My Husband is Cheating on Me, Now I Am Sowing My Wild Oats

I have no concern with growing ample vegetables for our experiment but I am concerned about three growing boys and their constant need for sustained energy foods. Also I know they will turn their noses up at veges for breakfast and even though they love eggs, served every morning may become a bit of a drag.

I have had the idea for planting a cereal of some sort to help us in our carbohydrate quest. Growing wheat really is not a practical option as you need to grow a whole field to make your returns of any use and wheat also does not grow well here in Hawkes Bay. All of New Zealand’s wheat fields are found in the South Island around Canterbury. To be practical I need a grain which I can process myself without the need for expensive milling machinery and will grow well in my garden.

We all love porridge for breakfast. I think it is called oatmeal or grits in the States. I have now planted around 3 sq metres of garden in a hull-less oat seed I bought from Koanga Gardens.

Unfortunately after carefully following all sowing instructions and carefully tending the germinating seed I had a very poor germination rate. A lot of the seed was snaffled up by “mice with wings” (sparrows). This is even after I laboriously covered the whole area with what I thought was bird proof netting!

The oats look beautiful growing, they now have developed seed heads and in the wind they whisper to each other. I have planted them close together as they are wind pollinated.

Oats growing in the garden

I am not sure of the next process but I am guessing I need to wait until most of the seed heads have turned a tawny gold and then cut them down on a sunny dry day. Because this variety is hull less I am spared one specialised task of getting the hull off the seed. I intend to bash the seed heads on the inside of a bucket to collect the oat seeds. Then it is a matter of rolling the oats. You can buy special home mills which will do this but I am hoping to improvise by using my home pasta maker. I hope that by pouring the oats through the roller I may be able to crush the seeds flat so they resemble rolled oats.

I figure if it all turns out to be a disaster I can feed the oat plants and seed heads to my goats and rabbits. I have to admit the plant looks stunning in the garden and would be an attractive option on any balcony to grow in a pot for some screening whilst adding impact.

Will keep you informed of the progress! Any advice gratefully received