Winter Wheat Update- May 17

Planted last fall, and dormant over the winter, the wheat is now putting out its seed heads, or spikes.

Producing seed for the next generation is the last task of this plant.

Once the seed heads are fully formed, and plants will begin to die and turn a golden yellow.  The bumps, or florets, you see on the wheat head, contain the seeds, neatly packaged and protected from the elements, and wildlife. The long spiky projections coming out of the seed head, called awns, deter wildlife from eating the seed.

Wheat is one of my favorite things to photograph. I love the symmetry of the wheat head,

the pale green color,

its changing color as the last sunrays of the day illuminate it,  

and its silhouette at sunset.

Later, when the field has turned golden yellow in the sun, I’ll take pics of it at sunset, or sunrise. The wind over a wheat field stirs the heads and creates a wavelike action that is fun to watch, and photograph.  When it is completely dried down, usually in late June, it will be ready for harvest. But that is a ways off, and right now we can just enjoy the sight of wheat heads popping up over the field.

Suzanne

Cattle, corn, wheat, beans, mud, snow, ice, and drought. Plenty of fresh air and quiet. Our life is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, but never boring.

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17 Responses

  1. What a beautiful picture of the wheat field. Seems so peaceful. I like looking over our hayfields when the wind is blowing, it almost looks like it is dancing.

  2. LOVE these photos; thanks for visiting my place. Looking forward to reading more here 🙂

  3. Beautiful photos! I love wheat too.

  4. Thanks for this! As a bread baker, I really appreciate wheat and it’s long process to my table.
    It is beautiful in all it’s iterations!

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi MyKitchenInHalfCups,
      I can’t wait until it has dried down. Will take a lot of pic then and do posts. Also when it is harvested. That is neat also.
      Take care, and thank you!

  5. Rough Rosa says:

    My definition of wheat is redefined by your photos.. Beautiful! Love the 3th & 4th photos.

  6. Teresa says:

    Lovely pictures. I wish I had some wheat growing here to take pictures of.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Teresa,
      Does Iowa grow much wheat, or is it primarily corn there? I heard about the freeze that occurred there a couple weeks ago. Hope the corn is ok.
      Suzanne

  7. Anil says:

    I liked the spread of the farm over the area, such a pleasing green to behold. And yes, the symmetry of the seeds is striking. Much of natural beauty seen in plants and flowers has to do with the symmetry.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hello Anil,
      I agree, nature looks random, until you look closely, and often find that there is much symmetry.
      Thank you for stopping by!

  8. Linda says:

    We haven’t grown wheat or barley on our fields in a long time so I enjoyed seeing your photos. You are doing a good job of spreading the word how farmers work, keep it up. People need to know what we do and where thier food comes from.

    Terry raises oats as a mother crop for alfalfa and of course corn, but that is all in the grain department.

    Linda
    http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Linda,
      Keep up the good job you do on your site as well. Farmers often get an undeserved bad rap, and the best I can do is to let people see what we do, and hopefully create some understanding.
      A neighbor planted oats when I was a kid. Loved the look of them, so delicate appearing compared to wheat. I never see oats in this area though.
      Happy Thursday!

  1. December 17, 2014

    […] In a few weeks, it will be ready for harvest. Back on March 30, it had emerged from its winter dormancy, and I did a post about it, which you may see here. And on April 27, it had grown quite a bit and looked like this.   On May 17, it had put up its seed heads, so I did another post. […]

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