Well, I've dabbled with pretty much all of them at some point. For my money, dry corn, either flour or dent varieties, is overall the only thing that really is worth it in terms of the yield for the space and work. It's fun growing any or all of them, but compared to what it costs to just go buy the equivalent amount of grain at a bulk food store, even some place like Whole Foods that is pricey, just doesn't really justify the time, effort, and expense involved. But as a learning experience, as an exercise in self-sufficiency, it's like the old Visa commercial "Priceless."

I too love to kill chunks of lawn. If gas continues to go up, the less I have to mow the better.

My last year's dry corn crop was a near total failure due to heavy squirrel populations and it being the "off" year for most nut bearing trees here. And, of course, me slacking off on the trapping. I hope to do better this year.

Other than corn, I think sorghum also is pretty efficient IF you can keep the birds out of the heads as they mature.

We don't grow corn either as the space-effort return is very low. Maybe if we had more space we'd do wheat just for fun but until we need to escape to the hills to avoid post-apocalyptic hordes in search of our food, we'll maximize our space with typical truck crops. FWIW, YMMV.

.02

Dan

Dan,
Just welcome the hordes with a trapdoor at the front door like that couple did on the Book of Eli, lol.
Maybe you are right about the truck crops, but I wanted to see if grain could be done in the burbs here.

For kicks and giggles, try some Mennonite Sorghum. They can be planted relatively close (I grew 12 plants in about 15 sq. ft., love heat and don't need a lot of water. The canes can be (don't laugh) an old wringer washer to produce syrup which can be boiled down. The seed heads can be used as grain. I got my seeds from Baker Creek but because I'm in OH, I started them indoors.

Mike

Sure it can be done, Lucille. Just don't get your hopes up for a bumper crop of tons of flour.

Dan