Spring Planting Buck Wheat

[Early Bird]

Good Afternoon,

I just joined the site and wow what a ton of great information. I recently cleared a one acre food plot. I am in the process of waiting for my soil test results but initial indications the PH is going to be around 6. I am going to plant buckwheat in the middle of May. The ground is clay and the plot was carved out of the woods. I am in the hill country of Southern Ohio and I have access to an ATV and a Tarter disc/cultipacker combo. My plan for planting was to spray Gly, add the appropriate amount of lime and fertilizer, lightly disc, spread the Buck Wheat and cultipack. Does this sound reasonable? How long should I wait to plant the Buckwheat after spraying? Is there a chance I don't have to spray? Any tips or corrections is much appreciated. I am also going to put a fall plot in the same field in late August.

Thanks,

Ray

 

[weekender21]

I've been trying to get seed down immediately, same day as clearing. I'm in the "hill country" of NC and don't want to risk erosion in addition to just letting my soil bake in the sun. I had a few acres cleared in March and immediately added lime, WR and MRC. I'm also planning to plant BW on those plots if they're not filling in by May 1st. I have no reason to think they're not filling in nicely but we did get a few cold nights (mid 20's) a few weeks after I planted.

 

[Early Bird]

My problem is I am 6 hrs away and it makes a little more difficult. I was told not to plant BW until May/June because it wont do well with temps in the 30's and 40's.

 

[DIY]

I plant buckwheat in late May / early June. It seems to take off faster when it's warm. A light frost will kill it, so I don't take chances.

I own the Tarter disc/cultipacker combo. I like it for ATV food plotting. If the plot was recently cleared and there's not much grass or weeds present, I would just run the disc over it on the middle setting to get your lime and fertilizer incorporated and not worry about spraying Gly. Buckwheat comes up quick, so if you seed at the proper rate you shouldn't have much weed trouble. Broadcast the buckwheat and then raise the disc so it's lightly touching the soil and lower the cultipacker all the way down. Go over it once and you should be good to go. Ideally, you get the seed between 1/2" to 1" deep. Too shallow is better than too deep.

If you decide to spray, I would wait at least a week to get an adequate weed kill. I try to wait two weeks if time permits, unless rain is coming sooner.

Buckwheat will grow in some pretty lousy dirt and is a great way to get a new plot heading in the right direction.

 

[weekender21]

My problem is I am 6 hrs away and it makes a little more difficult. I was told not to plant BW until May/June because it wont do well with temps in the 30's and 40's.

I'm 4600 miles (24 hours) away so consider yourself fortunate!

 

[CoshoctonOH]

Ray

In Ohio BW will do good if planted in May. You said you plan on planting something else in August, be aware that the BW you planted will have gone to seed by then. When you plant your fall plot you are going to have a lot of BW coming up too. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your deer population. I have found deer love the new BW growth during this time frame, more so than when initially planted in May. So if you have a high deer population, it’s probably nothing to worry about, if you have a low population, you may want to terminate the BW before it goes to seed, or not plant the recommended 50 pounds per acre. As far as your initial thoughts on planting in May, gly before disking is a good idea if the current growth is thick (meaning good root systems underneath). It will help your relatively light disk cut better. If it’s not thick and you think your disk can handle cutting through green growth and the roots this will terminate what is growing or at least stunt it enough for the BW to take over. Hope this helps, and FWIW, I really like BW.

 

[Early Bird]

4600 miles away, I now feel fortunate. Thanks DIY and Coch for confirming my thoughts, I do have a fairly large deer population in a by and large non-AG area. I would be surprised if the deer didn't hammer it.

 

[Rit]

If I was putting a disc to that soil it would be the last time. I also wouldn’t plant a monoculture of just buckwheat. I have actually read more than once that a solid stand of buckwheat can actually contribute to soil erosion because of how loose it makes the topsoil.

Diversity is the key to soil improvement. I would plant a handful of things at the same time. With your clay you are in danger of it crusting over and nothing will grow through that. You should look to have that soil covered 24/7 and something actively growing in it as much of the year as possible. Buckwheat alone has a very low carbon to nitrogen ratio and won’t do a lot to give you organic matter. The matter it produces will breakdown quickly. But if you plant buckwheat, millet, clovers, sunflowers, spring oats etc you will have all kinds of material to improve the soil. I would suggest you mosey on over to the Throw and Mow thread. Your soil will appreciate it.

 

[Early Bird]

I will check it out. Thanks!

 

[Buckly]

Spraying the plot will depend on just what’s growing there. If there’s a lot of grass and weeds it’s good to spray. If not you can certainly skip it. I would not throw down any fertilizer. The buckwheat doesn’t need it and you’re just going to feed the weeds. I always break in a new plot with buckwheat. It grows well, grows fast to suppress weeds and breaks up the ground Then move into a fall plot rotation or just let the buckwheat go through the fall.

 

[Early Bird]

Buckley, would you skip the fertilizer or use a low or no nitrogen fertilizer?

 

[Buckly]

I wouldn’t use fertilizer. That’s just my opinion. In the spring your going to supercharge weeds and give yourself a headache. Get some lime down if you can. If the ground is clay then a good dose of lime will last for quite a while (years). If you rotate to something different in the fall then you can put some fertilizer down. Personally on my plots once ph was adjusted I never found the need for fertilizer I grow cereal rye, oats and crimson clover in the fall. If your going to plant corn or some brassica then you’re going to need some fertilizer

 

[Early Bird]

Great info thanks! I am planning on Rye, wheat and red clover in the fall.