Sonora (soft white)
What's special about Sonora (soft white)
Ancient white spring wheat from the Southwest — soft, sweet pastry flour.
Growing this variety
Sonora (soft white) follows the same growing basics as Wheat. Variety-specific maturity above; everything else below applies to the whole Wheat family.
Germination
Spacing & depth
How to plant
Broadcast onto raked soil and rake in. Winter wheat goes in early fall, dies back to a green mat in winter, then heads out in early summer. Spring wheat is sown in earliest spring and harvested midsummer. Cut when straw is golden and seed dents under a fingernail.
Grower's tip
A 10×10 patch of wheat yields about a loaf's worth of flour — worth growing at least once. Hard red types are for bread; soft white are for pastry.
Soil preferences
Firm, well-drained loam.
6.0–7.0
A modest nitrogen source in spring for wheat/rye; teff and rice prefer more.
Watering
1 in per week during establishment. Most small grains are drought-tolerant once headed out.
Overhead is fine. Rice paddies are the exception — constant flood.
Overwatered: lodging (flopped stems), rust. Underwatered: short heads, shriveled grain.
Prefers top-watering — Top-water (overhead or rain) — grains are wind-pollinated and tolerate wet foliage. Water deeply and infrequently.
Temperature tolerance
60–80°F (15–27°C)
40–65°F (4–18°C)
Winter grains (winter wheat, rye, spelt) overwinter through hard freezes. Spring grains and teff are frost-tender.
Container growing
Not recommended in containers
Grains need broadcast area — even a 10x10 ft patch yields a meaningful loaf's worth of flour.
Detailed harvesting
Cut whole stalks with a sickle or hedge shears when heads are straw-dry and grain dents but doesn't smash. Shock or hang to cure 1–2 weeks.
Post-harvest storage & preservation
Thresh in a pillowcase or against a screen; winnow chaff in front of a fan. Store cool and dry in sealed jars. Freeze 3 days to kill any weevils.
Culinary, medicinal & other uses
Bake, brew, mill for flour, sprout, or add to grain bowls. Straw is mulch or bedding.
Medicinal or traditional uses are shared for interest only — this is not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before using any plant medicinally.
Seed saving
Most grains self-pollinate before the head fully emerges.
20 ft between varieties is enough for most.
The grain IS the seed — save cleaned kernels from your best-headed plants for next year.
Your zone's planting calendar
Pick your USDA hardiness zone and we'll estimate the key dates for wheat in your area. These are regional averages — always check your own last-frost forecast before sowing.
My Sonora (soft white) Wheat notes
Sonora (soft white) Wheat seeds on hand
Track packets and loose seeds you already have. Private to your account.
Par level — leave at 0 for no alert. Anything below par shows on Seed Starting and your shopping list.
From your kitchen — grow wheat from what you already have
Grocery-store whole wheat berries (from the bulk aisle) will sprout — try a handful first to test viability.
- 1Sprout-test: soak 20 berries 24 hrs, then rinse and drain twice a day. If 15+ sprout in 3 days, the batch is good seed.
- 2Broadcast onto a firm raked seedbed at 3–4 oz per 100 sq ft; rake in.
- 3Cover with a light mulch, water in. Winter wheat overwinters as a green mat; spring wheat matures in one summer.
- 4Harvest when heads are straw-dry and grain is hard.
Storage: Save your own heads each year — cleaner and better adapted than grocery grain.
Order more seeds
Running low? Reorder from one of these seed stores.
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Other Wheat varieties
Turkey Red (winter)
240 daysClassic hard red winter wheat brought to Kansas by Mennonite settlers. Excellent bread flour.
Red Fife (spring)
110 daysCanadian heritage hard red spring wheat, prized by artisan bakers.
Einkorn
110 daysThe oldest cultivated wheat — small hulled grains, nutty flavor, tolerated by many with wheat sensitivity.