Grow your own grain?

[pk]

Hi,
Has anyone tried this. How difficult would it be to grow some grain for all grain brews?
Paul

[LordEoin]

it'd be fairly easy. I have grain growing here as a weed from waste chicken feed.
You'd need to dedicate a fair patch of ground to grow enough grain for brewing though, and in a small patch it wouldn't have 'safety in numbers'
malting it would be another challenge.
all-in -all, there's no reason you couldn't do it, but it would be a pure labor of love.

[pk]

Found a useful blog on it here
http://www.thebrownbookblog.blogspot.ie

[Tom]

Do it!

You'll need to start sowing into dry ground around late March IIRC (follow the other farmers). Snakebite and Quench are easily available 2-row malting barleys available at your local co-op. Again, a local farmer will sort you out with a pound or so, which will go a LONG way. The co-op don't split bags like the LHBS do!

Crap soil is OK, as if it's too good the barley tends to flop over.
Protect the shoots from birds from day 1 until they are about 1 inch long.
In late summer, when you think it's ready to cut, leave it another fortnight.
Threshing is a ball bag; drying is relatively easy.
Malting is a ball bag; kilning is relatively easy.
Brewing is a...

Let us know how you get on!

[pk]

Cool Tom, how do you find where co ops are? I live in Meath. Not much of a farmer, more a gardener/ polytunneler.

Paul

[Brewer Gerard]

I'm growing some maris otter in a raised bed. Not malting this year, just getting some seeds together for next year.