We harvested our first crop of hard red spring wheat this summer. It was sort of a bonus project for us so we barely managed to get it cut and transported back to our house in a big pile before a lot of rain came through. Now it's December and we're finally trying to get it threshed. It's pretty clear that we didn't follow an optimal process by leaving it in a big pile after cutting it because a lot of the stuff in the center is pretty mildewed. My question is whether or not the grain itself is ruined? There is mildew on the straw and hulls, the actual berries look ok. Thoughts?
Mildew won't hurt you, though it tastes pretty bad so I would boil up some of the grain and try it, if it tastes ok then go for it, if it tastes musty then it's probably best for animal feed.
Ok, thanks for the tip! I think we might be ok. We're making a test loaf from our berries and a loaf made with berries from the co-op so we'll how the flavors compare.
Be cautious please! I'm not the most paranoid person but am aware some grain moulds can be quite toxic. See world health organisation and make a judgement as to whether it's worth eating. You could still use the grain for seed....
Thank you for the link! We’re going to toss the stuff that is pretty mildewy and save only the best stuff (about the top half/third of the pile is clean and dry) to be on the safe side.
IMO those are fine.
What you are seeing on the husks is the effect of weathering. It happens when you wait a bit too long before harvesting.
You have a couple of wizened grains, but it isn't farsium. The grains people were eating when they suffered from poisoning must have been really funky. It says a lot about the plight they were in to be eating it in the first place.
Yeast devil! Back to the oven that baked you! And take this tiny ad too: