Wheat

Wheat is an annual grass grown as a cover crop, for forage, or for grain. Home gardeners most often grow it as a winter cover crop sown in fall. It is a hardy annual that has been used as a cereal crop for centuries.

As a cover crop, wheat helps prevent erosion, crowds out weeds, and adds organic matter to the soil. It does not fix nitrogen like legumes do, but its roots and top growth can be worked back into the soil.

Sowing. Seed can be sown in spring or autumn. Home gardeners most often sow it in fall as a winter cover crop. Where Hessian fly is present, plant after the first fall frost.

Site. Choose a sunny spot with well-drained soil that is moderately fertile and not prone to flooding. Plant in full sun on fertile soil that stays moist but drains well. The soil pH should fall between 6.0 and 8.0.

Fertilizer recommendations for dryland winter wheat calculate nitrogen as the crop’s expected need minus the nitrogen already in the soil. Sulfur deficiencies are fairly common in spring after a wet winter.

Wheat is susceptible to southern root knot nematode, but it does not host certain other nematodes and can help where those pests are common. It may be susceptible to birds and to a rust disease.

In wet or low spots, stands can drown out, and heaving or plants pushed out of the soil can thin a stand, especially in heavy clay. For field stands, a density below 12 to 14 plants per square foot points to poor yield potential.

Seeds ripen in late summer and autumn. The grain is edible when cooked.