To grow enough wheat for a year’s worth of bread, baking, and cooking for a family of 4, you need to have 400 square yards of garden space. That’s 3600 square feet – the amount of space a small to mid-sized home takes up. (corrected thanks to John Neil)

For me, living on a suburban plot of land in the south where I can get 2 crops of wheat a year, that means dedicating 1/3 of my back yard to wheat growing, since my plot is 5x the size of my small house. 1800 square feet is enough space for wheat for those who live in areas where we can get 2 crops a year. I don’t consider that an unreasonable amount of space to prepare and use for something I love as much as bread. I would prefer, of course, to have a much larger plot of land so I could have a bit of grassy party space but bellies before games!

You’ll need 200 seeds of wheat per square yard. I recommend the “Claire” or “Maris huntsman” varieties of Triticum aestivum if you plan to primarily use your wheat for bread.

Prepare the land by clearing and raking it. Or build raised beds. You can build the wheat beds in long rows using scrap lumber from local builders (2×8′s that were 10 feet long, joined into 300 foot long by 3 foot wide beds) with smaller beds between growing other crops of vegetables, using things like children’s wading pools, and filling the beds with Mel’s Mix of gardening soil – 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 mixed compost materials. Each year, you add home made compost, mulched leaves from your fruit and nut orchard, and worm castings from your worm farm so only the first time you fill the bed costs you anything. If you plant only one bed of wheat each year, in 3 – 4 years, you’ll be growing all the wheat you need. Building raised beds eliminates all of the back-breaking work of preparing and augmenting your soil.

Plant the wheat in the early fall – say August or September. Underplant it with clover so the soil isn’t bare all winter long and to reduce the invasion of weeds. Bonus – if you’re a city beekeeper, the clover is good for your bees and your honey harvest.

You can harvest in April and have time to plant another crop of wheat, depending on your climate. I live where I can easily get 2 crops of wheat a year. In regions where the winter blankets the ground in snow, you might only get 1 crop of wheat a year, planting in mid-March or April and harvesting in August or September.

Keep the wheat watered, but not too wet. The raised beds help with drainage, the vermiculite helps retain moisture (as does the clover crop), so you’re less likely to be seriously affected by flooding or drought conditions. In a smaller crop you may also be less likely to have disease or pest problems that require massive chemicals to combat. You can catch it quick and deal with it using more organic methods.

Harvest your wheat when it turns yellow and the grains of wheat are hard when you bite down on them. Squishy wheat means it needs another few days.

Most people say you need to harvest your wheat with a scythe, but I’ve discovered an easier way – tie the wheat into bundles just below their heads and again about 6 inches above the soil. Use an electric hedge clipper to cut down your bundles. Slip a cloth bag over the wheat heads, and holding on to the stalks, beat the wheat heads against a brick wall or large boulder. The bag will capture the wheat grains.

Now you have to winnow the wheat. If you’re doing this alone, you can do so with a large flat basket, much like you would for winnowing rice, and tossing it up and catching it back in the basket. The wind will carry away the chaff. If there is no wind, a large fan set on low will do the job, but since I live in a windy area, I can almost always count on wind.

If you have someone to help you winnow your wheat, you can do so with a bedsheet. Just pour the wheat grains onto the sheet, and with people holding the sides or corners of the sheets, gently toss the wheat up and let it fall back onto the sheet. Do this until the chaff has all blown away.

The wheat can be stored at this point and will last for years. Set aside enough wheat to grow next year’s crop and mark it so you don’t grind and eat it. The rest of the wheat can be stored in airtight containers in a cool, dry, dark place away from strong smelling fruits and vegetables.

When you are ready to grind your wheat for flour, you can use a grain mill or even a coffee grinder. A mill is your best choice, especially if you also grind your own coffee beans because coffee flavored wheat is not as good as you think.

Only grind what you need that day or that week so the wheat stays fresh and lasts longer.