My barley crop has been coming along nicely. Since my last blog on the subject, the heads or tassels have emerged. This happens after the final leaf -- called the flag leaf -- develops and the stem has elongated to almost it's final height. As the barley plant gets taller, the head begins to form in the "tube" between the fourth or fifth leaf and the flag leaf. This area, called the boot, swells and eventually the head (where all the barley kernels are) erupts, as shown in this pictures: 

The plants are now about 3 feet tall and most have gone through almost the entire process of filling the kernels. In addition, after the head emerges, the stem continues to elongate until the head is elevated above the flag leaf. 

When the heads first emerge, the kernels are green and filled with liquid. As they continue to develop, the liquid turns into a thicker, starchy substance. At this point, you can squeeze the kernels and the contents will ooze out, as when popping a zit. (Sorry, but that's an almost inescapable analogy.) This is called the soft dough stage. This squishy stuff later hardens and the kernels enter the hard dough stage. The hard dough stage then blends into full maturity, when the barley seed is almost rock hard. (Later, of course, malting will soften it up.)

Once the kernels mature, they turn from green to beige and the plants begin to die. In my crop, the barley is just starting that process. As you can see in the picture below, the plants show a mixture of green and amber foliage: 

Here's a closeup, in which you can see some green kernels, amber kernels and some in transition:

I'm not sure how soon the barley will be ready to harvest, but I'm betting that it will be in a week or so. At that point, I'll have a fair amount of work to do. I'll need to harvest the barley, separate the kernels from the rest of the plant material and malt the barley. I've never done any of that before, so it will be a learning process for me.

You can see more of my barley patch by viewing the March 24, 2009 episode of Basic Brewing Video, found at www.basicbrewing.com. On that same episode, you can also see some of my hops. Speaking of hops, mine have sprouted (awhile ago, actually) -- I'll post a blog entry on them in a few days.