Businesses works with some unique crops

Michelle Ajamian and Brandon Jaeger have received two grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program to grow plots of staple crops. They're planning to open the Shagbark Seed and Mill Co. in October to process their seeds and mill flours from the harvest, and are encouraging other staple crop entrepreneurs to start growing and milling with them.

Ajamian and Jaeger have selected some unique staple crops. Here's a look at some examples and why they were selected.

Heirloom meal corn

"¢ More protein and complex carbohydrates than mass-produced and genetically modified corn.
"¢ Native American peoples traditionally used meal corns (maize).
"¢ The Village Bakery used corn from last year's harvest to make tortillas.

Buckwheat

"¢ Good bee crop.
"¢ Good cover crop - makes good "green manure" when mowed down.
"¢ Provides an almost complete protein.
"¢ Has alkalinizing properties and can help improve the quality of acidic soils.

Pearl millet

"¢ Native to Africa
"¢ Staple crop throughout ancient history.
"¢ Alkalinizing.
"¢ Drought tolerant.
"¢ Can be ground into flour or eaten like rice.

Amaranth (means "never withers")

"¢ Contains a complete line-up of amino acids.
"¢ Contains lysine, an important amino acid.
"¢ Seeds can be made into porridge, flatbreads, or popped like popcorn.
"¢ Michelle Ajamian uses popped seeds and local honey to make a delicious, brownie-like dessert with an interesting texture.

Spelt

"¢ Ancient form of wheat.
"¢ More nutrition, protein that wheat.
"¢ Nutty flavor.
"¢ Ground into flour and made into bread.
"¢ Stores better than wheat.
"¢ Wheat was developed to have more gluten for efficient baking.

Black turtle beans

"¢ Fertilizes soil by taking nitrogen out of the air.
"¢ Good source of protein.