Gardening with Grains. Brie Arthur
grass plants for granted. We eat them, we walk on them and of course we spend a lot of time mowing them! But here’s something that you may not know: Poaceae grasses and cereal grains are the third most important source of oxygen after trees and algae. An acre of turf produces more oxygen than an acre of rain forest! The plants of this large family are an extraordinary element of life on earth, providing so much more than just green turf!
It was then when I realized that wheat and other Poaceae (aka grass family) crops are not fundamentally part of the local, organic food movement. How could that be? Every farm-to-table restaurant event I have attended served bread, pasta and rice, yet sadly, when I started to enquire about the localness of those essential ingredients I was met with blank stares. It turns out there just aren’t many regional growers nowadays. In fact, these ubiquitous starches are outsourced from hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away and often have no certified organic verification. I began to reevaluate this expensive, sometimes pretentious movement that advertises the benefits of local, but delivers something far from it.
Here’s a thought: If every person in my neighborhood devoted just 1,000 square feet to grains (50 x 20 feet) we could supply our local bakery with over 1,000 pounds of organically grown, local flour. Alternative, gluten-free grains could also be grown to benefit the population suffering from allergies, intolerances and celiac disease. What would society look like if every neighborhood, office park, school and church played a role in the local food chain, simply by reducing the existing turf and making room for seasonal grain crops? I dream about things like this a lot.
THE CRAZY GRAIN LADY ON A MISSION: I set out to answer my questions and gain knowledge through seasonal experiments and research. I bought every variety of wheat seed I could get my hands on. And then I had a giant light bulb moment: Wheat was only one of many grains I could produce. Barley, corn, millet, oats, rice, rye and sorghum were all perfect candidates for seasonal development throughout my one-acre suburban foodscape – as well as pseudo-cereal grains like amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa. How had I lived all these years without realizing the potential of grains and pseudo-cereal crops?
(In this book, I give primary attention to six of these grains: barley, oats and wheat for the cool season; corn, rice and sorghum for the warm season.)
That was truly the point of no return. Soon, every conversation started with “Have you ever grown grains?” followed by an enthusiastic description of every single quality they embrace. When I decided to write this book, I was met with funny looks, eye rolls and polite disdain. More than a few friends offered comments such as, “Sure Brie, you and the eight other people in the world that care about local wheat,” and, “Don’t you see, carbs make people fat! They are on their way out of the modern diet.” Still, I persisted, because I knew this book needed to be written.
What I’ve learned since that first grain bed
There’s more to report about my first experimental wheat crop, and in the years since with a whole variety of grains. Managing this garden bed space has proven to be very easy.
• I sow twice a year, once with cool-tolerant grain crops and again in summer with heat-loving varieties. The seed germinates in place and has dense ground cover, thus eliminating weed pressure. It is irrigated only when necessary and is managed with all-organic products. Compared to every other edible I grow, grains are the easiest and lowest maintenance, and visually provide the greatest impact. If I were to plant this space in a mix of traditional home garden vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, it would require a great deal more time, attention and fertility. (This is not to say that I don’t do my share of interplanting with veggies and grains. They play well together!)
Sow densely to reduce weed pressure.
• I cover the ground. Another lesson learned over the years is the importance of engaging the entire ground plane with plants. This is truly the critical component for lowering overall maintenance and reducing the need for herbicides. You see, when all of the ground is covered there is limited opportunity for weeds to establish themselves. This is not a new idea, nor is it exclusive to food crops. In fact, this idea of ground plane coverage is the new mantra for modern-day landscaping, from bioswales and green infrastructure design to annual beds maintained along the highway. If you really want to stop using herbicides you need to cover the open mulch space with plants of your choosing.
• I bask in the beauty. I love how grasslike plants create a dynamic landscape with kinetic appeal – another important aspect of the role grains play when used as garden accents. Like most people, I am attracted to these plants. I adore their structure, color, texture; watching them blow in the breeze instantly lowers my blood pressure. Though I am determined to focus on the utility that plants provide, I can’t escape the draw of the aesthetic. And we shouldn’t have to. This is not an either/or situation. One of the great advantages of being a gardener in the 21st century is we can explore the many attributes that a plant has to offer. Grains are no exception.
REINVENTING THE LANDSCAPE: What I love most about cultivating annual grains is the opportunity to reinvent the landscape beds twice a year. With thoughtful crop rotations and interesting plant combinations I can create high impact color and textural interest while growing something of meaningful harvest. This strategy will also improve the soil that I grow in. As a horticulturist, I strive to be practical in how I apply plants to the world around me. And that is exactly what grains provide: practicality, beauty and a will to live that even a certified black thumb can’t kill.
It didn’t take me long to expand past the wave bed and into my foundation landscape and property borders. Now, I plant seasonal grains in every sunny spot that is available. I am never disappointed by their performance and with each crop I learn new lessons on how to be a better steward to the Earth.
I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I hadn’t been handed that bag of wheat seed from my friend Chip. At the time I had no idea what a profound difference that seed would make to me as gardener. Before growing grains I struggled with poor soil and the disease and insect infestations that are symptomatic of this common issue. My plant palette, though diverse, was ordinary and there was nothing particularly unique about my design style. I spent countless hours watering and fertilizing, time that I would never be able to spare now as my career has evolved.
My identity will forever be woven with grains, which is why I am proud to be the Crazy Grain Lady. It is my sincere wish that by sharing my grain journey you too will take a chance, sow some seed and reap the harvest of these crops that have been essential to human evolution. ■
Two
What are Grains
and why should you grow them?
The truth is, you don’t need to know much to successfully grow grains – I certainly didn’t. Until I started researching for this book, I didn’t know the difference between a seed and a cereal grain, let alone how legumes fit in. So just what is a grain? It is a fair question to ask in the midst of our 21st century’s anti-carbohydrate world. I’d venture to say very few people would correctly define a grain without first doing an online search.
There are two main types of grains:
Cereals, the focus of this book; and
Legumes, such as soybeans and peanuts.
Generally, grains are characterized by their hard, dry “seed” (which sometimes has an attached