Growing Barley in New Zealand?

[John Austin]

Does anyone know what kinds of barleys would be best to grow in New Zealand for brewing and where I can get seeds? I live in Northland which I hear is not so great for barley but I figured I'd give it a try anyway. I have found some barley seeds at http://koanga.org.nz/ but I have no idea if they can be used for brewing. Do Barleys vary a lot in terms of available sugar and flavor or does just about any barley do?

Also curious how much seed I need per square meter.

I'd love to hear any tips from anyone who has done this.

Thanks in advance.

[Chris Banks]

I played around with growing some barley seed I found at the garden centre a 3mx3m plot yielded a couple of kg it grew well and looks cool when it goes golden ! - the work involved in threshing and winnowing the barley was probably the most time consuming bit!

I never got as far as malting the barley I grew as I was unsure of its variety/quality etc but there are some great videos on youtube about home malting barley.

In the Homebrewers Garden book they reckon you need 2-3kg to seed 74 square metres.

I imagine the barley seed in cattle/horse feed and the likes of what I brought at the garden centre is probably the grain that wasnt up to scratch for malting or reseeding.

Maybe try Mateurop if you want a proper malting barley from what I remember they supply the seed barley to the farmers also - http://www.malteurop.com/who-we-are/our-malting-plants/new-zealand - dont quite know what the reaction would be if you only want a couple of kg's though;-)

[John Austin]

Thanks for the tip. I contacted MaltEurop to see if they can at least point me in the right direction.

[Chad Keven]

I once grew some probably a 16m sq patch I did my best to separate it from the chaff or whatever. I got a couple kgs, I started to malt it but it went stinky when I didn't replace the water often enough. Plus my grain was uneven in size. But it did look cool. I got my seed from a seed specialist, but I think they sold it for bird seed.
Pretty lame and un helpful advice.........

[Ralph]

Gladfields might be a more helpful place to ask. The barley they use for malting is grown in specific plots right next to the malting plant...  http://gladfieldmalt.co.nz/

[John Austin]

Thanks, I've reached out to them now as well. Still haven't heard back from either yet. I'll post details if ever I solve this :-)

[Robbo]

also in northland and also considered this. i have ~5 acres of north facing that i need o decide on.... hops, hemp, cannabis, maize.... i just don't know.
lattitude 35, 50

[John Austin]

I did hear back from Gladfields and they can supply me with seed. Only concern is that it needs to be part of a bulk shipping order which is $60 or so. They sell malted grain as well so I can fill the order with barley at a great price, but then I need to get a mill... starting to sound expensive. Still, it's at least one option.

[jm]

http://www.biograins.co.nz/

http://www.milmoredowns.co.nz/

You can source whole barley suitable for sprouting/growing from either of these places both located in the South Island.

It would pay to check what strains they currently have. Last time I checked BioGrains had Optic but I can't find the email from Milmoredowns it was a different variety though. I'm pretty sure Koanga just repackage the MilmoreDown stuff. I've used quite a few of their whole grains as cover crops and they have excellent germination rates.

I usually buy a few things to make the shipping more economical. They both sell flaked rye, barley, oats and flour. Their is bound to be something useful you can use in a brew or bread making.

[John Austin]

Thanks, I had already bought from http://gladfieldmalt.co.nz/, but I was able to get the shipping down to $10. So for $40 (after shipping) I got 5 kgs of seed. Hardly economical but this is obviously more for pleasure that economics. I just want the satisfaction of drinking a completely home grown beer and sharing it with friends. We'll see what happens. Thanks for the suggestions though. I'll keep them handy.

[Nick]

I saw this thread and wondered if anyone has been growing malting barley recently?

[John Austin]

I tried it last year but had no luck. I think I planted it too thick. It just fell over on itself and literally cooked itself. I am finding it hard ti get any clear advice on how to grow the stuff. I have been told to grow it in the winter but in the winter months it;s quite wet. And I've also read that it can't be grown in very wet soil. I'mr eally not sure the best way to grow it in NZ.