Brush Creek
5 year old buck +
Planted buckwheat last weekend in the southern twin cities. My 5.6 acres of management. Had a perfect rainfall that night and somewhat warm. Now 5 days of cold. Will it grow?
Buckwheat
- Thread starter Brush Creek
- Start date
Tooln is right though, buckwheat really likes warm soil so it may not germinate right away. If we get some sunny warm days, your soil should heat up and it will grow. I live in SE MN and I'll probably be throwing in some buckwheat in a week or two.
What are your goals with the buckwheat? Are you going to let it go to seed and go for a late summer second crop of buckwheat or will you plow it up and try for a fall plot with something else?
Last year I planted buckwheat in late June and I disked it up before most of it went to seed - my goal was to use buckwheat to add organic matter, then plow up in late summer and plant some type of throw and go mix. Everything went well until I planted the throw and go mix and it didn't rain for a couple weeks. It did finally start growing, but it was too late to provide much attraction for the deer.
What are your goals with the buckwheat? Are you going to let it go to seed and go for a late summer second crop of buckwheat or will you plow it up and try for a fall plot with something else?
Last year I planted buckwheat in late June and I disked it up before most of it went to seed - my goal was to use buckwheat to add organic matter, then plow up in late summer and plant some type of throw and go mix. Everything went well until I planted the throw and go mix and it didn't rain for a couple weeks. It did finally start growing, but it was too late to provide much attraction for the deer.
bueller
Moderator
Soil temps are holding it back. I planted some radish on 04/18 and had rain early and often. Three weeks later on 05/10 I expected it to be several inches tall as it is very fast growing much like buckwheat. What I found was the sprouts were barely breaking out of the ground, 1" max. I do expect them to explode over the next couple weeks as warm weather appears to finally be making it here.
bueller
Moderator
Or if some weeds come up and take over before the buckwheat wakes up. Probably of low concern though.
Steve Oehlenschlager
5 year old buck +
Yes it will. My plot of Buckwheat next to my house for my bees is sprouting like crazy and this is all volunteer from last fall. I have not disked or anything. I was going to replant, but it looks good enough to leave.
Brush Creek
5 year old buck +
Yep, it came up with warmer temps. Buckwheat is to help the soil. Going to plow it in and get smor radish in.
D
dipper
Guest
Everything has exploded the last 36 hours. My NWSG is already 4"s tall. It is gonna grow now.
Brush Creek
5 year old buck +
I hate that stuff.
wiscwhip
5 year old buck +
Keep in mind that buckwheat is a great short season crop for breaking the "perennial clover cycle". Buckwheat is great at mining nutrients from deeper in the soil profile and pulling them to the surface only to put them back into the soil in relatively short fashion due to the quick breakdown of it's crop residue. Some complain about it's cost, but it is worth the money considering it's versatility in multiple soil types and planting windows and it's contributions to soil health. It can also be used to break the "brassica cycle" in much the same fashion, such as if one wanted to go back to back fall brassica plantings. I wouldn't recommend doing that in perpetuity, but the short 45-60 day maturity of buckwheat lends perfectly to a back to back brassica planting without transitioning to another full season crop first. Plant BW anytime before June 15th and your ready to terminate the BW and plant fall brassicas again around Aug 1st or so.
Brush Creek
5 year old buck +
Do I still get soil benefits if I kill the buckwheat before maturity? I have better luck with my brassicas if I plant in early July.
bueller
Moderator
wiscwhip
5 year old buck +
As bueller said, yes. But obviously the longer you can leave it the more benefit it will have. That said, I wouldn't change my other plans to accommodate a few extra weeks of BW, plant it as early as possible for your given area(obviously late enough so it doesn't freeze out), and terminate whenever you need to get your other stuff in. If you get 45 days worth of growth it is plenty to see soil benefits.
Another piece of interesting info I happened across: "Buckwheat is nearly three times as effective as barley in extracting phosphorus, and more than 10 times more effective than rye—the poorest P scavenger of the cereal grains."
Here is my take on that fact. If you use a lot of rye and have constantly low P on your soil test, is that low P a product of the fact you are using rye? Wouldn't it make sense to crop behind it to ensure that the P would be more available to subsequent plots? What would it hurt to drill BW into your rye in the spring as it awakens, all you have to do is terminate it when it flowers. Plant diversity is key to getting the most out of your soil, with the fewest inputs. And I'm not saying grow weeds in your clover or not to spray your RR corn, I'm saying be mindful of what you plant behind other crops and you will help your soil in many ways.
Another piece of interesting info I happened across: "Buckwheat is nearly three times as effective as barley in extracting phosphorus, and more than 10 times more effective than rye—the poorest P scavenger of the cereal grains."
Here is my take on that fact. If you use a lot of rye and have constantly low P on your soil test, is that low P a product of the fact you are using rye? Wouldn't it make sense to crop behind it to ensure that the P would be more available to subsequent plots? What would it hurt to drill BW into your rye in the spring as it awakens, all you have to do is terminate it when it flowers. Plant diversity is key to getting the most out of your soil, with the fewest inputs. And I'm not saying grow weeds in your clover or not to spray your RR corn, I'm saying be mindful of what you plant behind other crops and you will help your soil in many ways.
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