The last thing on the "still buy" list. North Texas is literally wheat country — growing a small plot for home-milled bread flour is doable; the honest catch is the harvest and milling. Part of the Garden & Greenhouse.
Hard red winter wheat suits the region — broadcast or drill in Oct–Nov, it greens up over winter, heads in spring, and is cut late May–June when the stalks go golden and the kernels are hard. Low input; rain usually carries it.
Cut with a scythe/sickle, bundle into shocks to finish drying, then thresh (flail or tread), winnow (fan/breeze separates chaff), store the clean berries airtight, and mill fresh as you bake. A small thresher helps if you scale up.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Oct–Nov | Sow hard red winter wheat into a firm, weed-free bed |
| Dec–Feb | Overwinters green; little to do |
| Mar–May | Jointing → heading → grain fill; keep an eye for rust |
| Late May–Jun | Cut when golden & kernels hard; shock, thresh, winnow, store |
| Year-round | Mill berries to fresh flour as you bake |
Rust and other fungal leaf diseases in a wet spring (pick resistant seed), birds on the ripening heads, and lodging (flattening) if it's over-fed or storm-hit. Weeds early are the main competition.
Berries must be dry (~13% moisture) or they mold; freeze 3–4 days to kill any weevils, then store airtight and cool. Whole berries keep for years; flour goes rancid fast, so mill small and often.
| Item | Note |
|---|---|
| Grain mill (hand or electric) | Country Living, Mockmill, KoMo — turns berries → flour & corn → meal |
| Wheat berries (grow or buy bulk) | Store for years; mill fresh per bake |
| Straw | The leftover stalks = bedding & mulch |