Buckwheat Cover Crop in the Home Garden
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- Buckwheat is my go-to warm season cover crop in my Zone 6, Ohio garden. This video covers the benefits of buckwheat, how and when to sow, and how to terminate for best results in the garden.
If you are interested in utilizing cover crop in the home garden, be sure to check out these videos as well:
Cover Crops in the Home Garden: • Cover Crops in the Hom...
Mighty Mustard Cover Crop: • Mighty Mustard Cover C...
Natural Weed Control for Gardens: • Natural Weed Control f...
How Do I Improve Heavy Clay Soil: • How Do I Improve Heavy...
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00:00 Intro
00:15 Benefits of Buckwheat
02:35 When & How to Plant Buckwheat Cover Crop
03:31 How & When to Terminate Buckwheat Cover Crop
#zone6gardening #ohiogardening #covercrop
Last year I planted buckwehat for the first time and was blown away with how fast it germinated and grew to maturity. I didn't expect it to do as well as it did in my sandy soil. At the time I didn't know you could cut buckwheat prior to it flowering and it went to seed. Thanks for that tip!
Finally, someone explained properly 🙏🏻 I planted for bees 🐝 🌸
Buckwheat shades out weeds and when tilled in it enriches soil. Especially in heavy clay soils. I’ve been growing it for thirty years or more. Learned about it from Dick Raymond’s Gardening book.
Just planted black eye peas just because I knew my local market had em, And yes I am listening hard and will get into cover crops
Getting ready to chop my cowpea cover crop soon! Have a great weekend, John!
LOVE buckwheat. It’s great to see someone else appreciate it!
Yay! I’m glad to hear from a fellow buckwheat lover!
I’m planting it for bees!
They will love you for it!
Thank you so much. I can't wait to try this. Eva
I like buckwheat from little rascals never tried it but I will hear soon after watching this.
Awesome video on Buckwheat as a cover crop, very thorough, thank you!
Great info, thanks for sharing.
Glad it was helpful- thanks for watching!
Nailed it! Great info.
Thanks!
Beautiful😍Amazing flying bee🐝👍Buckwheat flowers🌸🌺🌻🌹🌷🌼💐
Great segment.. I use it for a cover crop to break up clay.
Super information as always.Its pretty flowering as well! Thanks again! Jenna you
have great advice as always!
Thank you! Buckwheat really is lovely in bloom AND there are some red & pink flowered varieties available as well which are quite beautiful! Take care & enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Thank you for another wonderful video!
Most welcome- thank you for watching! Hope you're having a great weekend!
Buckwheat is an awesome cover crop Mrs. Jenna. Thanks for the info! Stay safe and have a wonderful weekend!
That it is! Take care, CB!
Great info and advice thanks heaps!
Glad it was helpful!
In late June, I hand seed buckwheat into the winter rye I planted in early spring and then immediately mow the rye down and the buckwheat comes up through the rye mulch. I will do the reverse in September by seeding the winter rye into the buckwheat and cut the buckwheat down as a mulch.
I had no idea Buckwheat was so useful! I will have to make a study of this, I like natural ways to choke out weeds and at the same time build up the soil!
It's definitely one of my favorites! Such a great multipurpose crop!
Very helpful! Thanks 🙏
Thank you very much. Very informational and to the point.
You are most welcome!
Excellent video.
Thank you very much!
A great deal of information in this video. Great job. I'm trying Takane and Red Rose Soba Buckwheat for the first time in my home garden/foodscape. Virginia, zone 7. Just subscribed.
Thanks so much! And how fun-- I think you'll be delighted with the Takane & Red Rose- they are gorgeous!
Woooow beautiful
Thank you! Cheers!
Thanks for the video Jenna, great info, planting buckwheat today where all the garlic was, love this plant, I have been using to fill the holes in the garden, supress weeds, and to add to the soil. Thanks again for the informative video
Glad to hear you love buckwheat too!
excellent talk thanks, interested for beating back weeds and to harvest and make own buckwheat flour ...will keep researching
first time this year, great video. You being in the same relative zone as i am helps a lot too. I have empty rows it will go in and probably left to seed due to available time to garden.
Thank you! I hope you love buckwheat as much as I do!
I recently ran across your videos and have to say you do an amazing job with them!! I finally expanded my atlantic giant pumpkin patch so I can rotate patches every other year. Started dabbling with buckwheat & mustard last season mainly for soil amendments. But watching your videos I've learned about the other benefits like how they attract insects (and deer) away from your cash crop and how/when to terminate them. We pollinate our own pumpkin flowers so bees aren't necessary but are nice to see. I also liked your video on mighty mustard and how/when to properly terminate it. I just did the roll/pack-in after mowing & tilling the mustard for the first time this year thanks to your video. Thank you so much for taking the time to make such great, informative videos!!!
This made my day, Andy- thank you so much!
Very nice J 🙂👍
Thanks!
Gonna try buckwheat out here, it seems like a good cover crop, definitely will help loosen and build the soil as mulch or composting. Big plus chickens like it, and that it will bring pollinators in.
🧅 Garden Jedi-ette
@@xse-qb2vv Glad you're going to give it a try!
Great video - thanks
You’re welcome!
I just bought Buckwheat seed from True Leaf Market for microgreens. Instead and addition to this I sowed some seed on the south facing east side raised bed. I had uesed the bed for sweet potatoes, with not too much of a harvest. I turned the soil in the bed and broadcast the buckwheat seed on a Thursday afternoon. That Saturday night we had a great rain event. Three days after the rain i saw the tender red plants stsrting to germinate. I am excited and look forward to using the buckwheat for several purposes. I am in zone 9 of central Florida in a town called Deltona.
I'm trying it this year. Would love to plant a whole pasture for my bees!
They would LOVE it!
For bees you can also plant phacelia that produce a lot of nectar and make nice colorful (blue or purple/ flower and give you a good mulch. You can plant in Mai to provide an important source of nectars to the bees in August when usually dont have many natural fresh food sources
@@blender_wiki Also known as Borage. It comes in white too.... it will self sow & take over beds, but also easy to pull. Another use is the synergy it has with tomatoes!
great for pollinators in the heat of summer too! it can hold out in late summer here in texas, in places that are quite rocky and otherwise low forage.
Yes! It's really a great all around plant! Take care!
I'm using buckwheat for the first time this year...looking forward to the results.
I hope it does well for you!
Thank you very very much for this video. I am starting to make buckwheat sprouts to used them fresh in raw granolas, saladas, raw tabouli, and many other dishes. Also buckwheat micro greens. Thank you, thank you.....
Yum! I do love buckwheat sprouts!
Buckwheat is awesome! I have a few patches of bare soil, I fill it with bw. The flowers are decent for pollinators!
I agree!
I love your PBR baseball cap. I have to get one.
Thanks!
I'm thinking of using buckwheat to cover my entire back yard to replenish the soil and get it ready for planting a garden, seasonal plants and shrubs, as well getting my soil ready for grass to grow in some places in the years to come. Right now we are overrun by seasonal weeds and I don't know how else to get rid of them so I can start planting the plants that I actually want. I don't want to use chemicals so watching this video gave me some good insight. Thanks for the advice.
We plant 100s of pounds of buckwheat. I know you probably don't have a heavy crimper but with this small of a place u can use a board with a rope on each end and just knock it over good. "not being negative" love your videos and subscribed. The reason is u can just broadcast allot of different seed right into it especially tillage radish. If you break that stem it's full of water and will really help get whatever you broadcast growing good. Me being a person doing allot of no till food plots is amazed with your videos. Check out Jeff Sturgis and his no till food plots. He's the one that got me started on the no till system
I’ve contemplated the board on the rope setup- but mainly for winter rye, I had not thought about using it for buckwheat, but that makes sense! Thanks for sharing!
Food for my honey bees in the fall😊
Absolutely!
Really excellent video. Buckwheat is great for double-using because of the way the seeds reach maturity. The seeds mature from the bottom to top, but by the time the top seeds have matured, the bottom seeds have already fallen. So what I do is wait until the very top of the seed heads have matured, I then harvest the buckwheat kernels and use them as chicken fodder food.... but at the point of harvest, about 25% of the seeds have already fallen off... so you get an entire second growth without doing any work which you can then chop-drop when it reaches the flowering stage. You mentioned how much your chickens like buckwheat greens. Try it as fodder (grow in trays til day 7)... it is hard to judge things, but for my chickens it is probably their #1 food of choice. Final point. You mentioned bees. If you have bees and sell honey, ' Buckwheat Honey' is a thing, and if you check amazon it sells for almost double as what normal honey sells for. The buckwheat causes the honey to be much darker in color, and supposedly with much more nutrition.
So many good points here-- thank you! And I'm definitely going to try this with my chickens!
Thanks for the helpful idea! I've been looking for a cover crop/green manure to use as the weeds in my lawn have their limits. I'll have to do some research to see if it would work for me.
You're welcome, Philip! I'd love to know what you think of buckwheat if you do decide to give it a try!
Thank You ❤️
You’re welcome 😊
I just heard that buckwheat makes a great companion plant for zucchini because it attracts the parasitic wasps that eat squash borers. I'll be trying it this year!
The beneficial insects definitely LOVE buckwheat blooms!
I love buckwheat and I’m so surprised I hadn’t seen it’s flowers before or heard it mention. I had bought buckwheat and used it in my bird feeder last Winter and some of the seeds landed on the ground. Only 1 sprouted and the frilly white flowers turned into pyramid shaped seed heads. I’m planning on sowing again this winter (zone 10b).
I personally really enjoy the blooms and find them quite lovely! I hope it does well for you this winter!
Great advice, Jenna.
Our beds are mostly accounted for (transitioning gardening) but have considered adding some peas just for nitrogen in a few spots. Most of our "weeds" are actually clover plants, so, kind of serves as a semi-cover crop anyway (more nitrogen, of course.) We've never used the buckwheat, yet. ;)
Anyway, this is great advice and especially for folk new to gardening and gardening trips. 👍
Jenna is very good at explaining! Another great video.
Thanks Jules- as far as weeds good, clover is a good one to have! Winter peas in particular might be a good one for you, as they would overwinter and provide some coverage when most other plants are gone- then you could just chop in the spring and plant when you wanted. Hope you're having a great weekend!
Thank you, Michael!
Im thinking of planting buckwheat between my sorghum rows.
I’m growing Takane buckwheat this year for my bees to add more nutrition and color depth in my honey!
Ooh Love the Takane buckwheat!
Hello dear that good 👍
Thank you so much!
Have been growing buckwheat in my grow bags as I take plants out. As it matures I cut it down and put it in my compost. Grow it for pollinators and hope maybe it will be good for compost.
That's a great idea!
I threw down sprouting seeds for a cover crop in my chicken run so my barn animals will have a 30’x5’ run of food to enjoy plus dig up the garden soil in October. It has radish, broccoli and clover seeds
Nice! I'm sure your animals will appreciate that!
hi Jenna, I love your great garden knowledge! Can you tell me if I need to put straw or mulch over the ground cover? thank you! :)
Hi June! Thank you and no need to put straw or mulch down. That's one of the great things about cover crops- they're so easy!
So thrilled about this video, thanks. I'm a new homesteader and been so stressed about what to do with bare space in the garden once things are harvested or before planting, I was going to cover things in tarps to keep weeds down and stop the soil drying out but that's so ugly. I'm so excited to try this AND it solves another problem. My chickens have two big runs but they clear it to bare soil so fast then are stuck for months in a dirt patch. I'm going to rotate them between runs so when in one the first will be planted with Buckwheat and clover (since they eat both and both germinate the same time). Chicken fun times shall be had and no more dried beds full of weeds. Have you tried clover as a cover crop?
Chickens LOVE buckwheat- what a treat that will be for them! And yes- I do use clover, just not as often as some of my other covers.
Excellent info Jenna. I did buckwheat and cowpea combo that worked wonderfully for all the reasons you listed. My pollinators love it, cheap chicken food. I let mine go to seed to cover for fall and anticipate it will kill at frost. Going no till next year in that spot. Should work great. Hope you're doing well. Keep up the good work!
Nice! I've got a few spots in my garden where I've done that same mix- I really like the combo of the 2. Your plan to allow it to frost kill and no-till next year should work great! Hope you're enjoying your weekend- take care!
I love this video! You answered nearly all of my questions about buckwheat. I plan to plant buckwheat in a week or two on a couple of my garden beds in MD zone 7a. These particular beds I want to allow to rest until Spring 2024 and plan to cover crop them until then. If I get ambitious I am thinking of cover cropping with buckwheat in the Spring and summer then turn it under (before it seeds) and sow with crimson clover in the late summer/early Fall for the nitrogen fixing effect. You mentioned mowing buckwheat with a string trimmer when it starts to flower to keep it from going to seed. Assuming I want to avoid seed maturation, about how much additional growth would this give me prior to it flowering again and seeds nearing maturation? I just want to make sure I can keep the buckwheat going until late August when I want to sow the crimson clover. Thanks!
Thank you! I hope I'm understanding your question correctly. Once buckwheat is cut it will not grow back at all. In order to keep buckwheat going from late spring until August, you'll probably want to succession sow, or just allow it to reseed. Buckwheat will reach maturity in about 10 weeks-- you can skip cutting altogether and your first planting will bloom, set & drop seed, die back and then a new 'crop' will self-sow and grow. You can also overseed with additional seed at around first bloom stage if you'd like quicker grow back. You'd probably end up doing this twice to keep the area covered in buckwheat till August.
Jenna, Loved the information. Question, I wonder if I can plant squash and tomatoes in with Buckwheat. Thanks
Interesting! Didn't know about the phosphorus or the rapid establishment. It's a "Dynamic Accumulator" in permaculture speak, so you have my attention. Apparently also captures calcium as well. I used to eat buckwheat flake cereal as a kid and now I want some of that! I'm still thinking clover is my best cover crop as it can be frost tolerant and help get me thru the 8 month deluge that will wash all the nutrients from my soil here in the pacific northwest. In other news a rabbit ate my oak sapling and another got caught in the have a heart trap. Radish seedlings also taking a beating. Turning out the lights at night in hopes of attracting some owls out of the tall trees. I hear them hooting or screeching sometimes, but it's high time for them to come and take care of business.
I love to use buckwheat groats to make porridge and flour to make pancakes/crepes- I don't typically grow enough to harvest for seed consumption, but maybe one of these days! Sorry to hear about the rabbits- I keep hoping the hawks around here will do some population control, but they don't seem to be able to keep up!
@@GrowfullywithJenna Now I want those pancakes too! Funny you should mention hawks, just a few hours ago I witnessed a redtail carry off a gray squirrel. Not 20ft from where he destroyed ALL of my neighbors lettuce. Exactly what I was hoping to see!
@@davidcrosby8552 Wow! Way to go hawk!
Just planted 4300 sq ft of it 2 weeks ago! PS: you’re gorgeous
Nice!! And thank you!
I am a fairly new gardener and am just starting to learn about cover crops. Jenna, between your videos and your comments section, I learn SO much!! I am wondering - can I plant buckwheat as a border around my garden to attract beneficial insects? It is just my grassy yard outside of the garden fence which I don't mind making into a flower border (flowers > grass!!). Thank you from your neighbors in NE Ohio!!
Yes!! Plant buckwheat everywhere-- it's such a versatile easy plant. There are even varieties of rose/pink buckwheat if you want something a bit more ornamental.
I just moved into a new home where the soil has been mostly clay. I’ve mixed in a soil conditioner to break it up a bit but it’s still pretty heavy. I’ve been researching cover crops and since it’s the first week of June, I was looking into a warm cover crop….which lead me to buckwheat.
You might look into sunflowers too- that big root system helps break up clay as well! This year I'm trying a mix of buckwheat, sunflower and cowpea in the problematic 'back 40' at my parent's.
Ok. Now your comments are even so good this year I did that mix in a couple acres and it's working great. For the other person before the buckwheat goes 2 seed broadcast tillage radish into it and knock the buckwheat down with a yard roller full of water. "U can rent one of u don't have 1". U will be amazed with your soil after even 1 year
Well, I’m sold. Thank you :) Do you get seed at a feed store or somewhere online?
You're welcome! The last couple of years I got my seed here: hancockseed.com/products/buckwheat Prior to that, I was able to get seed from a local seed & feed store.
Hi Jenna, enjoyed your video. I was wondering if you can use regular buckwheat groats from the kitchen ? I can't seem to find the answer anywhere I look.
If the groats are raw and have not been irradiated or heat treated in any way it should work. I'd definitely test some by sprouting on a paper towel or something similar before planting a bunch in the garden though.
Great video, thanks. Can buckwheat grow in shade?
It can- but it will not grow as full & lush in the shade.
I have one area that I’m going to try this is. I’ve got sand so we’ll see how it goes 😃👵🏻👩🌾❣️
I hope it works well for you!
Same. Trying Buckwheat this Spring for the first time. I don't have any clay problems.... just sand and "Adirondack Taters" ie: rocks. (NY 5b Adirondacks).
Does no one grow it for the grain? I use buckwheat a lot as we’re gluten free but I don’t find any videos teaching how to grow it for the grain. I’m a bit nervous that allowing it to go to seed will mean that bed will always have volunteer buckwheat growing? And how hard is it to collect the grain? :)
You can definitely grow it for grain. It’s a bit tedious to harvest by hand, but do-able. You will most likely end up dropping some seed and have volunteers (I end up with volunteers every year) but I view that as a benefit 😀
have you ever collected/milled any of your buckwheat? i have a little hand mill for dent corn. wondering if it would hold up well for buckwheat
Hi Jenna, You do a great job with your gardening presentations! I encourage you to keep up the good work! Can you answer this question? I live in Virginia and we are famous for red clay "dirt". Lots of it. Should I amend the red clay with anything before planting a patch of buckwheat? Also, should I till the red clay before planting - or - broadcast the seeds on hard red clay dirt and cover lightly with a garden blend soil before it rains? If you get a chance to reply, thank you so much! K
Thank you! Personally, I would till the soil prior to sowing. I try to avoid tillage as much as possible, but sometimes with hard clay, I find it helps when getting started. I’d probably also wait and add amendments prior to planting your actual vegetable crop, versus amending before the buckwheat.
This is my first big garden. My first time exploring the use of cover crops. I have dense Missouri soil we tilled and used last year for a few pepper plants, and tomato only. This year. I have all sorts of things and am organizing where and when to put them in. Is now the time to plant a cover crop? Our frosts haven't stopped. My garden is still empty. Seedlings indoors growing but no direct seeding happened yet. I am a little nervous to ruin the whole thing. Can you give me a suggestion on the first place I start? Love your videos.
Hi Vicky Ann Timing for your cover crops depends on your goals and which cover you are planting. Buckwheat can't be planted till after danger of frost has passed. This time of year I like to either use a quick growing, cold hardy Mighty Mustard cover crop blend OR something like Johnny's Seeds Spring Green Manure mix, which contains vetch, winter peas and oats. Consider also, that most cover crops will remain in the garden anywhere from 30 days to 90+ days for maximum benefit. So if you have a spot where you know you're going to be planting in a month- I'd either plant a very quick maturing cover crop (again- mustard is a good option) or not bother with planting a cover crop right now. If you have a spot that you know won't be planted till late summer, you have a lot more options in terms of which cover crop you use.
Oh Tay!
😁
Would this be a good way to ammend sandy soil??
Can I use this method in a container gardening for smaller space? Or planted it in the container to invite pollinator.
Yes, absolutely!
When can you cut it to regrow and get seeds?
I'm trying to figure out a good cover crop to grow , cut and then use as a mulch ? I live in Tennessee zone 7b. Would buckwheat work well or are there better options ?
Buckwheat would be a great option, but if you're looking for something that produces a TON of foliar growth (and therefore lots of mulch), you might consider sorghum sudangrass.
I think you shared a website in one of your videos (but I can’t remember which one) that would help determine a good cover crop based on where you live. Maybe it wasn’t you - but, if it was, could you share that again please? Thank you!!
Yes- that was the Midwest Cover Crop Council cover crop selector tool, found here: www.midwestcovercrops.org/covercroptool/
👌🙏
💚
I understand using cover crops over winter to improve soil but Not sure I understand the idea of warm season cover crops. Would you plant this in a bed that you're not using that summer? Or do you mow it down mid-season then plant something that can be started mid season?
I most often use them when my longer maturity spring crops are done- so when things like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, onions or garlic come out, I'm putting warm season cover crops in their place. They can also be used as a 'holding spot' for fall crops.
I'm growing buckwheat to attract beneficials and to chop it to make fpj
Ooh the beneficials will love it! Also, I feel like I should know, but what’s fpj?
@@GrowfullywithJenna fermented plant juice I've fallen in love with natural farming or korean natural farming often referred to as knf and also jadam. I've been using the jms input and I've seen mushroom growth like crazy so i know my fungal life in my soil is growing woot woot! I've got a 100g tank and a 32g trash can of jadam liquid fertilizer brewing now. I just got some sunn hemp and buckwheat seeds today can't wait to broadcast them tomorrow. I'm going to grow them for the nitrogen fixation and the nematode suppression of the sunn hemp and use them for liquid fertilizer as well as fpj.
@@GTILOUD Ah- very cool! Thank you for sharing!
@@GrowfullywithJenna look into jwa its a surfactant you can make at home and a little change to the recipe you can make your own bar soaps.
@@GTILOUD ooh I will- thank you!
If you want it to grow year after year, can you? If you don't cut it? Or do you have to plant more buckwheat the next year.
Absolutely-- it readily self seeds! Just let it set seed and don't cut it. It will die back naturally and more plants will sprout up. I've found that the seed will overwinter and pop up the next summer as well!
Are you able to harvest the buckwheat for grain?
Yes
Can i grow buckwheat over an area then after it flowers cut it and composted in a bin to use in garden?
Absolutely!
Jenna,
Do you buy your buckwheat seed local or do you order? Any suggestions for a good supplier of daikon radish? I may get a bag of oats or rye at the co-op close to me.
Lately I’ve been buying almost all my cover crop in bulk from Hancock Seeds-I have trouble finding anything local.
@@GrowfullywithJenna I had never heard of them, but have checked out their website and will definitely strongly consider them for future purchases. Many thanks!
@@GrowfullywithJenna Hi, Jenna
You can buy raw whole buckwheat from Azure Standard for less than half the wholesale price of Hancock.
25lb for $26.38
50lb for $48.44
Azure's buckwheat germinates fast and strong. I am very happy with it.
Free shipping if there's a drop location near you.
Newbie gardener… can you use this flowerbeds to cover bare spots. I’d like to do more of a living mulch. I have never used things like buckwheat or clover. Do they take over?
You can! Buckwheat only 'takes over' if you let it go to seed.... but even then, it's ridiculously easy to pull up or chop down.
I was reading about it and seems to be great but Is safe for all livestock ?
I've heard that it is not safe for horses. But I'm not feeding mine to livestock so I've not done much research on it.
If terminated 7-10 days after flowering begins, can the flowers be set aside/dried to save seeds from? Or will the seeds not be matured enough to be viable? I’m new to cover crops and would love to be able to save seeds from the cover crop this year (my garden is small) to replant for next year!
If you are wanting to save seed, I'd recommend just allowing the seed to mature on the plants, collect what you want and then terminate the plants. You'll likely have some volunteer buckwheat plants from seeds which have dropped onto the ground- but the bees will enjoy them!
Sand soil in the north ok?
I tried seeding buckwheat and it seems like all the birds took to the seeds before they had a chance to take germinate. Seeded again yesterday and got it all watered thoroughly. Hope this one takes.
That is the one downfall of many cover crops! I actually had the birds feast on my cool season mix (peas, vetch and oats) this year. I hope they leave this planting alone for you!
I'm using Buckwheat for the first time in my raised beds that are raised up above ground. After planting they came up just fine but when they reached a few inches high, something started eating the leaves at night. It's not cutworms because the stems are untouched. Does anyone know what might be eating the leaves and how to control that? I'm grateful for any replies.
Is it heat tolerant? 105+ degrees in the summer where I live
Yes- it is very heat tolerant once established
@@GrowfullywithJenna thank you!! We raise goats and chickens so this would be a perfect cover crop to help our soil and to feed our animals!
This is my first year growing buckwheat. Instead of mowing down buckwheat in the late fall/early winter, can I just let the frost kill it? (Obviously not letting it flower) Or will mowing it down help it from growing back? I’m going to plant strawberries in the bed in the early spring.
Great question! You can definitely let it frost kill- no need to mow.
@@GrowfullywithJenna thanks! So I’ll just weed whack the flowers so they don’t go to seed?
Is it inappropriate to say this, but I think you're a princess.
Thanks- but I'm definitely not princess material 😆
What about a cover crop(s) in a no dig, no till garden?
Great question, Tom and great answer Steph! I'd say the chop & drop method would work great- it'll take a bit longer to decompose but you get the benefit of added weed suppression this way.
Japanese make noodles from Buckweed
Yes! I love soba noodles! Though I’ve never made my own.
Harvesting the seeds takes forever. Is there a tool that makes it go faster?
You're right, it does. But I'm not aware of a machine or tool for small scale mechanized harvest.
Is that the only way you use it?
I also like to eat buckwheat! It's a favorite of mine for porridge and flour.
Can you harvest seeds for next year? We are planting for our chickens for first time and hoping we can become self reliant and not have to keep buying the seed.
Yes you can!
@@GrowfullywithJenna fantastic! thank you for your reply!!
Is this the same type of buckwheat used to make flour?
Yes it is!
@@GrowfullywithJenna Thank you! Do you gather the seed to make flour or just use it for cover?
@@turtlelilysgarden5258 I just use it for cover currently (or let the chickens eat it). I do use buckwheat flour & groats in my cooking, but don't have a cost effective way of gathering the seed currently. Working on that!
When breaking new ground for garden, I use buckwheat as a cover crop to choke out weed and grass growth. I will do this several times before ever using for a garden. Not only does it choke out grass and weeds, it enriches the soil. I use triticale during the winter on my summer garden areas and buckwheat during the summer on my winter garden area.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
What about 2 spotted mites. We get lots of bugs
how many times I can cut It as fodder and still can get seeds out of it?
That is a great question, but I don't know the answer- sorry!
Trying to see if i understand...You mention to grow, allow to reseed then it can grow again same season and then winter kill...would that be timing of the winter kill before new seeds form? If seeds over winter, will those seeds sprout in spring?
Maybe you addressed this by saying they are easy to remove if they came back someplace you didn't want them.
I planted about 500 seeds and got around 20 tiny stems...I think 2 flowered.
My soil is unbelievably clay...first year working with it...it's going to need much more help that that 😃
In my season they will often form new seeds again before the winter kill. And yes- I typically always have seeds here and there that sprout up in the spring. They are SUPER easy to get rid of by pulling or cutting, but I usually just let them grow in and around my crops, as they are great for bringing in pollinators. I've never had any issue with seed not growing- I'm wondering if you got a bad batch of seed OR if critters stole the seed after you planted. I sometimes have trouble with chipmunks digging up my cover crop seed and stashing it elsewhere.
@@GrowfullywithJenna funny...didn't even consider that it was bad seed 😕 I'll try again