Sonora

In this post, you can learn some more about the wheat we planted Thursday, November 29nd.

The three large beds which we planted contained Sonora, Red Fife and Glenn seed. The seed was generously donated by Glenn Roberts, of Anson Mills in South Carolina.

This post will focus on Sonora.

Sonora is a soft white winter wheat and what is called a "Landrace" grain, meaning it is (or historically was) a local variety of wheat that developed naturally by farmer selection and environmental adaptation. This is opposed to "Modern" wheats, which are the result of very deliberate and scientific, selective breeding.

The glutinous white flour made from Sonora wheat makes stretchable dough suited to large tortillas, which were historically important for the development of burritos and chimichangas. Its wheat berries were used for pinole and posole. Its growing area is primarily associated with the bi-national Sonoran Desert and Mediterranean California climes.

Early documentation indicates White Sonora wheat was among the most disease, drought tolerant and rust resistant varieties in the New World, with a record of quality production stretching from South America to the upper American Midwest. It was capable of producing an excellent crop with no irrigation and little fertility when compared with modern wheat. A Wisconsin farming journal from the 1870s details a Sonora harvest with a per-acre yield rivaling the best modern wheat. Although irrigation boosts Sonora yields, the wheat is remarkably drought tolerant and matures in areas where early, light rainfall and hot, dry climates are the norm—with no irrigation at all.

Slow Food USA gives a great description of the history of this wheat variety.

History of Sonora

"White Sonora wheat is one of the oldest surviving wheat varieties anywhere in North America. Predating the Red Fife [which we are also growing!] and Turkish Red wheat, White Sonora is a soft, round-grained winter wheat with pale red grains that grow on beardless heads.

The earliest records document its existence in the mountain plains of Sonora, Mexico in early 1700 but the wheat surely predates that era by generations. It was widely planted in California by the early 1800s. Up through the Civil War, this wheat variety provided most West Coast residents with their flour and during the war it nourished nearly all troops, on both sides, west of the Mississippi.

Sonora, along with Defiance and Austrialian wheats and landrace barley, comprised the majority of production by 1880 in California’s Central Valley, where 2,750,000 acres of wheat were grown, the largest wheat enterprise in history at that time, setting floor prices on the London International Wheat Exchange. Commercial production of Sonora wheat in the Central Valley was in decline by the 19th century, surviving into the 1950s but in much reduced area. Since then, it has not been used in commercial production anywhere on the continent.

Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Prize-winning plant breeder, used White Sonora wheat as drought-adapted breeding material for the Sonora 64 variety, one of the first Green Revolution wheats. Unfortunately, the development of this super variety led to the commercial demise of White Sonora wheat between 1970 and 1980."

Sonora Today

"Today, the White Sonora wheat tradition persists in a few rural areas of northern Sonora, southern Arizona, and central California. Current production is very limited, but the variety is being grown on a few farms in California and the Southwest. Native Seeds/SEARCH and Sabores Sin Fronteras Foodways Alliance are working together to make 10-pound bags of wheat berries available to artisan bakers and tortilla makers in an effort to characterize its baking and taste qualities. The San Xavier Cooperative Association Farm in Tucscon, AZ and the Tohono O’doham tribe’s gift store also sell wheat berries to locals.

Monica Spiller, founder of Whole Grain Connection, a non-profit that supplies hard-to-find seeds and information to farmers, is working to recover White Sonora wheat production in California. She has devoted much of the last three decades to studying and growing wheat varieties historically grown in the region. She noticed that the older varieties like White Sonora have certain advantages for small organic farms, such as being naturally tall, and thus able to shade out weeds and reduce the need for herbicides.

White Sonora wheat production works well in synergy with cattle husbandry and can be grazed at least twice per season and still produce a gorgeous food crop. When milled to whole grain flour it produces light-colored tortillas and yeasted breads with a lovely texture."

As you can see, this grain is perfect for bread bakers and tortilla makers alike, and we are on the cutting edge in testing its growability in Los Angeles. Next, Red Fife...

UPDATE!

Hello All.

Updates from Agoura! The seed we planted two weeks ago has already sprouted and looks lovely. Expect pictures in the next couple days.

ALSO, more planting will be taking place, again at Maggie's Farm in Agoura Hills, tomorrow starting at 9:00 a.m. This will be documented and added to the blog in the coming days, so look forward to that.

Now, onto Sonora...

Planting

On Thursday, November 29th, some intrepid members of LABB drove out to Agoura Hills on a rainy and misty morning to begin the planting process. Agoura Hills is located about 35 miles west of downtown Los Angeles, and is the home of Maggie's Farm. We are cultivating approximately 2.5 acres of land there, splitting it between a variety of wheat. The land is divided generally into two categories.

The first consists of 6 larger plots, approximately 4 x 175 feet. Thursday saw the planting of three types here: Sonora, Red Fife, and Glenn. The process was simple, and went very smoothly. The land at Maggie's Farm is traditionally used for planting greens, but has recently been used for grazing chickens. The soil is called "rich sandy loam." It has been organically planted for 23 years, and although it is not certified organic, only organic products are used there. Before this, it was used for tomato planting, and before that, lay fallow for some time.

The first thing we did when we arrived was to mark out the plots. This was done using small flags bearing the names of the varietal and the planting date, set in the ground surrounding the plot containing that type of wheat. Each row was approximately 4' by 175'.

The next step was to rake and hoe the land into furrows. The first plot—which would eventually be planted with Sonora—was tilled into long rows, stretching the length of the plot.

This proved to be hard on the back and time consuming, and so the plots for the Red Fife and Glenn were dug with just a few key furrows.

The next step was to distribute the seed. About 60lbs of seed was planted per plot, which is actually about twice what is absolutely necessary, since that is roughly the proper amount for 1/2 acre. This was simply due to the process of trial and error: the seed spitters were set to distribute the seed more abundantly than required. We will plant the next plots with slightly less seed, and will be able to judge side by side the results. The seed was poured into two 20lb Solo Hoppers—which you carry on your back—and by the turning of a crank, spit the seed out in a fan-like spray in front of you.

It is common to plant another crop which will grow mixed in with the wheat, such as clover. This is done to keep other, more destructive weeds from gaining ground and out-competing the wheat. In this case, however, the nettles that grow wild around the farm will fulfill these duties. Since they are a low-growing plant, they will not compete with the wheat for sunlight, and they will ward off other, more dangerous weeds from intermixing.

After the seed was distributed, it needed to be turned under the soil, both to give it the darkness it needs to germinate, and to protect it from predators (birds, etc.). On the plot for Sonora, so carefully furrowed, rakes were used to cover the seed, which had fallen into the valleys produced by hoeing. For the other two plots, where the seed lay on a flat surface, a more ingenious method was developed. Some metal mesh—once part of a goat feeder—was re-appropriated and tied, using zip ties, to a metal frame.

Two handles were attached to this on ropes,so that it could be dragged along the beds, turning under the seed as it goes. Due to the long ropes to which the handles were attached, the pullers could stand in the walking paths to either side, keeping the planted earth light and untrodden.

After a few tries, the device was rather perfected and was used in fine spirits by all.

This completed the planting process for these three beds.

In the next post, you will find more information on the Sonora, Red Fife, and Glenn varieties of wheat!

An Overview

Although the greater Los Angeles area has never been the "bread basket of California," it was—and not that long ago—home to grist mills and fields of grain! LABB, as part of its mission to revive the bread-baking community of Southern California, has planted a couple of test acres out in Agoura Hills to determine which varieties of wheat and other bread grains would do well in our growing conditions. The folks out at Maggie's Farm have generously donated the use of this acreage for our research (thanks Nathan and Andrea!), and we look forward to working with them in planting, tending, and harvesting our first crop of heritage grains. If all goes well, we should have lots of grain to send over to Nan Kohler's artisanal grain mill this spring and then lots of wonderful flour to share with LABB members. More details on all of this as it comes (hopefully!) to fruition. Regardless of the outcome, we will certainly learn a great deal about sustainable bread production in Southern California.

We're really excited about this project and truly hope that every LABB member will have an opportunity to share in the experience of making sure we have a bumper crop of wonderful heritage grains! Check the Meetup page for upcoming events and ways to get involved.