A New Garden Part 1: The Plan

After Grandad and I cleared the way last year, it's time to get ready for some growing! This year I'm experimenting with growing wheat with the intention of threshing and milling it for flour and then bread production. Can small scale wheat production be viable? Let's find out!
All this was inspired by watching this video:
• From seed to loaf (par...
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[@georgeclements2742]

Just one for the algorithm. Best wishes.

[@rustandoil]

That tractor is a proper bit of kit 😎

[@maximusironthumper]

More tomorrow! My new gardening/micro farming regime is entirely inspired by this fantastic video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4Wqmp-IbpqHapY

[@MarktheOddJob]

Wow, that bread making video was great. Love the homemade threshing machine Stephen made, what a cool guy.

[@moiragoldsmith7052]

It was super, he had some great 'make, do n mend' stuff going on eh!👍

[@alanlansdell7533]

And there I am moaning that my bread takes two hours to rise! Didn't even grow my own wheat.

[@SteHughes90]

The dressed seeds are perfectly safe, the coatings just protect the plant through germination from predators. None of that stuff will be on the seeds that you eat.

[@julianhawker7672]

Did this with my kids 20 odd years ago, started with 3 grains of wheat they found in a old straw bale, grew them on for a number of years until they had enough for bread. Good fun. 🤠

[@mandofan2616]

just looking at the trees at the background, try and cut the ivy at the bottom of them and leave a few inch gap so it doesn't rejoin, to save the trees from choking.

[@Lemma01]

I've always been told you can "exhaust a weed's energy": I've never had the energy to follow it through! Fingers crossed on this, Max - terrific scheme, and great content. All the best.

[@jarthurs]

We get our organic grass seed from them and the rabbits love it!

[@Rugbyman269]

Your farmer friend is right , if they didn’t spray it off there would be a hugely reduced crop , that of course may not bother you max , good luck

[@dragontattooee]

Best of luck with the garden crop

[@chrishamilton-wearing3232]

Hi Max. Out of interest, have you seen a channel called 'Way Out West' ? It's by a chap called Tim and like yourself he is very creative with metal. He reminds me of Oliver Postgate , who used to narrate such wonderful programmes as Bagpuss, Noggin the Nog, Pogles Wood and the Clangers. He has built his own railway, locomotive, wood chipper, charcoal grater ( for making bio char) and a whole bunch of other things. Slightly eccentric and extremely watchable, if you haven't seen it I think you would find it really interesting. If you have seen it then of course you already know this. But....... perhaps some of your followers ( or disciples? ) who read the comments might find this useful. 🙂

[@francistheodorecatte]

that technique of killing off sprouts over and over is exactly how you kill bamboo (or in my case, knotweed) stands. it takes a lot of patience and tenacity, though.

[@andymccabe6712]

.....and diesel....!!

[@DavesInHisGarage]

Your grandad is a bloody legend!

[@Polecat54941]

Or you could go to Lidl and spend £1.20, to be fair I would still have a go at growing my own bread! I started growing my own KW's because of this channel!

[@simonosborne3047]

This is interesting. Me & the wife - actually, the wife - has an allotment & I'm always nagging her to grow something we can actually eat. She's just seen this over my shoulder & is interested too.

[@MrOrchardsWorld]

Can't wait to see the results Max. Your whole journey is a constant inspiration!

[@richardcoombes9491]

well done max great work sir keep up the good work

[@RubenKelevra]

Have a look how stone buriers work: I'm sure you can modify your rotor tiller to one. The benefit is, that the gras, roots, stones etc. will be put on the lowest level, while the loose earth will be put on top. :) This mostly avoids that stuff can regrow, as they are put in a too low level.

[@alastairmackay4589]

Keep er lit!

[@moiragoldsmith7052]

Good luck! Just watched the videos you mentioned..." Wholesome" is exactly the word. I hope he is still going strong. Thanks Maximus. 😁

[@victorgoncalves2442]

This brings me back memories from my grandparents planting wheat for bread , but with a Mule instead of a tractor, hard times .

[@ianwallett7438]

👍 good video. I watched the two parts of the other channel, I might have a go myself, certainly worth the effort. 🙂

[@williambowman7589]

Brilliant video

[@bigunone]

Reminds me of the old Doonesbury comic strip character Zonker Harris planting his wheat communing with it daily then crying as he cut it down to bake bread

[@Dominic.Minischetti]

That’s looking great! Have you ever used a metal detector on your property? Might be some gold in that soil! 😂

[@Steveshub]

hopefully it will work!

[@simonallins6010]

Bad idea. The bindweed will use your wheat as a trellis. The roots are up to a meter deep. Comfrey roots even deeper. It is a small plot. Cover it with silage tarp for 2 or 3 years…

[@johnshaw4140]

Great to see you busy in the garden again , I hope to see loads of veggies growing alongside the wheat

[@KeiteiVentures]

Looking forward to the end results :D! Both in the garden and the bread trials 🍞 Bind weed sound like mini Medusas 🌱

[@crgmrgn]

Excellent project, looking forward to the outcome of this one … Rob Penn's book "Slow Rise: A Bread-Making Adventure" might be worth a read, he decided to go the whole process too, from sowing the wheat, harvesting, threshing/winnowing, grinding and baking as part of his bread discoveries … great writing whatever the outcome! Good Luck, I suspect the yield to loaf ratio will make it fantastically enjoyable but bloody hard work ;)

[@Equiluxe1]

If you keep harrowing the soil it brings the roots to the surface where the suns UV kills them, then you harrow again and again untill there are no more weeds, cheaper to use spray in the end due to the amount of diesel used in harrowing.

[@richardgriffin7094]

you always think you have conquered bindweed lol, wait til the end of may ! i would roundup the bindweed and go organic after that, if that isnt acceptable get a good fork and lots of time and effort ! good luck i hope you succeed.i have seen the bread making vid and as a keen gardener i loved it.

[@HootMaRoot]

I hope the planting went well and should be well sprouted by now. If making flour becomes to much of a chore you can always use the wheat to feed your laying hens or if you keep chickens for eating should help them fatten up

[@johncochrane2707]

This is a great project I can't wait to see more Max.

[@spungletrumpet]

I'm very interested in how this turns out. It's another one of those things I've always wanted to do but never actually got round to! :)

[@chrisfryer3118]

The crows and pigeons always nail my small crops of wheat, which is quite frustrating. I am now of the opinion that you have to grow a large area so some can make it through, or net a smaller area.

[@kelnor7696]

As always Thanks Max

[@gillie-monger3394]

Loving your videos mate. Followed your link to that old video - 'from seed to loaf'. Very interesting, though it did take me down a rabbit hole of growing grains and potato videos! Who knew, eh?

[@Aidan.17]

Cool i make my own bread every 2 days. Would be awesome to make your own flour.

[@arefsum]

Looking good 🙂

[@adus123]

if you have bindweed and comfrey you will have them coming back for years to come both have very deep boots. You just have to learn to live with them lol

[@jayjohnson3724]

Finish your rows young man. That's my dad talking. if it was my yard I would mulch it after planting. Don't see how to do that. But cheap advice is free. Have you read any Ruth Stout? She is right up your street.

[@kelnor7696]

Well hope the snow didn’t mess with your plans to much

[@MarkLloyd72]

Hi Max interesting vid as always, having spent 30+ years working as a farm labourer dairy/arable farms, from looking at the name of your wheat Triticum Aestivum it is ideal for making flour for bread but it does better yields being planted in the autumn as it needs to do a process called vernalization before it goes to head and it can only do that with 30-60 days of cold weather, but it will be interesting to see how it gets on being planted in the spring time, also pigeons love young wheat shots so keep them off as best you can.

[@ablacknambercat]

I was about to say similar, the variety is milling wheat but it is a winter one.

[@laurier3348]

Springwheat should be planted early in the season.

[@johnj6087]

Looking forward to seeing what happens. I would have advocated no-dig. Mulch the heck out of the beds until nothing is growing. Do you know Charles Dowding? He has an excellent gardening channel on KZbin

[@sethbelson3539]

I must’ve watched Peter Robinson plant that wheat 100 times over the years ! Last year I cleared away a huge muck heap and determined to sow winter wheat but the wet winter beat me. How late do you think your spring wheat can go in? And please, please tell me that you’re going to build the threshing machine! Best wishes always Seth

[@davidmiller6504]

Bind weed difficult to get rid of without chemicals (your plot looks too big for intensive manual weeding). If you cut bindweed roots you get two weeds for the price of one! Maybe you could investigate doing a no dig (see Charles Dowding's videos and books for information) experiment on the uncultivated area?

[@_stoatchaser]

Can you get some Land Rover seeds and plant them ?

[@lanataylor5136]

Now I know how I will fill my Clarkston's farm void!

[@stina6762]

I’d like to add a really helpful or scientific comment Max , but . I’ve finished up for the week, ( driving an 8 wheeler for the man ) and the IPA 🍺 has got the best of me ! I will add I’ve worked every minuscule piece out of the ground, and it works, but it’s always lurking there !!!😮

[@dustymiller7758]

Great entertainment, looking forward to the results.

[@BrizzleRocker]

Grass is a weed, people forget that. Looking forward seeing how this progresses.

[@DomingoDeSantaClara]

I was taught that any plant is regarded as a weed, if it's in the wrong place. An oak tree is a weed if it's growing through your patio.

[@grenvillephillips6998]

As someone once said: Fields of rippling wheat; wheat, all there is in life is wheat!

[@veronicabalfourpaul2288]

Lovely looking soil!

[@richardhasler6718]

Very nice idea, are you going to cut the wheat with a scythe, Aidan Turner style? It could have dramatic results with your viewing figures!

[@dfishpool7052]

Hi Max - this is a great idea. I've been making my own bread in a breadmaker for years but obviously have to use flour from supermarkets. Interestingly, my home made bread doesn't last long whereas on the times that I've bought bread and that lasts for ages by comparison so I can only conclude that it is dosed with preservatives which aren't necessarliy good for you. I will be very interested to see how your experiment turns out - best of luck with it.

[@tomjohns8498]

Great plan. I can't wait for your first loaf 😊

[@888johnmac]

this will be an interesting experiment .. good luck

[@888johnmac]

lol , back again for a 2nd viewing

[@kevinisaac9139]

Very interesting Max I shall be following this to see how it all turns out 👍

[@heavymetallife398]

Hopefully the cold Weather we're having at the moment might damage the roots now they've been dug up

[@YllaStar95970]

Interesting experiment. Taking a less immediate action ( spraying), and seeing if you can weaken the plant.👍

[@richstratton8583]

Mulika is a milling wheat so a good choice I think. Weed control might be challenging if grown organically. I would consider sowing in rows so you can hoe in between. Look forward to seeing how you get on

[@SidBonkers51]

Great project but wouldnt it be better to sow barley and also some hops and then grow your own beer?

[@Chr.U.Cas1622]

What? I thought that bread is growing on trees = Breadfruit trees. Isn't it? 😁 ;-)😜😘😇

[@ianthebastard8128]

I grow comfrey to make compost and fertiliser, it really is a fantastic plant but without the right strain is a nightmare to get rid of. I hope your plan works, I will be very interested to see the results. If you do grow some comfrey (and there is good reason to) try Bocking-14 as it doesn't spread, I have plenty that I'll gladly pass on.

[@moiragoldsmith7052]

It is amazing stuff. Yes Bocking 14 is the type I planted many years back... but just discovered a wild variety in the woods so I can top up my liquad compost bin with that too. 👍

[@ianthebastard8128]

@@moiragoldsmith7052 I think I have around 40 comfrey plants dotted in and outside of my allotment. Along with nettles, manure and straw it makes the best compost ever, I make around 3 tons a year from that combination, along with the stinky fertiliser of course!!!

[@moiragoldsmith7052]

@@ianthebastard8128 I have a small sized garden but grow quite a lot in it. 40 years of using nettles / weeds, seaweed, comfrey and red worms in the compost bin to help fertilise and enrich the soil.... I just love how good the soil is. Sounds as if you are far busier on your plot. Have a good season.

[@ianthebastard8128]

@@moiragoldsmith7052 I've just retired Moira, so I have even more time on my hands now!!! You have a good season too... Ian

[@twocvbloke]

Technically speaking, it should be possible to do on a small scale, after all, it's what people did when they learned to stop being nomadic and settled down to start farming millennia ago... :)

[@beez8888]

I saw you say weeds but heard Flame Thrower needed !! no ?

[@matt8929]

watched about 5 minutes before i realised you weren't saying 'i'm growing weed"

[@jamieprice3026]

max look at paul gautchi back to eden gardening method truley remarkable all the best jamie

[@philiprogers5772]

Where are the birds? Do you have worms?

[@edgeeffect]

"This used to be just shale"... yeah, it's amazing the difference that several tones of sh... will make. Have you ever counted how much manure you've had to dig in to get it to that quality?

[@maximusironthumper]

No idea, many tons! It's also the worms and plants and cultivation that helps too of course.

[@jacksg1809]

Has Ur ground been very wet for months ?

[@tomstevens751]

How did you create that much organic matter, Max?

[@maximusironthumper]

Many years of gardening and plenty of donations from friends with horses and cows!

[@tomstevens751]

@@maximusironthumper very satisfying end result for sure!

[@gelanghaarteweile3048]

"Growing my own Bread"... Well, don't be foolish! Bread sucks! Grow your own Pizza! Much more delicious! :P And Pizzaplants are more robust than breadplants! :D

[@petrosros]

Spraying it off, is about the most disgusting thing the Business people do that call themselves Farmers. Why would you want to do something like that?

[@andymccabe6712]

You really don't know .....!?

[@petrosros]

@@andymccabe6712 I believe it is called a rhetorical question; Andy, but feel free to enlighten me with your Faults.

[@CORRIGEEN71]

Bread makes u fat!(

[@danbrazil2405]

Being fat means you are harder to kidnap!

[@shelleymitchell7912]

you might want to look on hodmedod they do an organic YQ wheat grain the history of it is perfect to grow in the uk it makes a lovely nutty wholegrain bread