An Analysis of the Secrets and Considerations of Spelt

When planting spelt, there are several concerns. One, are the hessian flies going to destroy it? Is the lack of fencing going to facilitate unnecessary and unadvertised losses to negligence? Is the non-manipulation of genetic material, as amassed through years of hybridized breeding and sequential drilling with International Harvester machinery, setting the grower back? There are countless others. In fact there are so many that only a determined masochist would attempt a germination test. Fact is, spelt is out of date, underappreciated, unappreciated, and non-appreciated. The hessian fly (originally of Hestia, but immigrated to this country with foreigners of foreign descent) poses a grave threat to the health of the crop. After sowing (ideally at a uniform rate of two and 6 thousandths of an inch) in a sandy loamy clay soil of sufficiently organic matter, the crop should be sprayed excessively with pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides to insure as little biodiversity as possible. In fact I would recommend making major capital donations to monsanto and dow agro-science, etc. to help fund the development of roundup ready seed. As that hasn't yet been developed, we digress at the mercy of the pests. Besides hessian fly, there is the German weevle, the California beetle, the scourge of St. Louis, and the black butterfly that all are potential destructors. Due to the historical lack of genetic manipulation, spelt has not been imporoved by natural selection and hybridization. In fact, it remains on of the most primitive grains still grown by man. Nevertheless, there is a determined and dedicated group of followers that would plant nothing else. Thus we are at the mercy of the vagaries of the crop.


At harvest time, the crop must be collected at night and as quickly as possible. Spelt, unlike wheat, will spook and shatter its grain if it is harvested in the daytime. The spelt plant is one who does not like to give up her secrets. Stealth at harvest is key, otherwise the surrounding spelt will do little more than reseed the ground (at which point it will be very difficult to collect of the ground). These are the concerns. The rewards are few, the work difficult, the cost high. But for a man of determination, gluten free bread is the only bread.