Buckwheat

[Smokinbenelli]

Last year I had about an acre of buckwheat planted. Deer did not seem to interested in it. After I disced the winter rye in, I sprayed to get ready for the next crop. By the time I got back up to the cabin, I had a nice plot of volunteer buckwheat coming up. This time the deer are hammering that too. Has anyone else experienced a turn around like that with buckwheat?

 

[bueller]

Last year I had about an acre of buckwheat planted. Deer did not seem to interested in it. After I disced the winter rye in, I sprayed to get ready for the next crop. By the time I got back up to the cabin, I had a nice plot of volunteer buckwheat coming up. This time the deer are hammering that too. Has anyone else experienced a turn around like that with buckwheat?

I've always plant my buckwheat around Memorial Day and it always gets hammered.

It grows fast so sometimes it can be hard to judge it's usage. I go by trail cam and in person sightings in addition to browse cages and other observations.

 

[broom_JM]

Sometimes it just takes them a while to figure out a new food source. Since BW is usually planted as a smother crop or to grow green manure, it's actually best when deer don't hit it too hard. Another possibility is that your first crop of BW was planted before your lime and fertilizer had a chance to really take effect. A few months later, and with the added draw of the winter rye, deer may have decided they like the BW just fine after all. :)

 

[yoderjac]

Last year I had about an acre of buckwheat planted. Deer did not seem to interested in it. After I disced the winter rye in, I sprayed to get ready for the next crop. By the time I got back up to the cabin, I had a nice plot of volunteer buckwheat coming up. This time the deer are hammering that too. Has anyone else experienced a turn around like that with buckwheat?

Deer use buckwheat but they tend not to abuse it if sufficient acreage is planted. While it is not a super highly preferred food, like any food, the attraction is relative. My guess is that your first crop was young and tender at a time of year when there were plenty of native foods available. Your volunteer crop was young and tender at a time when many native foods sources had dried up. This made the buckwheat more attractive in relative terms.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[dsinwi]

I've planted BW as a summer crop every year on my small plots. Sometimes by itself and sometimes with WR or Oats. The deer prefer it over anything else I may plant with it. It grows well inside the cage but the deer won't let it get much above my knees outside of it. I've increased the rate a couple times but it still does not keep up. I don't get the stands some of do on my poorer soil though. Perhaps if I did it would keep up, I don't know. I plant it in an attempt to add OM, the deer love too. I've never let it go to seed so no volunteer crop experience. I had intended to do that this year but things didn't work out timing wise with my packer build. Maybe next year.

I'd day keep planting it. It's cheap, good for the soil and the deer will get some benefit out of it as well. win-win!

 

[yoderjac]

I've planted BW as a summer crop every year on my small plots. Sometimes by itself and sometimes with WR or Oats. The deer prefer it over anything else I may plant with it. It grows well inside the cage but the deer won't let it get much above my knees outside of it. I've increased the rate a couple times but it still does not keep up. I don't get the stands some of do on my poorer soil though. Perhaps if I did it would keep up, I don't know. I plant it in an attempt to add OM, the deer love too. I've never let it go to seed so no volunteer crop experience. I had intended to do that this year but things didn't work out timing wise with my packer build. Maybe next year.

I'd day keep planting it. It's cheap, good for the soil and the deer will get some benefit out of it as well. win-win!

Yes, on small plots they can really hurt it. I have two plots on my location one is tiny and remote and the other is larger and closer to activity. The tiny plot looks like a lawnmower went through it and the larger plot shows very little browsing.

If your interest is building OM in poor soils, the best approach is to minimize tillage both in depth and frequency. While plants like buckwheat add OM, mechanical tillage introduces O2 into the soil which speeds microbial consumption of OM. I've rehabilitated old logging decks where weeds would not eve grow. I plant buckwheat in the summer and winter rye and crimson clover in the fall. I also add GHR in the fall for some organic tillage. Crimson clover acts as a reseeding annual in my area and bounces back covering the early spring period. That lets me wait until mid-June to plant a single buckwheat crop rather than trying to double crop it. I'm in zone 7a so specifics need to be tailored to zone, but the general principle of minimizing tillage is the key. For folks without no-till drills, Crimson N Camo has adapted the principles to small equipment for food plotters: http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/the-throw-n’-mow-method.5510/

Thanks,

Jack

 

[dsinwi]

Thanks for the info Yoder. I've been learning about the benefits of no till and attempting to adopt to it as I go here. It's all fairly new to me, trial and error. And I'm a slow learner.:)

 

[yoderjac]

Thanks for the info Yoder. I've been learning about the benefits of no till and attempting to adopt to it as I go here. It's all fairly new to me, trial and error. And I'm a slow learner.:)

I'm an even slower learner. When I started, I really set myself back using a 2-bottom plow. I used to work hard to have lush weed free clover plots. I used to use a lot more fertilizer than I do now. My entire perspective evolved over time as I learned more an more. I have a completely new attitude toward soils, weeds, and long-term sustainable methods. I still have much more to learn than I already know! It's a never ending process.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[H20fwler]

Buckwheat is something I'm wanting to try, I don't see much of it in my area.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

We plant it every year ( rotating plots ) at my camp. It's cheap, adds OM to the soil, and is a good deer draw. A camp member has a cam on our BW plot and he's got pix of 6 bucks in there feeding at once. We usually let it go to seed and then the turkeys and grouse ( and some doves ) hit it to pick the seed. We usually let it decay down or roll it and then seed rye or WW into it. The following spring, we get volunteer BW coming up. Other things can be seeded into it or let it grow again. We have bees and they hit the blossoms hard - as do the native bees. BW works for us.

 

[BobinCt]

I plant BW yearly. The deer here definitely browse it but don't kill it. You will definitely always get BW coming back again if you let it go to seed. When it goes to seed, you will see tiny black seeds forming on the top. I always make sure I bush hog it prior to it forming seed heads unless I plan on double cropping.

 

[yoderjac]

I plant BW yearly. The deer here definitely browse it but don't kill it. You will definitely always get BW coming back again if you let it go to seed. When it goes to seed, you will see tiny black seeds forming on the top. I always make sure I bush hog it prior to it forming seed heads unless I plan on double cropping.

I think the amount of volunteer crop you get depends on your soils. I always let mine go to seed, but the volunteer crops are never thick enough to hamper my fall plant. In fact it enhances it. The volunteer buckwheat sprouts quickly and is quite attractive when young in the fall. It provides an archery season attractant while my fall mix is getting started. If the deer leave any, it dies at the first frost making room for the plants in my mix. Buckwheat is very sensitive to cold.

Others have reported that if they let it go to seed the volunteer crop smothers their fall mix. So, I guess it just depends on your conditions.

Thanks,

jack

 

[bueller]

I let it go to seed and rarely have any volunteering.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Yoderjac - I see the same thing at camp. The volunteer BW is an early attractant, but isn't thick enough to hamper the other plot seedlings. It's more of an addition to the main course. We've had some sprout the following spring - again, just an addition.

 

[wiscwhip]

BW will produce some hard seed that will stay in the soil over the winter and pop in the spring, usually in our area it sprouted when we had a really good thaw and then was killed a few weeks later by a frost.