At Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm we grow winter wheat, which is planted in September or October. It grows a few inches before becoming dormant during the winter months. Wheat continues its growth in the spring until it is about 3-4 feet tall. When the heads droop and the wheat turns golden, usually in July, the crop is harvested. If you visit Quiet Valley in July you just might see costumed interpreters cutting the wheat down with a sickle, tying it into a bundle called a sheath, and stacking it into a shock. Shocks are made by leaning about eight sheathes against each other and bending two sheathes on top of these as a cap to shed water. After the wheat dries, it is stored inside the barn in the granary.

During the winter, wheat is threshed on the barn floor by beating it with a flail. Threshing is the process of separating the wheat seed from the stalk. The stalk, known as straw, can be used for animal bedding, stuffing mattresses, or wheat weaving. The wheat seeds, which are mixed with inedible seed casing called chaff are collected and winnowed. Winnowing is the process of separating wheat seeds from chaff with an air current. At Quiet Valley we use a fanning mill. The wheat seeds are collected and ground into flour. Flour is used in many foods such as, bread, cakes, cookies, and a German favorite, pretzels.

Grain Cradle: used for harvesting (reaping) wheat from the field.
Flail: used for seperating (threshing) the wheat seeds from the stalks.
Fanning Mill: machine used for seperating (winnowing) the wheat seeds from the chaff.

Grain Cradle

Fanning Mill

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