# Grain (the hard way)



## Aaron1.0 (19/5/14)

So this is my latest project, a small patch of barley in the paddock, seeded yesterday.





The constraints for the project are that it can't cost too much (so far = nothing), no chemical fertilisers / herbicides (it's my Mother-In-Laws place and she's a biodynamic gardener) and we want to try and leave the soil relatively intact, within reason (to reduce soil loss and try to improve it over time).

So I dug 8 rows x 25m long with the mattock, powdering up the soil. I think it comes out at 70m2.
I managed to borrow a single row seeder which is used for experiments - it puts a measured amount of seed evenly in the ground over a set distance. In this case I tried to put in 12 or 13 grams per 5m (linear) which hopefully comes out at approx. 70kg/ha.

The soil is unfertilised and uncorrected for pH (it's probably slightly acid) so I'm not expecting a commercial yield off this patch. There is also pasture in between the rows (in an attempt to try and keep some of the native grasses) but that also means I'll be busy hoeing out weeds and there will be a bit of competition. The plan is to brew up some liquid fertiliser using manure and weeds which can be applied once it gets up a little and the rain kicks in. Because it's a small patch I also have the ability to keep it watered for now.

So now I have 6 or 7 months to learn how to malt, do BIAB and invent something to thresh the grain.

Lastly, I wanted to give a shout out to Hoppy2B for supplying me with the grain, countless hop rhizomes and lots of advice in the planning stages, cheers!


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## MattyFin (19/5/14)

Awesome, I will be watching this thread with interest, great to see another brewer trying to replicate the whole process.


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## Ducatiboy stu (19/5/14)

What variety


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## sp0rk (19/5/14)

Aaron1.0 said:


> no chemical fertilisers / herbicides


Everything is chemicals 
But srsly, I like the concept and hope to give it a go some day myself if I have a space to do it


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## Not For Horses (19/5/14)

Happy to help with any malting questions you may have.

For that small quantity, just thresh it by hand. Garden fork or something in a 200L drum.


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## wereprawn (19/5/14)

Crikey! You must be fit Aaron. My garden is 1/6 th of the size and i am stuffed after digging it at the start of the veggie growing season.. Good luck with it all mate.


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## Aaron1.0 (19/5/14)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> What variety


Commander



Not For Horses said:


> Happy to help with any malting questions you may have.
> 
> For that small quantity, just thresh it by hand. Garden fork or something in a 200L drum.


Cheers for that, I'm gonna have plenty!



wereprawn said:


> Crikey! You must be fit Aaron. My garden is 1/6 th of the size and i am stuffed after digging it at the start of the veggie growing season.. Good luck with it all mate.


No, not really - just a sore back. This is part of the plan to address the fitness thing though!


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## wynnum1 (19/5/14)

What was the weight of grain planted going by information on net about 4 tons a hectare so yields about a 25 kg sack full for 70 sq meters .


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## Aaron1.0 (19/5/14)

wynnum1 said:


> What was the weight of grain planted going by information on net about 4 tons a hectare so yields about a 25 kg sack full for 70 sq meters .


This is the way I worked it out:

25m x 2.8m = 70m2 = 0.007 ha
70kg / ha sowing rate x 0.007 = 0.49 kg of grain
8 rows x 25 m = 200 linear meters of trench = sore back
I calibrated the seeder to drop one lot of seed every 5m, therefore there were 200/5 = 40 x 5m runs.
0.49kg (490g) / 40 runs = 12.25 grams per 5m run, which conveniently equals one metric rounded milk bottle lid plus a few extra grains.

I checked the amount of grain in the lid by weighing 10 lots which was about 130 grams.

Now that I think about it, I weighed the container the grain is in and wrote it on the side. When I get home I can weigh how much is left and see how close I was to getting the desired amount of grain in the ground. The ball park figures for how much to sow per hectare vary greatly, so I don't think it will matter_ too _much. 

If I get 25kg I'll be stoked, but as I said conditions aren't ideal, the mice, birds and rabbits may yet have an impact. But I would like to be able to make at least one decent brew out of this. Probably the limiting factor will be how much hops I get off first year plants.


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## Parks (19/5/14)

Certainly makes the $50 for a sack of BB ale malt look worth it


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## Aaron1.0 (19/5/14)

Ok just weighed it, I used 460 grams. Slightly under the 490g target but close enough I think.


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## mash head (20/5/14)

Man that does look hard.
I am planning on putting 12 ha of malting barley in just for sheep feed, Spraying and seeding (without machine breakdowns) should equate to less than 1hr per ha and my equipment is pretty small compared to some of the large air seeders you can get. If it goes alright I can drop you off a bag when in Adelaide, unless you want ""organic"".


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## Aaron1.0 (20/5/14)

Thanks for the offer Mash Head!

It's not about getting the grain though, more of a learning experience. I guess I got into brewing because I like the idea of making my own beer, and I'm taking it to a bit of an extreme. It would be pretty cool to be able to make a brew from scratch, even if it is a bit of hard work.

I guess I'm a bit stingy too. I also got into home brewing too to save a bit of money (yes I know I can buy grain and extract cheap but I want to do this project) , and if I go out and buy a rotary hoe that will blow the budget. Maybe if it goes OK at this small scale I'll look at something like that for next year, but I'm just looking at learning a few lessons now before I invest.

By the way, I used to live on KI, played cricket for McGillivray....


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## mash head (20/5/14)

I probably know you then, I have hung around the club down there for 15 -20 odd years since I moved here. The juniors (with my son) have won the flag 2 years in a row now.


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## Aaron1.0 (20/5/14)

Yeah, I worked out who you are from snooping your profile. Remember - you fixed my cruiser the day I missed the ferry on moving day (the fuel tank selector wire had broken under the floor mat and it was sucking from the wrong tank). Helped me out big time!

Small world :blink:
Cheesy


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## mash head (20/5/14)

You could buy malt quality barley for 20 to 30 cents per kg at harvest time, unless we have a drought then it might be up to 50 cents. You may have to buy a ton to achieve this price. For me I think you would be better off putting your energy into growing vegies and use the money you save to buy the grain.
I am glad I could help and I remember who you are.


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## Aaron1.0 (20/5/14)

Cheers mate, we are growing the veggies too already as it happens. But like I said, I'm doing it cos its fun to play around with this stuff and I'm learning as I go.


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## Aaron1.0 (20/5/14)

I'm not sure if this video from my phone will work... If it does, it is the seeder in action.


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## mr_wibble (21/5/14)

I am interested in how you're going to harvest it.

I mentioned doing this to SWMBO, and all I got was the rolling-of-the-eyes and the comment "How are you going to harvest it all you daft prick".
Well ok, maybe she didn't quite say exactly that, but that was the take-away message.

I considered mentioning that neolithic farmers would harvest grain with a jaw bone sickle, but it didn't seem appropriate at the time.


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## mash head (21/5/14)

*A harvester doesn't just replace the job of the sythe, it also thrashes and cleans the grain. Some more jobs to think about, lets see the crop get there first though.*
*Good luck Aaron, *


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## Ducatiboy stu (21/5/14)

You might need the wide-comb version


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## Aaron1.0 (21/5/14)

Ok here's a link of the single row seeder in action.
http://youtu.be/eYPN2WWaG4k

I've been duly warned about the threshing already.

Some have suggested doing it by hand, others have suggested I'm going to have trouble with that. My current line of thinking is to modify a garden mulcher with some rubber flaps in place of the blade, but like Mash Head said, I'll need a crop first before I worry too much about that.


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## Aaron1.0 (21/5/14)

Mr Wibble said:


> I am interested in how you're going to harvest it.
> 
> I mentioned doing this to SWMBO, and all I got was the rolling-of-the-eyes and the comment "How are you going to harvest it all you daft prick".
> Well ok, maybe she didn't quite say exactly that, but that was the take-away message.
> ...


I think harvesting will be the easy bit and threshing will be the harder bit.

While we do have a scythe, I'm not very good with it so I'll probably use my brushcutter with a metal blade attachment.

If you use a nice sweeping motion, my experience is grass lays down in a nice orderly pile, as long as the metal blade is used. Using the cord head could tear it all up to shreds and spit it out everywhere I imagine.


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## mash head (21/5/14)

My father inlaw has an attachment for his wiper snipper that is a hedge trimmer, has a reciprocating knife almost the same as a harvester front. Would be an ideal tool for the job of laying it down. Or just sharpen up that scythe, sounds like you need the practice.


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## Aaron1.0 (21/5/14)

Yeah, since this project is "the hard way" maybe I should use the scythe. 

I had a go with it last year on some thick kikuyu but it probably is betterfor a project like this with dry stalky stuff. Might need to fix it up a bit, from memory the blade is a bit loose.


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## Aaron1.0 (24/5/14)

The barley is well and truly coming up now, just waiting for some rain so I can stop hand watering!


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## Aaron1.0 (24/5/14)

And here's the fertiliser brewing


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## mash head (25/5/14)

_I will probably sow mine this week I will add a pic of the germination once it comes up. It might be usefull for you to compare_


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## wynnum1 (26/5/14)

How deep is barley planted and do you use any trace elements like zinc .Planted some sweet corn earlier this year and was complete failure maybe the seed was faulty or may need to use trace elements.


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## mash head (26/5/14)

*Ideally 5-10mm, but with broad acre cropping equipment its not always perfectly placed, I am dropping 100kg per ha of zincstar fertiliser below the barley seed, and then if all going well will hit up with some straight N in the form of urea down the track.*


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## wynnum1 (10/6/14)

Hows the barley going.


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## Aaron1.0 (10/6/14)

Not too bad I think. Red legged earthmites took a liking to it for a while and I think a bunny had a munch in one spot. But in general, comparing to other crops I have seen lately the leaf lengths look about the same.


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## Aaron1.0 (10/6/14)

Close up, taken today.


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## Aaron1.0 (10/6/14)

Also I have come to understand why Hoppy2b advised me to leave room between the rows to hand hoe. Its going to take a little work to keep on top of the weeds.
I've been researching Biab, and I think soon I'll need to have a crack at malting some feed barley for practice.


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## wynnum1 (12/6/14)

looking healthy.


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## mash head (25/6/14)

This is a pic of my crop yesterday, its a bit patchy because the seeder had some issues with blockages. Should still go alright if conditions are favourable.


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## wynnum1 (2/7/14)

Would sweet sorghum grow on Kangaroo Island .


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