I checked on it last week and found the back half decimated. Squirrels and birds, no doubt. I’d seen them nibbling on the perimeter, but I never expected they were busy destroying what I couldn’t see.

This is what I saw when I walked out there. The entire back half was gone.

The worst part was there was nothing I could do. I was days away from going on vacation and didn’t have the tools, supplies, or time to construct a netting box. Also, the wheat was too green to harvest. It was close, but not close enough to harvest.

This is what was left when I came home from vacation.

I hope you enjoyed that wheat, you darn squirrels.

Lesson learned: put your wheat into a netting box if it’s small enough. If it’s not, well, got any suggestions?

I can’t wait to cut into these! To prepare the rest for storing, they will be laid out on a long cardboard box—stems and leaves intact—in our basement for a few weeks to cure. That is, if I don’t eat them all first. Garlic doesn’t last long in our house.

I’m not exactly sure what variety this is. Honestly, I planted generic jumbo garlic cloves from the grocery store. I think technically these fall into the soft-neck category.

Did you grow garlic this year?

These are Dakota Shelling peas, which taste better outside of their pods.

The wheat is looking more like wheat.

Strawberries are happening.

Tomatoes, lettuce, and more.

Ginormous rhody shows its ginormous flowers.

Basil needs to be planted.

Don Featherstone is watching.

Let’s compare May to February:

“There is no technological reason why any plant species should become extinct. We have every opportunity to pass on our entire botanical heritage—intact—for future generations.”

Via TED Blog.

I’ve never grown cabbage, nor onions and celery, which are in nearby trays.

I have 20 cabbage seeds started: 10 Copenhagen Market and 10 Chinese.

Have you started any seeds yet? Are you growing cabbage this year?

This is wheat, planted in early October.

It’s a small supply of hard red winter wheat berries raked into the soil.

What I find interesting is the punch of green, even in the dead of winter.

I have no idea what’s going to happen. Will it come out of dormancy in the spring and produce an early summer crop?

If you’ve been reading for a while, you may remember the first time I tried planting wheat. Sadly, that experiment was short-lived because we moved. These seeds come from that same supply.

Many of you are coming to The Suburban Farm because you want to know more about growing wheat in your yard. Have you tried? I hope you’ll share your experiences.