Triticum aestivum subsp. aestivum
Origin: Washington State University
Improvement status: Breeding population
Seeds per packet: ~30
Germination tested 12/2024: 92%
Life cycle: Annual or possibly biennial
We're super-excited to be offering a limited amount of 'Eileen', a multi-colored hard spring bread wheat grex, adapted to the Pacific Northwest, for the first time here this year (2025). Our seed comes to us from researchers associated with the Bread Lab at Washington State University, thanks to our good friend Dr. Micaela Colley. This breeding mix — which has also been shared around under the name 'Climate Blend', for its ability to adapt to our changing climate, and is also sometimes called 'Purple Baking Bulk' or 'PBB' — was developed by Washington State University researchers including Dr. Steven Lyle, Dr. Stephen Jones, and Dr. Colin Curwen-McAdams (though I believe the work was conducted before Dr. Curwen-McAdams received his PhD!).
This seed is now publicly available through the National Plant Germplasm System, and this description of its origin and uses can be found on the NPGS' Germplasm Resources Information Network database:
"Eileen is a constantly evolving hard spring wheat bulk mixture of 15 mixed pedigree lines that exhibits blue, red, white, and purple colors. The parental material includes locally adapted lines: WA007995, Edison, Expresso, Dayn, 6177049, and Nardo. And purple color donor lines: 1159.288.18b.1.2, Indigo, Konini, CDC Primepurple, Purple Olympic, CI 14952, Laval 19, Purple La Provision and H86-701. Plants are mid-tall with awned spikes, and many have colored stems that match the grain. It exhibits moderate resistance to stripe rust, has excellent straw strength and is late maturing. Eileen mills and bakes well as a bread wheat and the colors come through in the bran and endosperm. It is adapted to the maritime climates of western Washington and Oregon."
From the Bread Lab: " Eileen is named in honor of the late Eileen Anna Kisler, grandmother to our longtime collaborator Keith Kisler of Finnriver Grain. Eileen was a prolific and excellent baker and a force on their family wheat farm near Warden, WA."
This wheat population is listed as a spring wheat, but given its diversity you may find some plants able to thrive as a winter wheat following fall planting as well. As mentioned above, this wheat is particularly adapted to the maritime Pacific Northwest, so that is where it can be expected to do best, but it is still worth trialing in other regions as well. You never what you'll find!
Many thanks to Micaela and the whole Bread Lab team for making these seeds available!
NOTE: The photo of some actual bread made from 'Eileen' is courtesy Starter Bread, a Portland, Oregon-based Community Supported Bread bakery that (as of this writing) has a pop-up shop on Sundays and a weekly bread subscription service! You can learn more about them at www.starterbread.com.
