I had a 3 foot by 30 foot wheatfield growing this summer, at least until a chipmunk got into it. Who'd have thought? Deer ignored it. Anyway I did away with him. We'll see if what I salvaged will grow nest year. Carl
The chipmunk! Oy vay! Just out of curiosity, why are you gowing wheat in Whitehorse? If you are looking for hints on chipmunk control, I definitely can't help. I do find it interesting that the deer ignored it. Does anyone out there who suffers from deer know if they eat wheat? I can't imagine why they would not. gb
Don't really have a reason why. I hauled a dozen loads of horse manure from a former employer's corral to my place, and a wheat plant volunteered. So I saved the seed, and saved it again. Its just fun. I have the answer to chipmunk control, but its not applicable to in-town gardens. (I live twenty miles north of town.) The same answer would apply to deer control in a limited way, but there is no deer season in the Yukon. So I'm fortunate that they haven't discovered that wheat is a food. Carl
13th time lucky. ...sure looks like barley to me! :) Soil looks sandy. What exactly did the chipmunk do? gb.
Barley eh? Hmm. Do I want to make bread or beer? The chipmunk basically started mowing and threshing. Toppled the plants, ate (or stored) the seed and left empty husks on the ground. Got through a little less than a quarter of the plants by the time I saw him in action. Carl
I am surprised you can get barley to grow way up in Whitehorse. What else do you, or other folks grow? gb
Was it the early settlers or native people, or maybe both (high school was many years ago) that made bannock out of barley. Seem to remember reading how it would poke the insides of people's mouths thanks to the remnants of husks that I suppose didn't always get totally removed in pioneer days. I do think beer goes down easier :-)
Re: Wheat/barley I was surprised too. As I say, it volunteered, I'm just going with it. The Yukon Grain Farm actually does grow wheat in addition to supplying the local supermarkets with potatoes, and some folks down the road are growing oats. Lots of organic farms here, but its not exactly like the market gardens in Richmond. My main interest is in nut pines. Limber pines are doing OK, Stone pines not so well. Two Swiss Stone pines into their 10th year without bearing yet. Five or six other kinds in the fridge trying their best to germinate. Otherwise I like oddball indoor/outdoor stuff like coffee, leucaena, loquat, pomegranate...aaand copious quantities of Big Rock McNally's. Maybe I can sell my barley to Yukon Brewing. I do like the idea of barley bannock. If I ever get enough of it I'll give that a try. Carl
Hey! Bannock = Oats. I think it was invented by a Scot who hated cleaning the porridge-pot as much as I do. Go camping, light a wood fire, get out the cast iron frypan, chuck in some bacon grease & heat it till it smokes, add your bannock mix with a handful of blueberries/cranberries/serviceberries fresh or dried mixed in. Fiddle with it, turn it over, drink your coffee, watch the lake until it's done. Yum, yum! Canadian heritage food. gb.
I suspect that bannock was a relatively recent innovation this far north. Like maybe euro-contact era. I'll have to ask the neighbours. They certainly embraced it. Carl
Yep. Wheat, barley & oats were all Euro in origin, as far as I know. I think Oats came from something called Einkorn orginating in the Middle East. I am sure there is lot's on the net about it. I think the Scots got a national fondness for it because it was the only grain crop to thrive in their difficult climate. Now they eat deep fried Mars bars & call it progress. Go figure. Make malt, beer or something else with the barley...barley Bannock? Humph! gb
Sorry. Einkorn was wheat ancestor - just looked it up. I should engage my brain prior to opening mouth. Continual problem. gb.
Sorry for getting us on down that "bannock" rabbit trail...one of those partial tidbits that lurks in the mind from childhood. Obviously only a partial bit of tid, as all the references confirm that bannock is more often oats and to some extent wheat, with the "bere bannock" having apparently just a portion of barley. I do have personal experience with scotch broth tho...that one always did involve barley in our household! Barley would grow better in cooler wetter climates like Scotland, and the Yukon I'd imagine...along with the oats and can't forget rye. Wheat strikes me as the toughest of the common milling grains to mature successfully in more northern (cooler/wetter) regions. Then again, those incredibly long daylengths during the growing season can produce some surprises up Carl's way...
