Growing Heirloom Wheat

Grains are an important food source and wheat is especially loved for its delicious taste and versatility. We grow three different heirloom wheats and have some of them available for purchase at the farm. The three varieties we grow are German Blue Utrecht, Maris Widgeon, and Khorosan wheat.

German Blue Utrecht Wheat at the End of May

Tied Bundle of Maris Widgeon Wheat Stalks.

Khorosan Wheat in Early June.

When the wheat stalks are fully golden and the grain is firm in the heads we hand harvest the wheat using sickles. We cut them low to the ground to capture the seed heads as well as the straw. We let them finish curing in our shed and tie them into bundles. The wheat harvest is typically in mid to late-July. We still have some tied bundles and straw of the Khorosan and Maris Widgeon wheat available for sale. They are decorative as is, or you can thresh and winnow them to release their nutritious seeds.

The long straw on heirloom wheat is suitable for weaving. Traditionally the straw of heirloom wheats was used to thatch roofs. Modern wheats don't produce long straw, but are preferred in conventional farming as they are easier to handle with large equipment such as tractors and combines. We believe that growing and saving heirloom strains of ancient grains is a noble effort. It's possible that the heirloom grains are more nutritious as well.