Growth

First shoots

To be honest I'm not sure how much growth to expect before winter sets in but there are at least some signs of life.

Perseverance

So after last year's failure I thought I'd have one more go and try planting some winter wheat. The nice folk at Kings Seeds supplied me with what I believe to be some Solstice seeds and I did a little digging:

My spade-work revealed the ground wasn't quite as fertile as I'd thought, being riddled with lots of small roots from the surrounding foliage; turns out digging is the very definition of back-breaking work. So as an extra precaution I dug-in some general purpose compost too, which probably isn't ideal but it was on special offer at the local DIY place.
I drilled the seeds this year to save a bit of time, and finally made a slightly more thorough job of the bird netting, now the waiting begins...

So it's harvest time...

End of July beginning of August sheaves of golden wheat should be rustling in the wind ready to harvest, if only...

On the right is the healthy rogue wheat, on the left one of the bigger plants from the main crop :-(

Well I've harvested what few grains I have, there are so few I could probably give them all names, see below:

Well at least the winnowing and chaffing wasn't too arduous ;-) but when all's said and done not even enough for a cracker.  So I guess that's where our story ends for now, maybe when the seasons roll round I'll consider finding some winter-wheat to plant...

Ear we go

So we have some ears appearing on a significant number of the plants:

Whilst this is good news, compared to the rogue-growth in the back lawn the main crop is only around 30cm tall, versus over 70cm, and the ears are small (I'll try to produce an image directly comparing the two in due course).  None of which bodes well for the flour yield I reckon, ho hum.  Oh well at least I'm not alone the U.K. drought has affected many professional growers with some reported to be ploughing their cereal crops back into the ground and replanting (see here).

This is more like it

Slow and steady

So there are signs of growth with the odd shoot standing out above the rest, here's hoping it's not just grass:

No news is good news

So there are signs that the wetter weather is encouraging some growth from our wheaty friends but no photographic evidence as yet.  In the meantime here are a few snaps of recent baking efforts to whet your appetite (improvement in the photos can be attributed to the return of the key grip ;-).

Nature Knows Best

So whilst the main crop struggles to make 8cm of growth there are some renegades in the back-garden doing considerably better:

It's no coincidence I think that the site of the rogue growth is directly beneath a pigeon's nest but it's amazing how much difference regular watering, a slightly sunnier aspect and some fertilizing can make.
Still at least I know that what I've planted is wheat - here's hoping that the main crop is just being a bit lethargic and the recent rain will help it along.

Onwards and upwards

I've been out of the country for a while so have been reliant upon my happy helpers to tend the crop.  Given the somewhat novel situation of a Mancunian drought over the last couple of weeks that's actually involved some watering!
Anyway growth continues, all looks well, albeit from afar (see below).

Pep Talk

"Some day son - if you stay on the straight and narrow, work hard and keep your nose clean you may grow up to be just like me."

Sun, rain and growth

Things are looking promising :-)

Proof of life...

So closer inspection of the plot revealed that in-spite of the best efforts of our airborne friends there are quite a few green-shoots to be seen and some of them look distinctly wheat-like ;-)

Here's hoping this augurs well....

This time round extra counter-measures have been deployed.

Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds.....

Disaster, we've been robbed!

Turns out the local bird population has something of a penchant for spring wheat.
The initial suspects were the pigeons:

However they are probably too plump to fly already so had minimal impact.

The local magpies did seem to be exhibiting some quite lustrous plumage:

I wonder whether that's the effect of a high-protein diet.....?

Real-bread is still something of a niche pursuit:

"I wonder what this token netting is supposed to do?"

But the real culprit is thought to be:

Turns out blackbirds are considerably more effective at reverse-dibbing than humans are at dibbing, but then I suppose they have had a lot more practice.
Anyhow maybe kharma is in evidence - perhaps birds can be coeliacs too?

At least I have plenty of grain left and it's hopefully not too late in the season to replant....this time with a rigorously enforced no-fly zone ;-)

Suddenly everyone wants in on the act...

We now have a scarecrow:

(eccentricity runs in the family it turns out ;-)

An unfortunate omission.....

So it turns out I've already angered the powers that be by omitting to mention Number 2 dibber in dispatches: to make amends here's a brief thankyou to my mother without whom none of the above would have gotten into the ground - let alone out-of.

In the beginning......

A long-standing fondness for Walden and its descriptions of the simple pleasures of kneading bread led me to De Agricultura.  Several sacrificial buns later, I was hooked and there began my mild obsession with bread-making.  Then The Real Bread Campaign started this initiative, and having convinced my long-suffering parents to donate a corner of their front lawn, this project began.
So last weekend, roughly coinciding with the equinox as it happens (no trees were hugged during this undertaking), I planted what I hope to be some spring wheat.  Well I say I did it, I had more than a little help: they say manual labour is hard to find these days and they're not wrong, I had to make do with this passing PhD:

Anyway the dibbing went rather well and the rest of the family is now on pidgeon-watch all that remains to be seen is will it grow......