite short and we get some early frosts. The summer days are nice and long though.

@SquishySquirmy: they did a few plants on their allotment, maybe 5-6. The plants look like sweet peas but I think the flowers were white. NE Scotland.., could you try against a wall perhaps?

I’d probably try to germinate cooking type grains myself.., I think you might have better luck with oats vs wheat in Scotland, also less hassle to mill!

I remember going to a country park as a child (school trip), we picked wheat, ground it between millstones and took the flour to school to bake with .., it is quite an interesting exercise

And to get seed: I’d ask at a farm. Are there any near you that also sell eggs, have a farm
shop etc as it’s a bit less of an intrusion vs knocking on someone’s door?

I think you can definitely get enough in a small area to make something :)

I throw left over Guinea pig seeds on the garden. All sorts grow from it, oats for sure. The piggies get the green shoots. So, technically, yes I have grown grain