Emmer wheat
Triticum dicoccum
An ancient hulled wheat, nutty and hardy; Italians still cook it as farro.
Hardiness: zones 3 to 9
Light: full sun
Size: about 4 ft tall, 0.5 ft wide
Harvest: year-round
From: Fertile Crescent; the bread wheat of ancient Egypt
Drought-hardy once established
Here: Hardy in the Lake Erie shore climate (zone 6b to 7a), so it can live outdoors in the ground.
Good for: food.
Native to: Sahara & Arabian deserts, Mediterranean. Hardy in zones 3 to 9.
The story
Emmer was one of the founder crops of farming, domesticated in the Fertile Crescent about 10,000 years ago. It was the main wheat of Sumer and Ancient Egypt, baked into the bread found in Egyptian tombs; Italians still cook it as farro, and Ethiopian farmers still grow it.
Planting
Full sun and ordinary drained soil. Sow in early spring, or in autumn where winters are mild, an inch deep in rows or broadcast.
Growing
Emmer is a hulled wheat: tough, tall and happy in poorer soil with little feeding. Keep it weeded while young; it tolerates drought and some disease better than modern wheat.
Harvest and use
Harvest when the straw is gold and the grain is hard. The grains stay wrapped in husks after threshing, so pound or rub them free, then cook whole like rice, or grind for a nutty flour.
What to watch for
Birds; lodging in rich soil; hulls are slow to remove by hand.
See if Emmer wheat fits your yard
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General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home