How barley is grown and harvested

Barley is the grain that dominated early Neolithic farms, before wheat took over as the favorite.

stations: 3
things downstream: 20

The short version

Barley is a cool-season grass sown into tilled land, usually drilled in rows today and once scattered by hand. It grows best at 15 to 20 degrees Celsius with a short season. When the stems and ears turn yellow and the ears droop, a combine harvester cuts it.

Drill into tilled land

Seed was traditionally scattered over plowed soil, but in developed countries it is now drilled. Barley likes well-drained ground in full sun, and in dry regions it needs irrigation.
Feed and watch the crop

The crop needs nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, often supplied as fertilizer, and it is checked for pests and disease before they get serious. It prefers 15 to 20 °C and copes with salty soil better than other cereals.

15 to 20 °C
Harvest when the ears droop

Ripe barley turns yellow and the ears begin to droop. Hand harvesting with sickles or scythes was traditional, and in developed countries combine harvesters now do it.

End of the lineBarley Next it goes into beer, whiskey, bourbon and 4 more.

Worth repeating

Barley was the dominant crop for the first thousand years of the Neolithic, before wheat became common.
Sown in autumn as a cover crop and tilled under in spring, barley can slow weed germination in the soil.