RicelandMeadows

July 22, 2015

The speltz harvest is finally underway. I got one field done. The yield is good. The machine worked great and I had a good time. We still have about three and a half acres to go. I hope to finish tomorrow. I am not bringing in the sheaves, but the grain is coming in nicely…so I am rejoicing!

I harvest my spelt when they are very ripe. I don’t drop the combine header low enough to gather in a bunch of weeds and grass. I don’t want the green stuff mixed in with the grain. I want the grain to be dry and not heat up from the grass and seed heads that would otherwise mix in. This is my horse’s feed for a year. It needs to be the best that I can grow and harvest.

This grain is the fuel that runs my farm. It provides the energy for the draft horses, who partially power this farm. It’s like growing a fuel pump in my fields 😮  I am very happy with this year’s crop. The rain has gone for now. The fields are dry. I hope to mow the straw and weeds by tomorrow evening. There should be lots of bedding to bale up in a few days. This is an awesome crop for us.

It provides feed, fuel and carbon for our compost in the form of straw. This coming winter when the cold winds howl, our animals will be all snuggled down in a deep bed of straw, warm and comfortable. I am rejoicing now, but they will be rejoicing then! The horses will also benefit from not only this awesome feed, but from the dry, clean bedding as well.