Grain crops in Finland.

Grain crops are an essential part of the traditional Finnish cultural cuisine, it has been extensively grown/farmed in the region for several hundred years. Initially, grain crops were first planted and cultivated by the Battle Axe tribes people from the West, that moved along the Gulf of Finland over 2000 years ago.  The original Ingria-land people of the Gulf of Finland learned grain crops and farming skills from the visitors to their land.

Grain crops and bread consumption is prevalent, there are many types of bread influence from the west and the east. Wholesome heavy Rye bread and the quick flatbread called “Rieska.”

Grain crops were a vital food source for livestock also, e.g., in the days when horses were for transportation, especially during the long winter months.  Oats and dried grass/hay would keep the horse’s energy level up for hauling heavy loads and transporting people.

Picture of a grain crop field.

Barley is one of the oldest grain crops to been farmed, it was also the first to be farmed in Finland.  Of the grains listed, Barley has the fastest growing cycle to harvest.  One of the first bread to emerge in Finland was a Barley Rieska, it is quick to prepare flatbread.  Barley bread is very popular even today.

Rye (Ruis) is the most important grain crops in the Suomi-land (Finland), the word grain seed was also the synonym for rye.  The origin of the word is “rug is” it goes back over 2000 years to Germania.  The Rye is suitable for growing in relatively rugged soils and cold climates. Also, the harvesting of grain crop is also straight forward even with a basic harvesting technique.  Rye bread and sachet of salt has been used as a symbol of good luck and success, also an ideal symbolic gift for a house-warming party.  Dried rye grains were also used as a commodity in the previous centuries.  Many gift shops used to sell a gift pack (for show only) with small size rye bread disks and a small sachet of sea salt.  The traditional rye bread was about 30 cm diameter flat disks, with a hole in the center.  The hole in the center of the rye bread was there for a perfect practical reason.  The bread traditionally was prepared and baked in large volume (bulk) then they were hung on the wall of the kitchen to cool down, by a long pole that was hooked on the wall on brackets like a window curtain hanger.  There the rye bread could sit on the wall happily and naturally without getting moldy or danger of any rodents.  Some old black and white photos of kitchens show that type of bread storage in use.

Field Oats (Avena sativa) in the Suomi-land it is ”kaura,” also a word with origin from the Germania and in the Swedish the word is “havre.”  By appearance, the oat plants are very similar to that of long blades of grass.  The head of the grain has thick a thick husk, and the plant is self-pollinating.

Wheat is one of the oldest and the most essential farmed grain crops plants in the world.  It is the most cultivated grain crops in Europe and North America, it is also extensively cultivated in Australia, Argentina, Russia, and China.  In Suomi-land, wheat is the most demanding to grow, because it requires a long growing season and a particularly suitable soil.  Therefore the ever increasing history of grain in the Suomi-land is relatively short.

Grain crops in Finland.

The soil conditions and the growth temperatures of the grain crops do vary from the West to East and the South to the North of Finland.

Apparently due to the proximity to the north pole and the warm air currents that flow from the south-west of Finland.  The grain crops were harvested during the autumn time and re-planted during the same autumn season before the snow falls and the frost appears in October-November-December with some variation year to year.  By planting the grain crops before the winter, that gives the grains a head start for the next spring growing season.  Early of the spring season, the fields are covered with snow and ice when the snow/ice melts, and the fields are soft, wet and boggy which can make it difficult in many cases to plant the grain crop seeds into the soil.  So the grain crops seeds spend their first six months covered with snow and ice and they hibernate in the darkness of the soil, and maybe give some winter sustenance to the field mice and other critters.