How to Farm Wheat Berries

Wheat and its small, edible seeds have a long and important history with mankind. People first grew this crop around 11,000 years ago for cooking and feeding animals. The grain crop is just as important today, as an ingredient in livestock foods, breads, cereals, soups and baked dishes. Wheat may not be as common as fruits and vegetables in the home garden, but it can thrive in a home garden with the right planting and care. Set aside a large plot of land and grow your own wheat this year for a fresh grain crop.

Garden fork/rake
Organic compost/well-rotted manure

Instructions

- 1
  Plant the wheat seeds or berries according to cultivar. Put winter wheat in the garden in fall, four to six weeks before the first frost, for a winter harvest. Plant spring wheat in spring, after the ground warms and thaws, for a fall harvest. Each wheat cultivars maintains season-specific hardiness.
- 2
  Prepare a wheat field in a spot with full sunshine, good air movement and quick drainage. Drainage is especially important for winter wheat, which must grow through winter storms.
- 3
  Turn 1 to 2 inches of organic compost or well-rotted manure into the top 3 to 4 inches of soil through the plot. Wheat does not require overly rich or nutritious soil, but does well with loose, slightly loamy soil.
- 4
  Dig 2-inch-deep trenches for winter wheat and 1-inch-deep trenches for spring wheat, running north-to-south in your wheat field. Toss wheat seeds into the trenches at approximately six seeds per inch. Cover the wheat with amended soil to fill the trenches.
- 5
  Water spring wheat with 4 to 5 inches of water every month. Allow natural rainfall to water winter wheat.
- 6
  Harvest wheat when the stalks change from yellow and green to brown, and the heads bend down toward the ground. Test wheat grains by chewing them; hard, crunchy grains are ready for harvest.

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