buckwheat?

Dave from MN · Mar 3, 2014

Just doing some reading and with using poultry manure, high phos build up is an issue for the soil, and with the gov't and enevible manure/fertilizer restrictions, I feel putting Buckwheat in the crop rotation would be a good option for reducing excess phosphorous,from whagt I have read. It is also an early crop so a person could benefit from longer growing season of a cover crop, and/or a short season forage crop. Any one have any experience with growing it? Are the any growing issues, harvesting issues , or marketing issues I should make sure I consider?

oldtanker · Mar 3, 2014

Checking with your local elevators/buyers will answer the first question. I haven't had anything to do with sense the 70's when my dad raised some. As far as harvesting I remember that dad really had to slow the fan down and make some other adjustments to the combine. I'll see if I don't run into the any members of the one family around here that grows a lot of it. It does seem to do well in sandy soils.

Rick

Dick2 · Mar 3, 2014

Neighbors used to raise buckwheat; the smell from a field when it was blooming would gag a maggot! We'd have to roll up the windows just to drive by the field, so we never wanted to raise it.

Dave H (MI) · Mar 3, 2014

Look up the Midwest Cover Crop Council, lot of good info there. Not sure if buckwheat is what you are looking for but take a read and see.
Buckwheat

teddy52food · Mar 3, 2014

Honey bees love it.

Kickinbull · Mar 3, 2014

I have never grown any myself, so take it as hearsay. It is a late season last resort crop. It is a very good soil builder for a covercrop, and the bees love it. Don't need any fert., grows best of poorer soils. Friend says he love to eat it right out of field. The plant is not good for forage. It will make straw, but it's not the best.

hd6gtom · Mar 3, 2014

I've grown it several years, seed it the 2nd or 3 week of July, it comes up quickly and goes to seed before the first frost. I put it on marginal to heavy ground and let it go to seed. I let my bees use it to make late honey, then leave the honey on the hives so they will have it for their winter feed. It makes real dark and nasty honey. The wild turkeys will devour the seed as soon as it is ready to harvest. It is easy to grow, disk up the ground like you would for oats and run it through the end gate seeder. It is a larger seed so you may have to expermint with your seeder. I don't know where you could sell the harvested crop. I may try to cut some and bale it this year. These dam goats prefer old musty hay over green alfalfa, I think they would enjoy eating it. I'd check with local elevator around your area far a market. No elevator around here wants to mess with the small amount I would have to sell.

Traditional Farmer · Mar 3, 2014

I have grown it as a cover crop comes up and matures quickly then I'd disk it down cultipack it and it'd come up again but its reputation as helping the soil is way overblown in my opinion.Cowpeas with Hairy Vetch does a much better job.

Don Rudolph · Mar 3, 2014

We used to grow buckwheat after canning peas and before fall seeded wheat. We liked it well as a disk down green manure and bees absolutely went nuts over it. If it goes to seed it can become a weed, so you must be careful with it if you are not spraying. Don

Frank 41 · Mar 3, 2014

I love buckwheat pancakes with butter and Funks Grove maple syrup.

JD Seller · Mar 3, 2014

I have raised it in the past. It is a late seeded crop. Usually mid to late Jun at the earliest. Often up in July and it will still make seed.

There was no local commercial market here in North-East Iowa. There where a fair number of hog feeders that liked it in their rations so I never had any trouble selling any I grew.

Harvesting it can be a bear if the crop is not real dry. The straw is real tough if it has any moisture in it. The grain can be hard to get to dry down in the field. Remember it is usually a late planted and harvested crop. I usually wanted a real hard freeze and then a few weeks of sunny dry weather to dry it down.

Corn silage or Alfalfa will remove far more phosphorous than buckwheat and have more traditional markets. You need to harvest crop that are green to remove the most phosphorous. Lettuce used a lot of phosphorous too.

buckwheat?

Dave from MN

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oldtanker

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Dick2

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Dave H (MI)

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teddy52food

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Kickinbull

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hd6gtom

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Traditional Farmer

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Don Rudolph

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Frank 41

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JD Seller

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