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How to Grow Barley: Winter or Spring, Grain or Cover

Barley ripens faster than wheat and tolerates poor dry soil. Winter sowing yields more; spring sowing is quicker and safer on heavy ground.

By Zakaria 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
Barley field ears
Photo: kangbch, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay
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Barley is the easiest cereal to grow at home — faster to ripen than wheat, tolerant of poor dry soil, and forgiving about fertility. The one real decision is winter or spring.

Winter or spring

The one decision that matters
Winter barleySpring barley
SownAutumnSpring, once soil warms
Needs cold periodYesNo
RipensEarly summer90–100 days
YieldHigherLower
RiskRots on heavy wet ground over winterLow
First attempt?Start here

Sowing

Fine, firm seedbed. Cereal seed needs soil contact; a loose cloddy bed gives patchy establishment.

About an inch deep, broadcast and raked in, then firm the surface again. Sow thickly for cover, more thinly for grain.

Site: sunny, free-draining, near-neutral pH. Barley handles drought and poor fertility better than wheat, and handles acid soil and waterlogging worse.

Water only until seedlings are up. After that it generally needs nothing.

Do not feed it

Excess nitrogen gives tall, soft stems that lodge — flatten in wind and rain. A lodged crop is awkward to cut by hand and drops grain on the soil before you can collect it.

The instinct to enrich a bed before sowing is the wrong one for cereals. Near-neutral pH matters far more than fertility.

Knowing when it is ready

Three signs together:

  1. Colour — green to gold throughout
  2. The heads nod, bending over on the stem
  3. The grain resists a fingernail, denting rather than squashing

Still milky inside means another week or two. But do not push it too far: barley left standing in wet weather can sprout in the head, which ruins it. Cutting slightly early and finishing under cover is the safer error.

Cut, dry, thresh

  1. Cut low with a sickle, shears or secateurs
  2. Tie into sheaves and stand somewhere dry and airy for one to two weeks
  3. Thresh — beat or rub the heads over a tarpaulin
  4. Winnow — pour between containers in a breeze or before a fan

Cover your arms

Barley awns — the long bristles — are brittle when dry and break into fragments that are genuinely irritating on skin and in eyes.

Gloves, long sleeves, and ideally eye protection while threshing. This is the one unpleasant part of growing cereals and it catches people out once.

As a cover crop

Arguably the better use of barley in a small garden. It:

  • Establishes fast and tolerates cold and poor soil
  • Smothers weeds effectively, and is reported to suppress some weed seedlings as it grows
  • Builds good biomass and a fibrous root system that improves structure near the surface

Sow thickly in autumn, cut or mow in spring before it sets seed, and leave the residue on the surface as mulch.

On yield, honestly

A few square metres gives enough grain for interest, experiment or chicken feed — not for a year’s baking or brewing.

Most people growing cereals at home do it to understand the process, or for the straw. Barley is the one to start with because it establishes easily and ripens fastest.

Step by step

Time
P120D
Cost
15
You need
Barley seed, winter or spring type, Compost if the ground is poor
Tools
Rake, Sickle, shears or secateurs, Tarpaulin for threshing

  1. Choose winter or spring barley

    Winter barley is sown in autumn, needs a cold period, and yields more. Spring barley is sown in spring, ripens in about 90 to 100 days, and is the safer choice on heavy wet ground.

  2. Pick a sunny, free-draining site

    Barley tolerates poorer and drier soil than wheat but dislikes waterlogging. It also prefers a near-neutral pH and performs badly on acid ground.

  3. Rake a fine, firm seedbed

    Level and firm the surface. Cereal seed needs good soil contact, and a loose cloddy bed gives patchy establishment.

  4. Broadcast and rake in, about an inch deep

    Sow thickly for a cover crop and more thinly for grain. Rake lightly to cover, then firm the surface again so the seed is not sitting in air pockets.

  5. Water to establish only

    Keep the surface moist until seedlings are up. After that barley is notably drought tolerant and usually needs no watering at all.

  6. Keep nitrogen modest

    Excess nitrogen produces tall soft growth that lodges in wind and rain, which makes harvest difficult and costs grain. Barley needs far less feeding than most garden crops.

  7. Watch for the heads to nod and turn gold

    Ripening barley turns from green to gold and the heads bend over. The long bristles, called awns, become brittle and the grain hardens.

  8. Test the grain with a fingernail

    Ready grain resists a fingernail and dents rather than squashing. Grain that is still milky inside needs another week or two.

  9. Cut, bundle and dry under cover

    Cut the stems low with a sickle or shears, tie into sheaves, and stand them somewhere dry and airy for one to two weeks to finish.

  10. Thresh on a tarpaulin and winnow

    Beat or rub the dried heads over a sheet to free the grain, then pour it between containers in a breeze or in front of a fan so the chaff blows away.

Common questions

What is the difference between winter and spring barley?

Winter barley is sown in autumn, requires a cold period to trigger flowering, overwinters as a young plant and ripens in early summer, producing higher yields and generally better malting quality. Spring barley is sown once the soil warms and ripens in roughly 90 to 100 days. For a home grower the practical difference is risk: winter barley yields more but sits through winter, which on heavy wet ground can rot it, so spring barley is the safer first attempt.

When is barley ready to harvest?

When the crop has turned gold, the heads have bent over, and the grain resists a fingernail rather than squashing — if a grain still feels milky inside it needs another week or two. The long bristles, called awns, also become brittle at ripeness. Cutting slightly early and finishing the drying under cover is safer than leaving it standing in wet weather, where the grain can sprout in the head.

Can you grow barley as a cover crop?

Yes, and it is one of the best winter covers for a home garden. It establishes quickly, tolerates cold and poor soil, produces good biomass and smothers weeds effectively, and its fibrous root system improves soil structure near the surface. Sow it thickly in autumn and cut or mow in spring before it sets seed, leaving the residue on the surface as a mulch. Barley is also reported to suppress some weed seedlings as it grows.

Does barley need much fertiliser?

No, considerably less than most garden crops, and over-feeding is actively harmful. Excess nitrogen produces tall, soft growth that lodges — falls flat in wind and rain — which makes hand harvesting awkward and drops grain on the ground. Barley also tolerates poorer and drier soil than wheat, so the usual instinct to enrich a bed before sowing is the wrong one here. Near-neutral pH matters more than fertility.

How do you thresh barley by hand?

Cut and dry the crop in sheaves under cover for one to two weeks first, then beat or rub the heads over a tarpaulin to free the grain from the chaff. Winnow by pouring the mixture between two containers in a breeze or in front of a fan, which carries the light chaff away and leaves the grain. Barley awns are long and brittle and break into irritating fragments, so gloves and long sleeves are worth having.

How much barley will a small plot produce?

A modest amount, which is worth knowing before scaling expectations. A home plot of a few square metres yields enough grain for interest, experimentation or chicken feed rather than for a year's baking or brewing. Most people who grow cereals at home do so to understand the process or to use the straw, and because barley is one of the easiest cereals to establish and the fastest to ripen.

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