Spelt Spelt Spelt ("Triticum spelta"; "Triticum dicoccum"), also known as dinkel wheat or hulled wheat, is a species of wheat cultivated since approximately 5000 BC. Spelt was an important staple in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times; it now survives as a relict crop in Central Europe and northern Spain, and has also found a new market as a 'health food'. Spelt is sometimes considered a subspecies of the closely related species common wheat ("Triticum aestivum"), in which case its botanical name is considered to be "Triticum aestivum" subsp. "spelta". It is a hexaploid wheat, which means
Crop rotation crop rotation comes from the interrelationship of nitrogen fixing-crops with nitrogen demanding crops. Legumes, like alfalfa and clover, collect available nitrogen from the soil in nodules on their root structure. When the plant is harvested, the biomass of uncollected roots breaks down, making the stored nitrogen available to future crops. Legumes are also a valued green manure: a crop that collects nutrients and fixes them at soil depths accessible to future crops. In addition, legumes have heavy tap roots that burrow deep into the ground, lifting soil for better tilth and absorption of water. Cereal and grasses are frequent cover