From oats to quinoa, the 10 healthiest grains to grow at home – and how to use them

From oats to quinoa, the 10 healthiest grains to grow at home – and how to use them

Over the past couple of years I have started to eat more grains – buck-wheat, quinoa and spelt being among my favourites. Widely available, these days you are just as likely to find them on a menu or supermarket shelf as in a specialist health food shop While I’m all for eating a plant-based diet, in which they usually feature significantly given their nutritional value, they are also great general alternatives to refined carbohydrates (white bread, white pasta, starchy potatoes), which can also be hard to digest.And, of course, grains are tasty, too. I often get teased by my family if I bake a quinoa apple cake or rustle up an ancient grain salad – but they are always happy to eat the dishes, so I go along with it.As a grower with a small, city garden, I was astonished to discover that such grains can be homegrown. I had assumed that without the equivalent of an acre out the back, it would be impossible. It turns out that roughly 90 sq metres – about 960 sq ft, or just under half a tennis court – will produce approximately 25kg (55lb, about a bushel) of wheat, which, once milled, makes