Growing early ( as in Iron Age/ Saxon ) food plants?

[tombear]

Hi folks
i'm a bit of a zombie today as the cold a son brought home has got worse and I got very little slep again, please excuse any increase in incoherence...

The seeds are all in except the shallots that will stand in for early domesticated onions. This AM the bere meal arrived from Orkney along with a bag of seed, 7.6oz or 215gms . When my brain is functioning I will look up the optimal spacing for the seed, and since I want to do a small pot of them inside, what depth of soil they need. Broadcasting wouldn't be a good idea for this experiment. If we can get it to grow and get a increase in seed for next year ill be happy!

Herself has acquired what we need for potting up those seeds they recommend growing to seedlings before planting out and the grounds all but ready for digging over. The day of the planned burning it blew half a gale so that was postponed. 'Been raining on and off since then.

No point in baking some bere bannock as I'd not be able to taste it today!

More when there's some progress and thanks to all those who have helped thus far.

ATB

tom

c

 

[British Red]

You want to increase from 7 oz of bere seed? You must have a big place

This is enough for a 25 foot single row


Globe Wheat by British Red, on Flickr

 

[tombear]

Really? What I currently know, or can dredge up past the mucus sloshing about in what's passing for my brain today, about barley I could put on a single seed with a electric pencil!

So I've plenty to do a 4 yard x 4 yard square of the stuff?

ATB

Dopey of East Lancs.

 

[British Red]

<snort>

Err ...yeah!

 

[British Red]

Not totally sure on barley - but I drilled wheat at 6" row separation, 3" between plants - that was over generous, but allowed for some predation. That uses 72 seeds per square yard - say a total of 300 for 4 square yards.

You have many, many thousand seeds there!

 

[tombear]

Cool! thanks for that. Just had a message from the kind lady who sent the seed (and although they are of course a lot further north, we are a lot further up and further from any warming effect of the sea so I'll try it with their timings), she said "No hurry in planting, we never sow until the second half of April or even the first half of May."

ATB

Tom

 

[British Red]

Makes sense - it is supposed to have a 90 day season which makes it suitable for the far North.

 

[tombear]

Finally had a bit of time free so baked a double ration of bere bannock made with the meal sent from Orkney. I experimented with thickness and decided I liked em best thicker and more bread like.

Even if I say so myself, they taste great! Very filling as well. When next in funds well get a much bigger bag of the meal.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Finally had the right conditions to burn the scrap wood and brush and kill the weeds and seeds in the plot ted will have his Anglo Saxon stuff growing. most of it is bursting out of the seedling pot things so we need to get them in and plant the seeds as soon as possible now!

this doesnt show the full extent of the burn, will do something in daylight.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

And today we dug ourselves silly and the plots are ready for planting when we get back on Monday. A bit late even for up here on the hills but not so bad. Just need to get some netting and bamboo over the week end.

ATB

Tom

ps can this thread by shifted to homesteading please?

 

[tombear]

Finally back home so after a trip to buy netting and bamboo tomorrow AM we will slap the seedlings and seeds in assuming the weathers half decent. Coming back from near Retford we called in at the working windmill at Tuxford to buy Barley flour ( no local health food etc shop sold it and the local Tescos have stopped having it, morrisons and sainsburys never had) as well as the last five pound bags of Barley, a bag of maslin and a big bag or organic spelt we got a pound of spelt grain which the miller said would grow if planted (given the right conditions, rain etc etc) so ill use some for historic receipts and some we will try planting on the off chance it will handle our naff soil, weather and what have you. If it groes ill be pleasantly surprised. I'll do some in a big pot as well so I know what it looks like!

atb

Tom

 

[General Strike]

www.seedaholic.com has a section with some older crops - Alexanders (introduced by the Romans) and some older kale varieties, for example. I think they even had Ground Elder - although planting that stuff is asking for trouble.

 

[xylaria]

Ground elder is lovely eating. Otherwise I hate the stuff with a passion.

 

[tombear]

Cheers for the link, I'll have a good poke about although possibly for next year now.

Just waiting for it to stop raining so we can plant some more and get the nets up. The birds seem to be ignoring the stuff that's in so far.

atb

Tom