fifelee
Well-Known Member
We have clay soil as well and generally calculate a foot of soil holds 2" water. More organic mater will hold more. The top foot will evaporate quicker so I wouldn't count on a full 2"there.
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drummstikk
Well-Known Member
Great! That is extremely helpful.
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drummstikk
Well-Known Member
Good on ya! Post your updates here -- will be so psyched to see how it's going.
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drummstikk
Well-Known Member
I really need to figure out when my barley will be ready to harvest. I need an estimate to tell the corn people, because they need the field soon.
The answer depends on accurately assigning a stage to the developing grain heads. The information available on barley plant development is not great, and the info on kernel development is even worse, crappy even! Most extension websites will list the stages of growth but assume you already know what they mean. I'm looking at you, Minnesota!
Anyway, here's roughly what happens after heads emerge. Once the whole head is out, kernels begin flowering from the center of the head outward toward the bottom and top. Then, the grain grows from a small embryo at the bottom of the kernel to a full-length grain. This time of growth covers the stages from "watery ripe" to "milk"
Why those names? The defining feature of watery and milk stages is that when you crush the grain, a bunch of liquid comes out. The liquid is supposed to be clear in the beginning, and then become milky, hence the names. I noticed this change in liquid color, but I thought the grain growth was more significant.
Now, when I crush grains from my most advanced tillers, out comes a soft wet clump of starch, much like the jelly in the bottom of a bubble tea.
You can see that nasty-looking (but delicous -- you bet I ate it) thing, covered in a generous amount of milky liquid.
Despite the copious fluid, I believe this constitutes the transition from a "milk" stage to a "dough" stage, because the stuff is becoming solid. Can anyone else comment on the kernel stage based on that photo?
Here's another clue: the grains are becoming plump.
They still crush with a fingernail, but it's a huge change from the soft planty feel the heads have had until now. Getting plump seems to be the way to distinguish late from early soft dough kernels.
Here's yet another way to measure: GDD since heading. I noticed lots of awns appearing in an entry dated March 8. Since that date, there have been 563 GDD. It took Merit's kernels on the main stem (most advanced tiller), about the same amount of GDD, 537, to reach late soft dough stage.
Please set me straight if you know better, but I'm going to proceed assuming that I'm in late soft dough.
Now to predict the future: I can harvest once kernels reach physiological maturity, right after late hard, not soft, dough stage. Merit kernels were at late hard dough at 1028 GDD after heading. I will hit this mark, according to weather.com's GDD predictor, on May 10. The next week, Merit was at the "kernel hard" stage of ripening, which is after the point when it's ok to harvest. This took 1284 GDD since heading, and I should reach that mark on May 22.
Friends, this is joyous news! If I'm right, at least some of the tillers will bear maltable grains between May 10 and May 22. The corn people need the field by "mid-May" so I'm calling May 22 close enough. Yes!
Now, it's a little more complicated than that, because most farmers stop irrigating sometime before the harvest. This, paradoxically, speeds maturity. Lynn Gallagher, malting barley breeder at UC Davis, explains:
To sum up, there is a tradeoff between yield and maturity date, and this tradeoff is controlled by available water. The U Idaho blog, for example, recommends stopping irrigation back in the early soft dough stage.
What to do? Well, it would not be worth the risk to try to increase yield by continuing to irrigate, only to end up with a bunch of underdeveloped and unmaltable grains come mid-May. There is still 9-11" of moist soil, which in my loamy clay is probably less than 2" of water (thanks Ryan). It will be highs of 60's to 70's for the next week, so if those temps continue, I can expect my plants in soft dough to use .1-.13" of water per day. That means there is 17 days of water in the field -- less if evaporation is higher in the top foot of soil as Ryan suggested, and more if the plants begin to use less water as they enter hard dough.
17 days of water in the ground -- I frankly have no idea what to do with that number. But I can at least say that I won't run out of water in the next week. Decision: I won't resume irrigation for now (it was already off because of last week's rain), and I'll see how the plants respond as the water is depleted. I really need those late tillers to die, so I'll be watching them carefully over the next week.
There we go. Feeling a bit more in control.
The answer depends on accurately assigning a stage to the developing grain heads. The information available on barley plant development is not great, and the info on kernel development is even worse, crappy even! Most extension websites will list the stages of growth but assume you already know what they mean. I'm looking at you, Minnesota!
Anyway, here's roughly what happens after heads emerge. Once the whole head is out, kernels begin flowering from the center of the head outward toward the bottom and top. Then, the grain grows from a small embryo at the bottom of the kernel to a full-length grain. This time of growth covers the stages from "watery ripe" to "milk"
Why those names? The defining feature of watery and milk stages is that when you crush the grain, a bunch of liquid comes out. The liquid is supposed to be clear in the beginning, and then become milky, hence the names. I noticed this change in liquid color, but I thought the grain growth was more significant.
Now, when I crush grains from my most advanced tillers, out comes a soft wet clump of starch, much like the jelly in the bottom of a bubble tea.
You can see that nasty-looking (but delicous -- you bet I ate it) thing, covered in a generous amount of milky liquid.
Despite the copious fluid, I believe this constitutes the transition from a "milk" stage to a "dough" stage, because the stuff is becoming solid. Can anyone else comment on the kernel stage based on that photo?
Here's another clue: the grains are becoming plump.
They still crush with a fingernail, but it's a huge change from the soft planty feel the heads have had until now. Getting plump seems to be the way to distinguish late from early soft dough kernels.
Here's yet another way to measure: GDD since heading. I noticed lots of awns appearing in an entry dated March 8. Since that date, there have been 563 GDD. It took Merit's kernels on the main stem (most advanced tiller), about the same amount of GDD, 537, to reach late soft dough stage.
Please set me straight if you know better, but I'm going to proceed assuming that I'm in late soft dough.
Now to predict the future: I can harvest once kernels reach physiological maturity, right after late hard, not soft, dough stage. Merit kernels were at late hard dough at 1028 GDD after heading. I will hit this mark, according to weather.com's GDD predictor, on May 10. The next week, Merit was at the "kernel hard" stage of ripening, which is after the point when it's ok to harvest. This took 1284 GDD since heading, and I should reach that mark on May 22.
Friends, this is joyous news! If I'm right, at least some of the tillers will bear maltable grains between May 10 and May 22. The corn people need the field by "mid-May" so I'm calling May 22 close enough. Yes!
Now, it's a little more complicated than that, because most farmers stop irrigating sometime before the harvest. This, paradoxically, speeds maturity. Lynn Gallagher, malting barley breeder at UC Davis, explains:
As the late tillers die a certain percentage of the
photosynthate is re-mobilized and sent to stronger, earlier tillers. C14
studies have been done on this about 30 years ago. It is only natural that
when the water is cut off the late developing tillers die. Sometimes as
many as 50% of the total tiller number per plant may die and produce
nothing. If the planting density is optimal late tillers may not develop
because of shading. Usually but not always the maitre brin (MB) is the
strongest tiller - that is the main stem. T1 thru Tn usually become less
productive than MB.
photosynthate is re-mobilized and sent to stronger, earlier tillers. C14
studies have been done on this about 30 years ago. It is only natural that
when the water is cut off the late developing tillers die. Sometimes as
many as 50% of the total tiller number per plant may die and produce
nothing. If the planting density is optimal late tillers may not develop
because of shading. Usually but not always the maitre brin (MB) is the
strongest tiller - that is the main stem. T1 thru Tn usually become less
productive than MB.
To sum up, there is a tradeoff between yield and maturity date, and this tradeoff is controlled by available water. The U Idaho blog, for example, recommends stopping irrigation back in the early soft dough stage.
What to do? Well, it would not be worth the risk to try to increase yield by continuing to irrigate, only to end up with a bunch of underdeveloped and unmaltable grains come mid-May. There is still 9-11" of moist soil, which in my loamy clay is probably less than 2" of water (thanks Ryan). It will be highs of 60's to 70's for the next week, so if those temps continue, I can expect my plants in soft dough to use .1-.13" of water per day. That means there is 17 days of water in the field -- less if evaporation is higher in the top foot of soil as Ryan suggested, and more if the plants begin to use less water as they enter hard dough.
17 days of water in the ground -- I frankly have no idea what to do with that number. But I can at least say that I won't run out of water in the next week. Decision: I won't resume irrigation for now (it was already off because of last week's rain), and I'll see how the plants respond as the water is depleted. I really need those late tillers to die, so I'll be watching them carefully over the next week.
There we go. Feeling a bit more in control.
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jgln
Well-Known Member
Ever watch the TV show on RFTV called Ag Phd? Pretty cool show if you are into this stuff. Two farmers who are brothers host the show and talk about all aspects of farming crops. They even have a quiz called "Weed of the Week" where you try and guess the weed. lol
fifelee
Well-Known Member
Sorry I haven't replied quicker. Been farming myself. We will be planting a about five hundred acres of barley this year. Will try it post some pictures.
Drumm, You have a better grasp on the plants life cycle then me (I've never even used the GDD data) so I bet you are better then me at figuring out when to harvest. I just bit a few kernels and if they crunch we pull out the combine.
Sounds like you have a good plan and enough water in the ground. If someone else needs the field then I would hold of on watering (maybe give it a quick shot if you have a really hot day). You can kill the green tillers with Roundup a week or so before harvest. Another way to get the crop off a few days sooner would be to cut the crop off and lay it in shallow piles in another area to ripen. Of course do this after the majority of the kernels reach the hard stage. Watch the weather as rain on your piles is bad. Great thread as always. Looking forward to the pictures of your harvest.
Drumm, You have a better grasp on the plants life cycle then me (I've never even used the GDD data) so I bet you are better then me at figuring out when to harvest. I just bit a few kernels and if they crunch we pull out the combine.
Sounds like you have a good plan and enough water in the ground. If someone else needs the field then I would hold of on watering (maybe give it a quick shot if you have a really hot day). You can kill the green tillers with Roundup a week or so before harvest. Another way to get the crop off a few days sooner would be to cut the crop off and lay it in shallow piles in another area to ripen. Of course do this after the majority of the kernels reach the hard stage. Watch the weather as rain on your piles is bad. Great thread as always. Looking forward to the pictures of your harvest.
fifelee
Well-Known Member
Yes the Hefty Brothers. Those guys have helped me become a better farmer. This last conference they held in our are must have had 1000 farmers attend. Never seen so many pickup trucks in my life.
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drummstikk
Well-Known Member
Haha, this show is amazing! Thanks for the tip, jgln. Watching it, I've never felt so nerdy and so ...rugged at the same time. I probably could have just watched through these archives instead of pestering you poor folks all season.
Ryan, thanks! 500 acres -- that's a whole lot of beer!! Definitely looking forward to your pics.
Ryan, thanks! 500 acres -- that's a whole lot of beer!! Definitely looking forward to your pics.
jgln
Well-Known Member
I don't farm, just a big garden, but watching that show makes you realize it is not just throwing some seeds in the ground. They way they talk about fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides...makes my head spin. Crack me up how they disagree.
jgln
Well-Known Member
Yeah, neat network. I am not into country music, horses, cattle but I love growing stuff and have an interest in farming and they have that. They have a show called "Corn College" that is all about growing corn....that's it, growing corn. Never thought there was that much too it, I grow corn just fine...most of the time. But I guess that is the point, if your income depends on it you better make sure it grows.
jgln
Well-Known Member
I have winter wheat in the garden as a cover crop, nice because a couple tills and it dies. I am going to leave a strip grow to maturity, nothing else the chickens will enjoy it. Getting ready to plow under the rest in preparation for tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.
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drummstikk
Well-Known Member
The non-barley part of the farm was plowed under to prepare for corn:
This gave me a chance to see some of the plants I haven't been able to get to for about a month now. (You can see the old net fence, designed to deter guinea fowl, completely grown into by the stand. Oops!)
In this part of the field, I was glad to see a bunch of late unfilled tillers with yellow flag leaves, indicating that they're on their way to being aborted by the plant:
This is the intended result of stopping irrigation. The late tillers die so all the photosynthates are redirected to the most advanced heads. As a result, they mature faster. Or so the story goes. It turns out that a good part of my field, the part that has been behind all season long, is still in late milk / early soft dough stage! That stage is usually too early to stop watering. Over the past week, I watched the soil moisture level drop from 9-11" to 6-8", down to 4-6" on Monday after a blistering weekend, (80's!) so I gave just that half of the field a dousing (10 minutes from the heads) on Monday.
I probably should have held off, because today they're getting soaked with rain! So much for the strategy of letting the more advanced plants dry out. Nature will do what it wants.
Anyway, there is a sign that some plants (in the other, more advanced half of the field, naturally), are nearing maturity.
Here's a closer look:
Glumes are the little hairs at the base of each grain. When they completely loose their green color, that is a sign that the tiller is physiologically mature. These guys are beginning to turn yellow. It's unclear to me what the glumes are for, besides telling when your grain is mature!
The other sign of physiological maturity is loss of color in the peduncle, which is the stem that the head grows on. This hasn't happened yet in any of the plants. But, the grains are clearly in hard dough stage now:
It's beginning to look like an actual grain.
Now that the barley is all by itself, you can see the extreme shading this area has on the west side (the far side of the photo) -- direct sunlight was over by 3pm during most of the winter. Despite the light limitation, development has stayed on schedule!
This gave me a chance to see some of the plants I haven't been able to get to for about a month now. (You can see the old net fence, designed to deter guinea fowl, completely grown into by the stand. Oops!)
In this part of the field, I was glad to see a bunch of late unfilled tillers with yellow flag leaves, indicating that they're on their way to being aborted by the plant:
This is the intended result of stopping irrigation. The late tillers die so all the photosynthates are redirected to the most advanced heads. As a result, they mature faster. Or so the story goes. It turns out that a good part of my field, the part that has been behind all season long, is still in late milk / early soft dough stage! That stage is usually too early to stop watering. Over the past week, I watched the soil moisture level drop from 9-11" to 6-8", down to 4-6" on Monday after a blistering weekend, (80's!) so I gave just that half of the field a dousing (10 minutes from the heads) on Monday.
I probably should have held off, because today they're getting soaked with rain! So much for the strategy of letting the more advanced plants dry out. Nature will do what it wants.
Anyway, there is a sign that some plants (in the other, more advanced half of the field, naturally), are nearing maturity.
Here's a closer look:
Glumes are the little hairs at the base of each grain. When they completely loose their green color, that is a sign that the tiller is physiologically mature. These guys are beginning to turn yellow. It's unclear to me what the glumes are for, besides telling when your grain is mature!
The other sign of physiological maturity is loss of color in the peduncle, which is the stem that the head grows on. This hasn't happened yet in any of the plants. But, the grains are clearly in hard dough stage now:
It's beginning to look like an actual grain.
Now that the barley is all by itself, you can see the extreme shading this area has on the west side (the far side of the photo) -- direct sunlight was over by 3pm during most of the winter. Despite the light limitation, development has stayed on schedule!
bottlebomber
Well-Known Member
That's a gorgeous spot you've been able to line up. This is a really, really cool thread.
Indianhead_Brewer
Well-Known Member
Thanks for sharing this great adventure! Considering the premium on ag acreage in California this is quite a feat you are pulling off. I hope the weather cooperates for the very short remainder of your growing season. I'll let you in on a little secret....you probably have a better feel for what is going on with your crop than most barley/winter wheat farmers I know in California. Most of them are on a set it and forget it schedule. Keep up the good work on behalf of local beer! 
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drummstikk
Well-Known Member
Thanks again for the kind words guys!
Haha, actually I was hoping that if I have the chance to do this again, I could be more on a set it and forget it schedule! But I really haven't known what was going on most of the time this year, so the help I've gotten from HBT has been completely necessary for the crop's success.
Other sources of seed -- yes, the National Plant Germplasm System will send you 5g of just about any seed in the world. That's where I got the bere barley seed from. It expands very quickly -- the first season you'll just have enough for a corner of your garden, but then next year you'll have enough for 120 sq. feet or so. That's where I'm at with the bere -- I expect to get enough seed for a few thousand sq. feet next year.
There are also heirloom seed companies on the web that sometimes carry barley seeds, like Sustainable Seed Co. If you find any more, post them here, because I'd like to know.
Most of them are on a set it and forget it schedule. Keep up the good work on behalf of local beer!
Haha, actually I was hoping that if I have the chance to do this again, I could be more on a set it and forget it schedule! But I really haven't known what was going on most of the time this year, so the help I've gotten from HBT has been completely necessary for the crop's success.
Other sources of seed -- yes, the National Plant Germplasm System will send you 5g of just about any seed in the world. That's where I got the bere barley seed from. It expands very quickly -- the first season you'll just have enough for a corner of your garden, but then next year you'll have enough for 120 sq. feet or so. That's where I'm at with the bere -- I expect to get enough seed for a few thousand sq. feet next year.
There are also heirloom seed companies on the web that sometimes carry barley seeds, like Sustainable Seed Co. If you find any more, post them here, because I'd like to know.
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drummstikk
Well-Known Member
bottlebomber
Well-Known Member
This is coming along quite nicely... I wish I had the time I do this. I've got plenty of land and water but just not the time...
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drummstikk
Well-Known Member
You know, I think I could get away with spending a lot less time on it. Next year's plan: Fertilize, till, plant by November 1, set irrigation timer, check for disease every two weeks, turn off irrigation right around now, harvest at end of May.
I've been a little obsessed with it, and I think it's actually a lot easier than I may be making it seem. I think that's just what we do around here. For example, if you had never brewed a beer before, but just read HBT threads all day, you'd think brewing was the most complicated endeavor, requiring careful study and months of preparation to get right. Of course it's pretty easy to brew a beer. I think growing barley is similar -- endlessly detailed if you want it to be, but throw those seeds in the ground, keep them wet, and you're going to get some grain.
I've been a little obsessed with it, and I think it's actually a lot easier than I may be making it seem. I think that's just what we do around here. For example, if you had never brewed a beer before, but just read HBT threads all day, you'd think brewing was the most complicated endeavor, requiring careful study and months of preparation to get right. Of course it's pretty easy to brew a beer. I think growing barley is similar -- endlessly detailed if you want it to be, but throw those seeds in the ground, keep them wet, and you're going to get some grain.
jgln
Well-Known Member
When I plant wheat as my cover crop in my garden I till the ground (tractor w/tiller attached), broadcast seed, then come back with the tiller set to just turn the top 1" or so over (I don't measure, just guess) and it works perfectly. I know not everyone has a tractor and tiller though.
PCFloyd
Member
I'm so happy I stumbled upon this thread. What a great way to spend some time on a Monday night. I've been getting into 'garden mode' and just reading through your trials and triumphs is really inspiring. Keep up all the good work bro. Much love. :rockin:
COLObrewer
Well-Known Member
Awesome, I can't wait for harvest and threshing to commence, if I were closer I would volunteer. Keep those pics coming drummstikk.
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drummstikk
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! I recently stumbled upon the blog of Jean-Francois Dyment, who has already pulled off making beer with 100% homegrown malt. I've learned a lot from his malting techniques; check out his blog!
Well, harvest is just one week away on Monday May 21, and the field is indeed cooperating,
for the most part. Some patches of green remain.
Those green guys have one last week to get their act together.
The slow end of the field has even more unripe plants, though they're all in at least the hard dough stage. Maturity comes right after hard dough, and maturity is what I really care about. The hallmark of maturity is no green color in the glumes (small spiky hairs on the head -- see prev. post) or the peduncle (the 'stem' of the grain head). You can see from the photos that some heads aren't there yet. But, about half the plants on the slow side are past maturity and in the kernel hard stage. Kernel hard arrives when the mature grain is dry enough that it is difficult to divide with your fingernail.
All the plants on the faster side of the field, except the very edges, are at kernel hard or later. They're ready to go any day. The last developmental stage that follows kernel hard is harvest ripe. Harvest ripe stage comes when you cannot dent the grain with your fingernail. These last two stages (kernel hard and harvest ripe) are funny to me, because the plant is dead at this point. It's straw. So it doesn't matter if you go through these stages with the plant in the ground or in a cut swath. They are there to help you count down the waiting time until you can reliably thresh. It's looking like I'll need to let my grains do some drying in swaths after harvesting, but before I thresh. There's no way the slow end will make it to harvest ripe before Monday!
Of course, I found something to worry about:
What is going on with exposed grains like this one? The exposed grains tend to be smaller as well.
And what is up with deformed heads like this one,
These deformed heads seem to be more likely to have exposed grains in them. Also, the deformed heads contain weird fused seeds, like the triplet above, and the twins here:
I'm looking through common diseases to see if one matches these heads. Any guesses?
In other news, 2nd year hops are doing well, between 3 and 6 feet tall. Crowns from Great Lakes Hops are off to a slow start still, but they had a nasty transition to full sun, so they may take longer to take off. I tested out a thresher made by Almaco. It breaks and skins a few kernels out of each handfull, which isn't perfect, but I think it is going to be a lifesaver when it comes time to thresh the field in bulk!
* * *
Finally, I'm pretty excited to say that Jesse Friedman and Damian Fagan from Almanac will come to help out with the harvest on Monday! Each of their beers contains a locally-farmed ingredient, and if the crop turns out (hey, a lot could still go wrong), they want me to malt the whole field as a crystal malt for a draft-only wet hop beer, to be released this Fall.
As Jesse describes it, the plan is to brew an all-California beer. Great Western makes a California-grown base malt, and there are more than a few hop farms in Northern California. But, there are no California-grown commercial specialty malts, so that's where the field comes in. I don't know how the yield will turn out, but Almanac does things on the scale of 25 barrels. I only need to produce 5-10% of the grist for a batch that size... so what I'm saying is, there's a chance!
Anyway, before that can happen, I need to know what's going on with those weirdo heads. Any thoughts?
Well, harvest is just one week away on Monday May 21, and the field is indeed cooperating,
for the most part. Some patches of green remain.
Those green guys have one last week to get their act together.
The slow end of the field has even more unripe plants, though they're all in at least the hard dough stage. Maturity comes right after hard dough, and maturity is what I really care about. The hallmark of maturity is no green color in the glumes (small spiky hairs on the head -- see prev. post) or the peduncle (the 'stem' of the grain head). You can see from the photos that some heads aren't there yet. But, about half the plants on the slow side are past maturity and in the kernel hard stage. Kernel hard arrives when the mature grain is dry enough that it is difficult to divide with your fingernail.
All the plants on the faster side of the field, except the very edges, are at kernel hard or later. They're ready to go any day. The last developmental stage that follows kernel hard is harvest ripe. Harvest ripe stage comes when you cannot dent the grain with your fingernail. These last two stages (kernel hard and harvest ripe) are funny to me, because the plant is dead at this point. It's straw. So it doesn't matter if you go through these stages with the plant in the ground or in a cut swath. They are there to help you count down the waiting time until you can reliably thresh. It's looking like I'll need to let my grains do some drying in swaths after harvesting, but before I thresh. There's no way the slow end will make it to harvest ripe before Monday!
Of course, I found something to worry about:
What is going on with exposed grains like this one? The exposed grains tend to be smaller as well.
And what is up with deformed heads like this one,
These deformed heads seem to be more likely to have exposed grains in them. Also, the deformed heads contain weird fused seeds, like the triplet above, and the twins here:
I'm looking through common diseases to see if one matches these heads. Any guesses?
In other news, 2nd year hops are doing well, between 3 and 6 feet tall. Crowns from Great Lakes Hops are off to a slow start still, but they had a nasty transition to full sun, so they may take longer to take off. I tested out a thresher made by Almaco. It breaks and skins a few kernels out of each handfull, which isn't perfect, but I think it is going to be a lifesaver when it comes time to thresh the field in bulk!
* * *
Finally, I'm pretty excited to say that Jesse Friedman and Damian Fagan from Almanac will come to help out with the harvest on Monday! Each of their beers contains a locally-farmed ingredient, and if the crop turns out (hey, a lot could still go wrong), they want me to malt the whole field as a crystal malt for a draft-only wet hop beer, to be released this Fall.
As Jesse describes it, the plan is to brew an all-California beer. Great Western makes a California-grown base malt, and there are more than a few hop farms in Northern California. But, there are no California-grown commercial specialty malts, so that's where the field comes in. I don't know how the yield will turn out, but Almanac does things on the scale of 25 barrels. I only need to produce 5-10% of the grist for a batch that size... so what I'm saying is, there's a chance!
Anyway, before that can happen, I need to know what's going on with those weirdo heads. Any thoughts?
bottlebomber
Well-Known Member
You've stopped watering, I take it?
OP
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drummstikk
Well-Known Member
That's right. I haven't watered regularly since April 17, though I did give the slower end of the field a few pulses of water to see it through the month once the soil moisture dried up. We also had some rain, and it turns out that the plants themselves can store a huge amount of water once the soil moisture is gone. They seem to just now be drying out.
