Harvest/Acre

On page 50 of the July 1999 issue of Mother Earth News magazine is an article on growing grains. Therein they report that the average harvest is about 30 bushels of wheat per acre. They also report that an acre will supply approximately 2000 pounds of wheat. They further show that one can expect to harvest one bushel of wheat from a conventional (row type) 30 by 30 foot garden plot. A 30 x 30 plot has about 288 square feet of planted space or approximately the equivalent of 3 5 x 20 foot beds. This means one third of a bushel (20 lbs.) of wheat per 100 square foot raised bed. How many beds need to be reserved to provide enough flour for a community? I can't answer that but you could figure that one out by determining your flour usage per year (consider making all your own bread, etc.).

The planting rate suggested by the article is 2 to 8 pecks per acre. A peck is 8 quarts or 1/4 of a bushel (about 15 pounds). You will need from 1/4 to a whole pound of wheat to plant a 100 square foot bed. When broadcast seeding, the more the better and the thicker the growth, the fewer tillers (secondary stems that lower the yield per plant). Hard, red wheat is what you want to grow especially for making bread as it contains gluten (soft, white wheat does not and the flour from it will not rise - it is best for cakes, etc.).

Offered by Roger.