Tvengsberg

Slash-and-burn rye (midsummer rye) (juhannusruist, kaskiruis) is an old 2-year bush rye that was used by Finns to cultivate on swidden forest areas. The origin of the slash-and-burn rye is from the Nordic's. There was an old habit that every time you met with another tribe you always changed 3 grains. In this way it is not possible to say from where the rye comes. It is still very wise to change 3 grains when you meet some other person that have this 2-year bush rye as the cultivar needs all the time to get new and different genes - if not it will degredate (become shorter and shorter). 

We know that misdummer rye has been cultivated on slash-and-burn areas and that it is a 2 year old bush rye. I got my first grain from Per Marting Tvengsberg, he had found them in the Norweigan Finnskogarna in Grue. We used these grains in cultivation on a slash-and-burn area at HAMK University of Applied Sciences at Mustiala in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. 

I started with only a small amount of bushes (3-10) in my kitchen garden in 2004 in Kiltsi, Väike-Maarja, Estonia. I got very bad or no yield at all. At midsummer 2009 I sow 20 bushes of midsummer rye and harvested them 16.8.2010 with pretty good results. 

The rye is grazed or cut the first autumn. It can be grazed by sheep, horses or pigs but not by cattle. Cattle tear the rye off the ground together with roots. It can also be cut. This results in that the rye makes more spikes. I have cut my bushes with scissors and given it to my sheep. If the summer has been good then the bushes can be too large which again may result in fungi in the bush and the plant may die during the winter. This is why it is important to cut the bush in the autumn, especially if the bush is large. (Engström, Björn, 2006)

Datasheet of length of spikes and amount of grain (harvested 16.8.2010)

Tvengsberg, Per Martin: Slash and burn. Wikisource

Tvengsberg, Per Martin: Svedjebruk. Wikisource