We Grew Oats...Instead of a Lawn!

[@onlinethings9238]

Thank you for this. I am.just thinking about this for our goats and chickens. I want a clear small scale one and I am happy to see this video. God bless you.

[@David-kd5mf]

We need more people talking about sheaves and stooking the sheeves to dry out grains. I've heard about it but hadn't heard the detail about leaving air gaps and leaning on central sheave

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

This was a first for me. I learned from a gentleman from western Canada who was quite helpful with this. I’ll be planting again this spring . It was well worth the work.

[@chaosevolution]

I hope to have a large garden & house one day. Would love to grow my own crops. Tobacco too.

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

Even small gardens can produce a lot! I love parkrose permaculture here on KZbin. She has a great suburban site. Good luck growing!

[@tiffanyclark-grove1989]

That is what I am doing! I threw down a bag of chicken scratch so it was literally dirt cheap to buy seed (13.99 for a 50# bag). I live in town so my neighbors probably hate it lol. I planted the oats in my high traffic back yard under my fruit trees😊. The oats are about two inches now after two weeks

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

I’ve also done this in marginal areas that I want the chickens to scratch up. They go wild for new sprouts.

[@JellybeanHouseNewfoundland]

This is wonderful! I really want to try growing oats. I currently live in Maine, but I'm originally from Newfoundland, and my husband and I plan to move back when he retires in seven years, so I'm starting to do a lot of research on farming in Newfoundland. Southern Newfoundland and the Avalon Peninsula, surprisingly, are actually in a warmer growing zone than southern Maine, despite being at a higher latitude, but I know that the growing season is also shorter and there's less heat in the summer and more wind, so I won't be able to grow exactly the same things that I've been growing here. I've been gardening practically my whole life, since my parents gave me a plot of my own in our backyard in St. John's back in the '80s. Where we live now, we are growing a lot of our own fruits, vegetables, herbs, and seeds (feeding six kids!), and we've grown mushrooms, made our own maple syrup, kept chickens for eggs, and kept bees for honey, but we haven't grown any grains yet, except for some sweet corn. Also, my older daughter does some woodworking and basketry using materials from our homestead. I really want to learn to grow my own grains in order to be more self-sufficient. I also agree that Newfoundland has a great opportunity, with all the current knowledge we have access to about permaculture, natural farming, and crop varieties from around the world, to become much more self-sufficient in terms of food.

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

very cool sounds like a productive spot you have. I am so interested in things other than food also like basket weaving and using natural fiber like willow and flax! one step at a time...life is a long journey! newfoundland is great....but yes the season is short. this year we didn't have a day above 10 C until about the 20th of june and had a frost warning on the 25th of june I belive. it hit 2 C overnight and there was some frost on the roofs of several of the neighbours houses. I hope you come visit when you come home again. I would be happy to show you around the homestead!

[@JellybeanHouseNewfoundland]

@@TheHomesteadatFlatrock Ah, yes, we want to try flax, too. One day, a few weeks ago, I was thinking to myself that I should try planting flax next year for the seeds/oil, and the very next day my oldest daughter said to me, "Mom, do you think we could grow flax here in Maine? I want to try weaving my own linen." I have a great daughter; she is fifteen today and she is already so much more skilled than I am in many ways! :) We would absolutely love to visit your homestead! We will be in Newfoundland for a couple of weeks next August (2024), and I will be in touch before we come.

[@wire80op]

Looks back breaking. Use an America style with the catcher on the end. Save your back

[@Maggie-Gardener-Maker]

Hi from northwest Florida zone 8b. Did you grow again 2023? I bought seed for a hulless variety in 2020 but never planted due to several factors selling and moving homestead was biggest factor but I'm definitely planning to plant for 2024 harvest just not sure how the germination rate will be on four year old oat seed but I'm gonna give it a try. I'm also planning to buy some for sprouting to eat as sprouts or microgreens over the winter from Trueleaf that is the common type with a hull. I may try planting some of it in the field to see how it will grow too.

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

yes we did, I grew just enough to propagate for seed. Im guessing germination rate will be low on 4 year old seed but some will sprout.

[@Maggie-Gardener-Maker]

@@TheHomesteadatFlatrock thanks

[@brackley1111]

Thank you

[@s9josh778]

That was interesting! Sub'd :)

[@kensearle4892]

Thank you! Q: What did you have to do with the existing lawn before planting?

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

A quick till, and added some chicken manure.

[@davidossinger8183]

Hi there. Newest sub! Looking forward to seeing if I can grow anything besides the holy trinity of NL vegetables; carrots, potatoes, and turnips.

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

no problem at all growing a variety of things here. We grow oats, sorghum, many types of squash, pole beans, and many other things. We try to push the envelope for growing but also keep expectations realistic. This is easily achievable if you choose varieties that have maturity times close to the time between the first and last frost dates but extend into each season with row covers. Hoping to start up more videos soon. Its been super busy and getting time to edit and upload hasn't been easy!

[@monislimdancer1]

I would like to see how they separate, prepare the oats after it is harvested?

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

These are hulless, they just need to be flaked or ground.

[@lisakelley9451]

This is really helpful... I've watched it several times. We are planning our first attempt at growing hulless oats this year. Can you give us more info on your sickle? I'm looking at several online sites and everything I'm locating has a shorter handle or a shorter blade or.... well, let's just say they don't really look like what you're using. Could you provide us with more details on this tool or direct us to a source? Thanks!

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

Hi, I purchased this one through an online vendor. Here is the link hardwickandsons.com/products/japanese-shukaku-kama-harvesting-sickle?_pos=5&_sid=4bd664ef9&_ss=r. I have found it holds its edge quite well and I used it in the garden for harvesting other things also!

[@lisakelley9451]

@@TheHomesteadatFlatrock Thank you so much for responding (and so quickly as well!). This is really helpful. My sister and I retired together about 15 years ago... husband's deceased, kids launched... We both deal with a cluster of autoimmune conditions and about 10 years ago we chose to go for broke trying to get healthier on a homestead than continuing to curl up and give in to our physical limitations. We were able to purchase 10 wooded acres in east Texas. We're literally building our home around us. We're learning a lot. It's hard work, but I wouldn't go back for the world! This year we're kicking the garden to the next level, and that is where the oats come in. We goth require gluten-free eating, and gluten free flours and other products are just getting more and more expensive! So we purchased a grain mill and have plans to seriously attack cultivation of several gluten free grains. Again, thanks so much for your video and the lead on this sickle. Blessings to you & your family.

[@AbdyVence]

Going to try planting hull-less oats for the first time this spring. How early did you plant your latest crop? From what her I've read/heard oats are rather cold hardy. I live in S.W. Michigan and am going to put my crop in sometime in March. I'm going to start with a small area of about 20x30 ft. That is the size of a tarp I had to kill the weeds and grass last fall. I've also planted wheat before and am going to do it again this spring in an area about 40x70 ft. I will try harvesting the oats with my scythe before the oats get overly dry so I don't loose much of the harvest. Thanks for sharing.

[@joshuadempsey3449]

Learned a lot thank you. What would you say the period of time from seed to harvest was?

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

I believe it was about 95 days. So pretty short I guess.

[@Al.Fer1234]

🙂👍👍

[@vendorkings7939]

Could you essentially use a lawn mower with a bag collector, then separate it at the end ?

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

I doubt that it would work. However a sickle bar mower, or hedge trimmer could be used to drop rows in place, which could be raked into aligned bundles. This is small scale so it only took an a couple hours cut it all. Drying, separating and winnowing takes way longer than the cutting process.

[@brittanystricklin8449]

How many pounds of seed did you start with?

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

I believe it was 3 lbs.

[@iishuffle28]

HOA has entered the chat. 10 inch max height for lawns 😑

[@zoemeow7677]

Perhaps weed eater is faster oats makes beautiful white wine however is technically not a wine taste like wine but is not fruit so is beer or something drink it as wine is soo delicious sparkling Pinot Grigio ✨

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

Once the heads a dry I feel like a weed eater would shake the grain away from the heads. That’s why I used the sickle. Maybe next time I’ll try the weed eater

[@robclinton9249]

Need a Hockey Sickle....

[@myobmyob2215]

Name of hulless oat seeds?

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

AC Gehl

[@Juggernautsurf]

😂 se te ven senos de mujer 😂 con esa playera 👕

[@judahbrutus]

Work all day for a bowl of oatmeal, I'll pass.

[@TheHomesteadatFlatrock]

hard work for sure, its amazing that at one point in time this is how people lived...

[@stephenbarrett4337]

poor sound