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 90 loaves.

For many, that’s still a farm-sized crop, but another way of looking at this calculation is that a large trough-style container, or a row in a vegetable plot, will produce enough of a harvest to reward your efforts.While many varieties are spring-sown and harvested at this time of year, there are also some that can be started off this month and onwards until the first frosts. While I am excited at the prospect of growing my own grains and bulking up my store cupboard ingredients, I can only imagine what my family will say…

1. Quinoa

A popular alternative to rice, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a healthy ingredient to use in baking; try growing a rainbow variety, which promises a colourful display to brighten up a corner of the garden when the seed ripens in late summer.

How to grow: Sow directly in the ground in spring, spacing seeds at 5cm intervals, thinning when established to give about 20cm around each plant. Keep an eye on watering and mulch in early summer so the soil is kept moist but not soggy.

When to harvest: Harvest in late sum-mer, allowing the seeds to dry before removing from the stalk (run your hands up the stalk to strip the grains off). Blow away any dirt or debris and lay the grains out some-where to dry, ready to be stored in an airtight container. Remove the bitter saponin coating – which protects the grains from hungry birds when they’re growing – by soaking and then rinsing the grains several times before cooking.

2. Buckwheat

Producing lovely flowers which are a great nectar source for bees and other beneficial insects, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), left, grows vigorously and is an effective ground cover to suppress weeds.

How to grow: Best in sun or a partially sunny spot with good drainage, it can cope in poor soil. Sow in a border or large, deep container any time from spring to late summer, broadcasting seeds about 5cm apart and 1cm deep, thinning to 10cm apart when seedlings are large enough to handle.

When to harvest: It matures in about 75 days and you can harvest when most of the seeds have turned brown.

3. Millet

A lovely plant, millet (Setaria italica), looks a little like sweetcorn, and will provide height and interest to borders or container displays.

How to grow: A good choice if you have space to grow in the ground but your soil is poor. Millet is also a useful crop because it can be sown in spring or summer, whenever there’s a gap, and matures quickly – in as little as 30 days.

When to harvest: Wait for the seed heads to turn golden brown. Treat like brown rice or mill (using a heavy-duty coffee grinder) to make a gluten-free flour.

4. Amaranth

A nutritious grain, amaranth is a source of flavour and protein. The species used for grain (as opposed to decorative varieties) are Amaranthus caudatus, A. cruentus, and A. hypochondriacus, but even these are strikingly colourful, producing red, pink and yellow flowers, which reach up to two metres in height, and make an attractive addition to a border or large container.

How to grow: Sow from late April in pots and keep under-cover until the seedlings are 15cm tall and can be planted out into their final position. Go for Real Seeds’ own Mixed Grain Amaranths, which is a high-yielding variety the firm has trialled for 20 years.

When to harvest: While some farmers wait to see the birds peck at the ripe grains, if seeds freely fall away it’s time to remove the seed heads to collect the grain. As the seeds are so small, they don’t need grinding.

5. Wheat

Wheat (Triticum aestivum), is available as a winter or spring crop. Hard red varieties tend to be used for baking, whereas soft red and white types are generally milled to make flour.

How to grow: Another grain that grows well in poor soil, sow winter wheat in the autumn for spring harvests, whereas spring varieties should be sown in spring and harvested in late summer. Broadcast the seed and lightly cover by raking over a thin layer of soil.

When to harvest: As with spelt, when the crop changes from green to brown, it’s time to cut and process the grains.

6. Oats

Introducing ornamental grasses into a border is always a good idea – their elegant structure adds seasonal interest as well as attractive texture and movement. Common oats (Avena sativa) offer a similar aesthetic, with their long, feathery seed spikelets, in addition to an edible harvest.

How to grow: Sow in fertile, moisture-rich, free-draining soil in early spring.

When to harvest: Oats are harvested in summer; the tough hull can be difficult to remove, so go for hull-less varieties (Avena nuda), if you can find them.

7. Sussex Flax

A tall plant, Sussex flax (Linum usitatis-simum), above, reaches up to a metre, it’s easy to grow and the blue flowers look at home in a cottage-style border.

How to grow: Sow in spring, when all risk of frost has passed. Place in rows leaving 5cm between each seed. Cover with a little soil and make sure the ground stays moist.

When to harvest: Wait for seed heads to grow plump and dry before harvesting on a warm sunny day. Dry the dark golden-brown seeds before storing in a sealed jar, somewhere cool and dry.

8. Spelt

This grain (Triticum spelta) has a nutty flavour and the highly nutritious seeds are easily digested, which makes them ideal if you are intolerant to gluten but love to eat bread, flour and pasta.

How to grow: Spelt can grow well in poor soil, even in heavy clay or dry con-ditions. Sow in September for harvest the following June. Broadcast the seed and lightly cover by raking the soil over them. Water well until germination, after which it needs little or no care, unless there are long periods of hot, dry weather the next spring into summer.

When to harvest: look for signs of the stalks beginning to turn from green to brown.

9. Sweet lupin

Related to the old-fashioned border flowers, edible lupins (Lupinus mutabilis) are underrated. Although not a grain, the dried beans are high in pro-tein and can be used like chickpeas – a useful addition to the store cupboard.

How to grow: Sow a couple of seeds in a small pot from April onwards. Plant out when seedlings are about 5cm tall. Watch for slugs and snails.

When to harvest: Allow the seed pods to turn brown before picking and removing the seeds. Dry seeds in a cool, dark spot, then store in a sealed jar. To cook, soak dried lupin seeds overnight, then boil in fresh water for 40 minutes or until tender. (Don’t eat if you have an allergy to peanuts.)

10. Barley

One of the world’s oldest grain crops, barley, above, is drought-resistant and easy to grow. It is used to make bread, to brew beer and other distilled beverages and as animal fodder.

How to grow: Sow in rows in a sunny spot in well-drained soil. Go for a high- yielding type, like the autumn-sown Hordeum vulgare, which matures early and can cope with our climate.

When to harvest: Keep an eye on the stems and when they turn golden and are brittle, it’s ready to harvest.