Grow your own wheat

http://www.brockwell-bake.org.uk/plant_wheat_teachers.pdf

Checking germination - sprouting without soil If you have any doubts about the fertility of the wheat you are going to sow it is best to do a fertility test by sprouting (chitting) it without soil. This can in any case be interesting to show your class either before or at the same time as your main sowing. 1. Soak a small handful of your wheat over night. 2. Prepare a clean empty large pickle jar by piercing holes in its lid. 3. Empty you soaked seeds into the jar and up end it till drained. 4. Place jar with wheat in a warm position such as near (but not on) a radiator. 5. Get your class to start and keep a daily record for a week of what happens next. This could include taking a few seeds out each day and getting your class to make drawings, maybe with the help of magnifying glasses. You can accompany this by explaining the internal structure of the wheat grain before germination (see “inside the Grain” sheet 4). 6. At two day intervals refill the jar with water, swish around and then drain. 7. After three days take out at least one hundred grains at random and get your class to count how many have germinated. Anything below 75% is not good, 100% or very near is typical of good seed grain. 8. You probably can end this experiment after a week. You can plant out the wheat if you want to. Alternatively you can do this test in a heated propagator if you have one, either with seeds buried in potting compost or sitting on top of the compost. With some soil or compost if you want to and have a suitable juicer you can allow to grow on until wheat is about 10 cm tall and harvest with a scissors to make the wheat grass drink the health benefits of which is much promoted by some http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatgrass

Bran • Bran is the hard, brownish outer protective skin of the grain. It surrounds the germ and the endosperm, protecting the grain from weather, insects, mold and bacteria. • The bran consists of 7 layers. The bran layers are a concentrated source of dietary fibre. • The aleurone is the layer of cells between the bran and the endosperm. It contains a high proportion of gluten compared to other inner parts of the grain. • The aleurone layer is a concentrated source of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. 

Endosperm • The endosperm is the inner part of the grain. It supplies food to the growing seedling. • The main nutrients in the endosperm are protein and carbohydrate. About 50 to 75% of the endosperm is starch. It also contains storage proteins, typically 8 to 18%. Relatively few vitamins, minerals, fibre or phytochemicals are found in the endosperm. • White flour is produced from the endosperm. 

Germ • The germ contains the plant embryo. It typically accounts for about 2 to 3% of the wheat’s dry weight. • Most of the wheat kernel’s fat (comprised of essential fatty acids), B vitamins and vitamin E content are found in the germ

As grain moisture level rises to around 45%, ß-amylases are activated and other enzymes produced and begin to turn the starch of the endosperm into sugars that are fed by the scutellum to the embyro.