As the seed catalogs start to flood in, everyone scampers to buy tomato, pepper, and zucchini seeds. In our conquest to become more sustainable, how about trying to grow hulless oats this summer? You have to act fast since oats need to be planted in the spring. And they are harvested just in time to use that area for a fall garden. Let me show you how.
Why Grow Hulless Oats?
Pictured above is oats. The edible part of the seed is covered with a hard shell. Unless you have a mechanical way to remove this hard shell, you are better off growing hulless oats. These oats have a paper skin rather than a shell.
I grow regular oats as a crop cover in the fall.
First Things First. Get On Your Oat’s Game Face.
I have grown hulless oats pretty unsuccessfully for a couple of years. They have frustrated the heck out of me. Half of the seeds I planted wouldn’t germinate.
Perhaps it was the seed? Who knows.
Personally I think it was the gardener in charge. *Gasp.*
I started to rule out if it was the seed. I spoke to a local grower of hulless oat seeds who assured me her germination rate was good. Hulless oats do not have the best germination record.
This year using Seed for Securities’ hulless oats, I actually harvested a lot of oats as compared to years past.
What was the game changer?
I covered the oat beds with pine needles. This kept the seeds nice and moist and kept the weeds at bay. When the seeds started to germinate, I am surprised you didn’t hear me shrieking with delight.
Success at last.
Oh, sweet mercy, success at last.
(This last year was a banner gardening year since I finally grew eggplant without the flea beetles killing them.)
How to Sow
Early spring is the best time to sow oats. But before you run out with a bag of oats, test your soil temperature. In order to germinae oats the soil temperature must be 55-65 degrees. (I use this soil thermometer.) In my zone 6, April 1 is my oat sowing day.
Rake out the bed so it is nice and smooth. Then simply sprinkle the oats on the bed. My raised beds are 8 feet by 4 feet. (Learn how to build raised beds HERE.) When you sprinkle, don’t over do it unless you want to waste money.
If you want to be more methodical, then space your seed 1″ apart in rows 6 inches apart.
Now here comes the fun part.
Some people rake out their seed. I don’t. I walk all over the bed to tamp the seeds into the soil. I know you aren’t supposed to walk on your beds, but I do when growing oats.
Then apply either an inch of compost or soil on top of the bed. I use compost.
Finally apply a layer of mulch. I use pine needles since straw could have weed seed in it. Oats and straw seed weeds look the same. They both look like grass. If you don’t have mulch that is seedless, then make sure you keep the bed moist.
Oats like water to germinate. They are quite thirsty as compared to other seeds.
When they grow, be mindful of weed competition. My pine needles helped in keeping the weed population at a minimum.
When to Harvest:
When I see the seed heads on the green stalks, I cover the whole bed with netting. (See picture above.) I used wood stakes, old tennis balls, and tulle. The old tennis balls keeps the tulle from ripping.
If you don’t cover your stalks, the birds will eat the oats. They know exactly when it is time to harvest them. (I learned this the hard way.)
When the seed heads turn from green to yellow, you are almost ready to harvest. ( My oats are ready for harvest around the middle of July for my zone 6.)
Pinch a seed head to make sure that it is firm. If you pinch a seed and a milk substance comes out of the seed, then the seeds aren’t ready. This stage is called the milk stage.
My rule of thumb is when the stalk is about 2/3rd yellow from the tips to the bottom, you can harvest. Make sure all of the seed heads are yellow without any tinge of green.
Since I am a small grower, I have the luxury of accessing each stalk and then hand harvesting it. If you grow a larger patch, you might harvest some unripe seeds.
Be sure to watch my video about harvesting oats.
How to Dry:
I bundle about 10 stalks with a rubber band, and hang them inside for a couple of weeks to dry. Now the hard part–how to get those darn oats out of their paper shells.
It isn’t easy but a story for another day.
Stay tune for my adventure in de-husking those oats. I promise not to keep you hanging if you decide to grow oats this year.
How much seed did I harvest from my 8 by 4 plot? Maybe enough to fill 3 spaghetti sauce jars. That isn’t a lot but it is fun to grow your own oats. Then I use the leftover oat straw for mulch in my beds.
Where to Buy Hulless Oat Seeds:
You can buy hulless oats here:
- Seeds for Security (This where I got my seeds.)
- Sustainable Seeds
- Johnny Selected Seeds (They only have options to purchase 1 pound or more)
- Southern Exposure
Join the Conversation:
Would you grow oats this season?
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Renee Kohley says
Very informative and helpful! Love this! Thank you!
linda spiker says
Seriously, you are the most amazing gardener I have ever seen!
Anna@Green Talk says
Linda, maybe the most darning one. Anna
green Bean says
Oh man! You always push the boundaries on growing stuff in the garden. I’ve toyed with grains before but now I just may have to give this a try.
Anna@Green Talk says
Green Bean, I do push the boundaries. Anna
karen says
You amaze me daily. Seriously. So what do you do with hulless oats? Oatmeal? I’ll pass on growing them. I’ll just come to your house in July!
Anna@Green Talk says
Karen, hulless oats are just like regular oats without the hard shell. When we buy them at the supermarket, the hard shell has been removed. Anna
Megan Stevens says
How cool! Thanks for expanding my mind! 😉
Anna@Green Talk says
Megan, you are welcome. Anna
Emily @ Recipes to Nourish says
This is really cool! I had no idea that his was even possible.
Anna@Green Talk says
Emily, it is the best way to grow oats. Anna
Anya says
I just remembered that one time, where I pretended to be a master gardener and spread oatstraw all over my garden during winter months. Come spring I was knee deep in weeds!!! You’re right, oats and straw does look the same. It was awful!!
Anna@Green Talk says
Anya, I am glad I have a winter kill so I don’t have to worry about oat straw seed. Anna
Elaina says
I have to admire your gumption in growing these oats after so many unsuccessful attempts! I really wish I knew more about gardening…seems like an art to me!
Kelsey says
This is pretty neat! I have never attempted to grow oats, so I have a couple of questions: do the shelled oats need to be dehydrated to last, or are they safe to store as is? Also, could the drying time be decreased if a dehydrator is used?
Thank you, and great post!
Anna@Green Talk says
Kelsey, the oats are dried on the stalk so you don’t need to dehydrate them unless you want to make sure they are perfectly dry. I guess if you wanted to shorten the time period once you bring them inside you could dehydrate them
I put my dried oats in the refrigerator so they don’t go rancid.
As for shelled oats there are 2 types-hulless which have a paper skin and regular oats which has a shell. Anna
Lauren says
Thanks for the harvesting tips! This is our first year growing hulless oats and we’re still in the green stalk phase, just preparing for the harvest. You’re right, they ARE pretty!
I like to experiment with unusual seeds too. I think we got ours on Baker Creek’s website. They have a lot of rare heirloom varieties.
Do you know if these oats can be frozen to preserve them?
I eat oatmeal almost every morning, so I’m hoping to use them for that!
Also—do you pop the oat seed out by hand on each one? Or can you dry them out and shake them into a paper bag like quinoa or amaranth?
PS amaranth is a stunning grain (I dabble with edible landscaping and it is one of my favorite tall plants to use.) Pretty in flower arrangements too.
This is our first year for quinoa as well—it comes in such a rainbow of colors—so much to learn and too little space in our garden!