OUR GROWING METHOD
Barley is one of the most ancient cereals: it was already cultivated 12,000 years ago in the Middle East (the Fertile Crescent).
After ploughing or ripping and then extirpating (to get smaller plates) the ground, after the previous threshing, in late October, short before wheat, we sow about 2 kilograms of well selected seeds per hectare.
The seed is ours, from the previous year’s crop.
The variety we have grown since 2013 is the hulless or naked barley which means it has no external glumes, which is different from covered barley that we grew until two years ago, which must be hulled before being eaten.
Then we fertilize with 10 tons of manure cover per hectare, going over the land in January-February with the harrow tines to mechanically pull up (without the use of chemical herbicide) newborn weeds with mini-leaves without damaging the already 10 centimetres high wheat.
Finally, in early July we thresh and put wheat in the silo, sealed under nitrogen for 48 hours, to kill larvae and eggs of possible bugs.

TRANSFORMATION
Hulless barley is sold in grains, which go through our grader to take away impurities and the seeds of weeds that in threshing are mixed with good seeds (not being eliminated by chemicals).
In addition to being eaten as it is, hulless barley can be roasted and ground so becoming barley coffee.

BENEFITS
Barley has always been considered a healthy and nutritious food, rich in minerals, easy to digest, refreshing and highly energetic.
The functional effects are reduction of cholesterol, lipoproteins and postprandial glycaemic peak, attenuation of inflammatory bowel disease. In particular, the whole hulless barley (like ours) retains all its nutrients.