I want to plant buckwheat

bartman · Sep 17, 2003

I have a small 2 acre field in the back of the property that I plowed up this spring and just finished disking up again last week.

How many pounds of buckwheat seed to the acre would I need? What does the seed cost per sack?

Should I just spread the seed and cultipack it to plant it?

Does buckwheat suck a lot of nutrients from the soil?

Thanks Bartman

Egon · Sep 17, 2003

Bartman:

I plant a few acres of Buckwheat for deer feed every spring. I hand broadcast so can't say how many pounds per acre and then I harrow it in. On our land it does much better with fertilizer.

Neither the amount spread or the area covered are measured so any numbers I'd give would not mean much.

The seed cost Isn't that much but I can't remember exact figures.

A perfect post of non information.

Egon

rambler · Sep 18, 2003

Here in Minnesota I've seen it planted real late after a bad hail. 'Real late' is mid to end of July. Will you get anything at all planting _this_ late?

--->Paul

bartman · Sep 18, 2003

Rambler
Very good question!! I was planning to plant it up at the Pa farm. I figured it was as hardy as rye seed,which we can plant up till November. I found some at a local feed joint for $20 a bag,maybe I'll getsome and plant it and let you all know what happens
Bartman

tonyw · Sep 19, 2003

Bartman,
We have a small business, growing flowers for cutting--we sell to florists. Anyway, we generally plant our annuals in succession a couple of weeks apart. Once a row is has been cut for a while, and is no longer productive, we bush hog it and plant buckwheat as a cover crop. We like to let it go at least 4 weeks, usually 6, and then till it under and re-plant in buckwheat. This is great at smothering out weeds and making the soil more workable; and the stems are hollow and very easy to mow or till under. We also try to till the last planting under a few days after flowering(giving the bees a chance to work the flowers), BEFORE it goes to seed. Even though it isn't winter hardy, you'll find that seeds do overwinter quite well, at least here in NC.
Good luck

mikell · Sep 19, 2003

I planted mine around the 4th of July. just hand brodcast then pulled bedsprings to work it in. Seems to have worked fine.

mikell

tonyw · Sep 19, 2003

It certainly isn't hard to get a good crop of buckwheat established; I like the bedspring trick. I usually sow it and go over it very lightly with my tiller.

bartman · Sep 22, 2003

Thanks for all the respnses. I should be heading back up to Pa the first week of October and plant it then. I just gave a neighbor an old set of matress springs to smooth out his riding arena. That seems easier than trying to drag my 12' cultipacker through my 10' trail in the woods
We will see what happens

Thanks again guys