This thread covers the growing, harvesting, and drying of small grains such as barley, wheat, oats, fall rye, spelt, and triticale. For other grains, such as amaranth, quinoa, millet, etc, see the thread Other Small Grains. Many sources of information are available;

Organic:
- ATTRA Small Grain Guide
- Smallgrains.org (organic page)
- Harvesting High Quality Organic Grains
- Small Grain Cultivar Selection for Organic Systems
- Trialing Small Grain Varieties on Organic Farms
- Growing Profitable Small Grains
- Organic Grain Seed Suppliers

Non-Organic:
- Smallgrains.org - Minnesota Wheat Growers Association
- Small Grain Production - University of Missouri
- List of University Small Grains Sites

Small Scale Grain Raising by Gene Logsdon is a good book, although not real current, about garden and small farm grain raising.

A revised version is to be released this summer.


Amazon.com link

I've had conversations with Gene Logsdon via email over the years and it really burned him that his book was getting so much on eBay and other sources and that his publisher would not re-release it. I'm glad that he decided to update it and get it out there again. I lucked out and got my copy at a local flea market for $7. I'll be getting the updated version for sure.

I've found growing wheat to be very enjoyable. It threshes easily and is fun to grow either for the grains or for wheatgrass. I haven't grown a large quantity, but a friend of mine grows it in old kiddie pools in her back yard and expects to have enough next year to be self-sufficient in wheat production for herself.