Avena sterilis
| Avena sterilis | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Avena sterilis (common name: sterile oats)
Propagation: Seed - sow in situ in early spring or in the autumn. Only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within 2 weeks.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any moderately fertile soil in full sun[1]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.5 to 8.
Occasionally cultivated for its edible seed, the yields are lower than those of A. sativa[2]. It is probably a parent of the cultivated species of oats[3]. This species could be of value in any breeding programme for the cultivated oats (A. sativa) where it could confer disease resistance and higher yields.
Oats are in general easily grown plants but, especially when grown on a small scale, the seed is often completely eaten out by birds. Some sort of netting seems to be the best answer on a garden scale.
Range: Europe - Mediterranean.
Habitat: Dry wasteland, cultivated ground and meadows, especially on heavier soils[4][1].
Edibility: Seed - cooked[2]. The seed ripens in the latter half of summer and, when harvested and dried, can store for several years. It has a floury texture and a mild, somewhat creamy flavour. It can be used as a staple food crop in either savoury or sweet dishes. The seed can be cooked whole, though it is more commonly ground into a flour and used as a cereal in all the ways that oats are used, especially as a porridge but also to make biscuits, sourdough bread etc. The seed can also be sprouted and eaten raw or cooked in salads, stews etc.
The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.
Usage: The straw has a wide range of uses such as for bio-mass, fibre, mulch, paper-making and thatching[5]. Some caution is advised in its use as a mulch since oat straw can infest strawberries with stem and bulb eelworm.
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Schery. Robert. Plants for Man. Prentice Hall, 1972.
- ↑ Brouk, Bohuslav. Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press, 1975.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.