Book Review: How To Grow Grain On The Homestead

 (Author's Note:  I have been sufficiently please with the outcome of my series of Essentialism and the kind comments of you, my readers, on that particular idea of a deep dive into a particular book, that I am planning to do it again.  I have a couple of books I am thinking of; I ask for your patience as I work through the next steps.)

The first year I grew grain was in 2005.

It was, as I recall, a combination of Winter Wheat, Emmer Wheat, Jet Barley, and Oats.  The Oats did not take.  Everything else did, and my interest in grain growing was born.  I believe that every year since then, I have at least tried to grow some kind of grain, no matter what my success rate.

Imagine my pleasure to find, in Permies crowdfund benefit package, a new book on growing grain:

Beyond sharing her experiences along with her husband Dan on their blog Five Acres & A Dream, Leigh is an FOTB (Friend Of This Blog) whose comments are regular and always thoughtful.  

As a result, this is probably not going to be a completely neutral review.

This book is a part of a smaller set of volumes which Leigh has written for specific items of the homestead (her book on Ginger, for example, is excellent as well).  I would also be remiss in mentioning that she also has "regular" books (Five Acres & A Dream - The Book and The Sequel).

I will start with the punch line first:  if you are looking for a book to ease you into what I consider the high satisfying world of growing grain, this is a great place to start.

The book covers all the basic questions, supplemented by examples from Leigh and Dan's experience:

- Why you should grow grain
- The basic steps of growing grain:  planting, harvesting, threshing, winnowing. The threshing part is especially interesting, as Leigh shares the six methods they have tried over the years to thresh grain, some of them pretty innovative.

- Grains themselves:  Leigh gives a review of 11 kinds of grains and pseudograins, including planting suggestions, usages, and harvesting/processing suggestions.

At 45 pages and a price tag of $3.99, it is a very reasonable "gateway book" into the wonderful world of grain growing.

Leigh's works are described at Kikobian.  Her longer books are available at all the usual online places.  Her e-publications (including the one listed above) are available via Smashwords.com; her author page is here.  

If you are looking for a "how to start" book that will stay with you as you increase your planting (because of course you will), this book is the best deal anyone could have to an introduction on grain growing.