About Me:
Tristan Noyes is the co-founder of GROMAINE, an organic farm in Aroostook County, Maine, specializing in small trials of heritage grains. Raised in a northern Maine farming family, Tristan learned the value of environmental and economic stewardship. He now lives in South Portland, building relationships with local food businesses while his brother Jon manages farm operations. Tristan and Jon collaborate with the Maine Grain Alliance to restore rare and heritage grains suited for Northern Maine.
Additionally, Tristan is the executive director of the Maine Grain Alliance. He leads efforts to revitalize regional grain economies, preserving and promoting grain traditions through education, innovation, and sustainability. The organization fosters food independence, health, and economic opportunity by supporting grain-based businesses and communities.
Website: gromaine.com/about-us/
USDA Growing Zone: 3b
| Grain | Variety Name | Detailed Description of Grain Variety | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corn | Fort Kent Golden Flint Corn |  | |
| Rye | Tvengsberg | From The Flatbread Society website (https://flatbreadsociety.net/stories/14/the-rediscovered-rye): "In the 1970s, Per Martin Tvengsberg, living in the eastern-most region of Norway, was interested in local history, came across an old grain-drying sauna that dated back to the early 1900s. Drying grain is an important in these northern areas, because one can almost never harvest dry grain, and dry grain is crucial to ensuring effective storage. Per Martin was curious to see if perhaps a few grains of this old rye might still be lying in the old building. So he went to this sauna, and after talking to the owner a bit, got permission to look into it. They cleaned and searched every corner, but they found no grain - likely the mice had eaten any remains long ago. Per Martin got permission to take up the floor boards. Between the boards of the floor, he found 9 grains! He then carefully planted these precious seeds to see if, on the off-chance, any would germinate. There was life in 7 of the grains. Per Martin man lived in the city of Hamar. After the discovery of the 7 viable seeds of Finnish rye, he convinced the gardeners at a local church to start tending to these sprouts. After several years of this, they had built up a decent supply of the grain. Eventually, the descendants of these 7 seeds made it into the Svalbard Global Seed bank. About 15 years ago, farmer Johan Swärd obtained a deciliter of this Finnish rye grain, which he began cultivating at his farm, Aschim West." |  |
| Wheat | Fin de Tauriac | Awnless and a few with black awns |  |
| Wheat | Touselle sans barbes | Touselle sans barbes appears to be referenced as far back as 1042. It is thought to orginally be from southeastern France. This site has done a lot of research on this grain's origins: http://www.bicga.org.uk/docs/Le%20Bl%C3%A9%20meunier%20d'Apt%20-%20google%20translation.html |  |
| Wheat | Noe | Blue stemmed, Blé de Noé is a classic wheat of France, |  |
| Wheat | Vosges | French heritage wheat variety |  |
| Wheat | Bladette de Puylaurens | A landrace winter wheat from the 1800s from Puylaurens, France, in the Tarn region not far from Toulouse. Long, full, awnless or awnletted, blond heads with reddish grains. Tall, with good tillering and quite resistant to cold and lodging (Description from the Seed Exchange) | |
| Grain | Variety Name | Detailed Description of Grain Variety | File |