This is my heirloom crop of wheat that I've grown since 2008.

At that time, I found a few stalks of wheat growing on the side of the road that were ready to harvest, so I plucked the heads and harvested the seeds. By the end of 2009, I had my third generation of seeds, from which the wheat in the photo was grown. (I didn't plant those seeds in 2010, because I didn't have a yard to do any gardening.)

This year, in February, I planted my wheat seeds together and hoped that they survived the year in a plastic baggie, and sure enough, they sprouted. I'm now on my third generation of wheat. And for some reason, that's really interesting to me - this idea of maintaining generations of a single plant. I suppose it's a bit like sourdough friendship bread, or yogurt - from a single batch, it keeps growing and spreading, and you can pass it down from generation to generation.

I don't know if I have an end goal with this wheat. But I do like the idea of preserving it, and maybe passing it down to my children. And wouldn't it be neat if, years down the road, I'm able to gather enough of my wheat seeds to start a wheat farm or something? We'll see.

In the meanwhile, here's a few other things growing in my garden:


Blueberry blossoms


Dwarf Lemon blossoms


Grapes


Strawberries


Artichoke plant (huge)


Artichoke bulbs (there are ELEVEN bulbs on this plant)