Moist grain is soft and is susceptible to damage caused by insects and aflatoxins caused by moulds. Proper drying and storage is important to avoid this.
Dry your grains on a plastic sheet before storage because drying grains on bare ground risks contamination of the grains. Another way to prevent insect and mould attack is by storing your grains with diatomaceous earth (DE) after drying them. This makes the seeds harden and drier and and kills insects that could attack grain by scratching the insects‘ outer layer, making them loose water hence dying.
Proper mixture
You need 0.5 kg of DE for every 90 kg of grain. To add the DE to the grains, pour your grain on a plastic sheet in a hip and sprinkle one third of the sachet and mix with a clean dry shovel. Sprinkle the next third and mix too then sprinkle the remaining one third and mix well then transfer to a 90 kg bag for storage.
Diatomaceous earth lasts for at least 6 months and unlike chemical grain dusts, the grains of diatomaceous are safe to eat immediately applying the DE and when the grain is needed for use, its taken to a posho mill and first sieved to remove the dust before milling.
Diatomaceous earth is a cheaper means to store grains compared to chemical dusts and automatically sealed bags.
