Oland

Probably the most known landrace wheat from Sweden, Öland wheat was rediscovered in the 90s by Hans Larsson after not being grown since the 50s. It was falsely categorized as a spelt wheat in the Nordic Gene Bank but with Hans persistent work several pure lines of Ölands wheat were put forward. Historically it was mostly grown as a winter wheat but now it’s grown as a spring wheat. It has “dual” properties meaning it can be sown both spring and winter, however there is very little stocking when it’s winter planted. The batch I’ve sent is from a farmer who grows it as a spring wheat. It originates from Sweden's second largest island “Öland” located in the Baltic sea just off the east coast and has been grown there for a few hundred years but at the beginning of the last century more modern wheat started entering the market and fewer and fewer grew Ölands wheat. In recent years Ölands wheat has become very popular in the sourdough bakeries in both Sweden and Denmark, many farmers like it for its stable yield with fairly low input and it pays pretty well since its popularity.  Seeds, photo and story from Johannes Adolfsson.