Bere and other ancient cereal crops

[tombear]

Hi All!
the bere heads are nearly all out now and I could a excellent ( I hope!) guide to harvesting it here

http://www.croftingconnections.com/attachments/Crofting Connections Seeds 2013.pdf

So I will be monitoring it daily to see when to harvest it.

I'm already planning on the next crops. Since we will be leaving some in to seed next year we won't be rotating the beds this time so I will resort to digging in plenty of well rotted manure this time.

'ive been having trouble finding uk sources of relatively small amounts of Small/Black/ Bristle Oats so can anyone please point me in the direction of some of those?

A early type of Rye (Secale cereale) I've just found a reasonable source of

http://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Veg...eed/Green-Manure-Winter-Rye.html#.U6lTWHy9KK0

so I will be indenting herself for some of that!.

What is the best material to make some seed bags from? I've read plastic is no good.

atb

tom

 

[British Red]

Paper bags work but are delicate. I use envelopes for small stuff and cardboard boxes for larger stuff.

 

[cranmere]

Tightly woven cotton is probably good. If it's a lot, then an old pillowcase.

 

[tombear]

Cheers! Lets see how much I get before I decide what to use then. I assume then keep them in a cool dark place?

Theres plenty of places to get the small oats, Avena strigosa,, overseas but so far I've found nowt in the UK. I only need a few oz to see if it will grow here. Perhaps I should get in touch with those doing the research up in Scotland?

atb

Tom

 

[British Red]

Just keep the cool and dry Tom - cereal seeds are very hardy. Think about the grass seed people buy in B&Q - it hasn't been "babied" by any means - left on a dhelf in a warm building - but it does fine.