Yecoro Rojo Wheat, Spring Red Wheat

Yecora Rojo (meaning "Yecora Red") has a prestigious history in the world of grain breeding.

• The Development: It was developed in the early 1970s through a collaboration between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture (INIA).
• The Name: It is named after Yecora, a town in the Mexican state of Sonora.
• The Impact: It was bred to be a "semi-dwarf" variety. Before Yecora Rojo, many wheat varieties grew so tall that they would fall over (lodge) under the weight of their own grain or in high winds. Yecora Rojo’s shorter, stronger stalks revolutionized wheat farming, allowing for high yields without the mess.

If you are growing grain for home-baked sourdough or rustic loaves, Yecora Rojo is unparalleled.

• Protein Power: It is a hard red spring wheat, which typically boasts a very high protein content (often 13–15%). This creates strong gluten, essential for high-rising, chewy breads.
• Flavor: It produces a flour with a rich, nutty, and slightly "peppery" flavor that is much more complex than store-bought white flour.
• Milling: The kernels are hard and uniform, making them very easy to mill at home into a beautiful, copper-toned whole wheat flour.

Yecora Rojo is ideally suited for the home garden because of its manageable height and quick maturity.

Garden Bed Coverage: At Firefly Farm & Mercantile, we have sized our packets specifically for the small-scale grower. One packet is designed to perfectly seed a 20 square foot bed (roughly an 8' to 10' long by 2.5' wide garden bed).

• Support: Wheat is a communal plant. By planting at this density, the root systems interlock and the stalks stand together against wind.
• Weed Suppression: At 30 seeds per square foot, the wheat will quickly form a canopy, shading out the soil and preventing weeds from competing for nutrients.
• Yield Maximization: This is the "sweet spot" for Yecora Rojo. Because it is a semi-dwarf variety, it doesn't need as much room to "breathe" as taller ancient grains, allowing you to get a high yield of bread-quality grain from a very small footprint.

"We love Yecora Rojo because it makes the 'dream of the home-grown loaf' a reality. It doesn't take an acre of land to grow enough wheat for a few loaves of world-class bread. Its short stalks mean it stays upright and looks beautiful in the garden, and the flour quality is simply the best you can get for bread making."

• Sowing: Prepare your 20 sq. ft. bed by raking the soil smooth. Broadcast the seeds evenly across the surface and rake them in to a depth of about 1 inch.
• Watering: Wheat is relatively drought-tolerant once established but benefits from consistent moisture during the "boot" stage (when the grain head is forming inside the stalk).
• Harvesting: Harvest when the stalks have turned golden-brown and the kernels are "rock hard" when bitten.