Does anyone have any information about what varieties of oats and other cereals grow well in this region?

There must be some info somewhere - probably in danger of being lost. Didn't the Llyn Penisular used to be the "bread basket of Wales"?

Try the people at Penros - worth an email - www.konsk.co.uk
Think they may have done some very small scale experimenting.

Otherwise, on a larger scale, try Warwick Horticulture Research Institute - www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/whri/

Hi there,

Here on the Mawddach black oats were certainly grown successfully in the past. Some of the older sheep farmers talk (with a twinkle in their eye) about trying to grow barley during the war, and failing.

There was an article in this month's Y Tir (the FUW paper) that some research was about to be started looking at cereal growing in Wales. I'll try and find the link.

We've grown oats, barley and wheat successfully in very (very) small trials but we don't know what varieties- just scanked some seed and put it in.

I'd be very interested in learning more.

Not much help re growing oats but I think Ynys Mon,Anglesy, was the bread basket of Wales, well probably North Wales, not the Llyn.
But, if you Google Anglesy, naked oats, there is quite a bit of info there re the recent naked oats and other traditional cereals trials that have been held up there.

Eifion, a farmer friend of ours from Bala grows organic oats, barley and wheat. I'll get the variety names from him.

He said oats were the most reliable with barley next. Wheat was more of a risk and if the summer was poor you got nothing but if it was good then you got the biggest returns from the wheat.

My Dad has been researching agriculture of the middle ages near Ilkley. Apparently the barley around 1100 only produced 3 seeds per head, 1 for the lord, 1 to plant next year and 1 for you to eat....talk about small agricultural surpluses.

Ynys Mon, yes, bread basket at one time.

Hello everyone

I work for Organic Centre Wales and we've been talking to Julie about doing some sort of event to do with cereals for human consumption in the autumn. All rather vague still but I have been trying to find out what I can about milling varieties of wheat, barley and oats for Wales, and why hardly anyone is growing them and what could be done.

I asked the oat breeders at IBERS (was IGER, was PBS) if they could supply seed for Seedy Sunday but they made the point, quite reasonably, that their varieties are commercial ones and so anyone saving seed from them should be paying a royalty, which is not really what DVSS is about. Does anyone know where to get hold of 'heritage varieties' that are not protected by breeders rights?

There seem to be lots of little bits and pieces going on - a farmer growing naked barley here, a watermill there, pizza oven workshops, recipes for oatcakes and flummery (!) - but how to tie it all together.