Volunteer Buckwheat

[yoderjac]

This spring I planted a mix of sunn hemp and buckwheat. The deer jumped on the sunn hump quickly so it was think enough for the buckwheat to dominate this year. The buckwheat was about 3' tall when it flowered and went to seed. In late August, I planted my fall mix. It consisted of WR, CC, GHR, and PTT. I broadcast the seed, cultipacked, and sprayed.

Many folks complain about volunteer buckwheat as problematic for them. I don't doubt that in more fertile soils, if it is terminated soon after going to seed. It has never been a problem for me. Here is how it works for me:

When the volunteer buckwheat seed gets cultipacked in the warm august soil, it germinates quickly. The deer hit it and consume a lot of it. The rest flower before it gets a food tall this late in the year. I think it is the cool evenings that triggers it. You can see there is plenty of the planted crop that has germinated in the field.

As soon as we get a light frost, the buckwheat will die making room for everything else. I'll try to remember to take another pic in a month or so.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[jsasker007]

I like buckwheat. Easy to grow, grows fast, one of the only things you can get a decent second crop from in Minnesota. Too bad it doesn't take the cold at all.

 

[rtaylor]

I watched the deer eating my buckwheat and the flowers last weekend. They had brassicas, wheat and clover they could have been eating but they chose the buckwheat.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

How is everyone sourcing their buckwheat seed. The few times I have looked into purchasing and trying some, the cost seemed a bit salty for something that is planted during the least stressful time for deer forage. What is the price per pound most are finding?

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Close to $1.00


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[Teeder]

Big fan of buckwheat here.

 

[Bill]

I’m seeing that as a good problem.

 

[yoderjac]

How is everyone sourcing their buckwheat seed. The few times I have looked into purchasing and trying some, the cost seemed a bit salty for something that is planted during the least stressful time for deer forage. What is the price per pound most are finding?

Least stressful for some, most stressful for others.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Least stressful for some, most stressful for others.

That's why I brought it up. Where is everyone sourcing theirs?

 

[Teeder]

I get all my seed from a local co-op feed mill.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

That's why I brought it up. Where is everyone sourcing theirs?

Albert Lea Seed House. Albert Lea, MN.

 

[Bassattackr]

I've bought from Green Cover before when I couldn't find locally. Prices are reasonable, shipping can be a tad pricey..

 

[yoderjac]

That's why I brought it up. Where is everyone sourcing theirs?

I buy mine locally from the coop. Price is about the same as online when you add in shipping.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Thanks for the replies everyone. For those of you in the Midwest, where forage in the summer months is not a limiting factor, are you using buckwheat mostly as a weed control/cover crop measure or is it primarily a food source?

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around why you would want to plant buckwheat at $45/acre for a food plot in the summer months. Does that keep the weeds in check until you can get brassicas in? Otherwise, why not just plant soybeans to get the summer browse and fall/winter grain? I could see it if you have a combination of poor forage in your area combined with high deer numbers in that case, but I'd appreciate any insight here.

 

[Bill]

Thanks for the replies everyone. For those of you in the Midwest, where forage in the summer months is not a limiting factor, are you using buckwheat mostly as a weed control/cover crop measure or is it primarily a food source?

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around why you would want to plant buckwheat at $45/acre for a food plot in the summer months. Does that keep the weeds in check until you can get brassicas in? Otherwise, why not just plant soybeans to get the summer browse and fall/winter grain? I could see it if you have a combination of poor forage in your area combined with high deer numbers in that case, but I'd appreciate any insight here.

I used it once in the spring on a brand new 1 acre plot. Wanted something there until it was time to plant clover in the fall

 

[Bassattackr]

Agree with Bill. Used as a gap filler, also beneficial for mining soil nutrients. FWIW - Different millet varieties are also a good shorter, warm season crop, depending on what your goals are.

I get zero browse or use from deer however. So I don't use it as a "food plot".

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

No till options with nutrient scavenging and weed suppressing factors making the way for a no spray crimp type option.

 

[yoderjac]

Thanks for the replies everyone. For those of you in the Midwest, where forage in the summer months is not a limiting factor, are you using buckwheat mostly as a weed control/cover crop measure or is it primarily a food source?

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around why you would want to plant buckwheat at $45/acre for a food plot in the summer months. Does that keep the weeds in check until you can get brassicas in? Otherwise, why not just plant soybeans to get the summer browse and fall/winter grain? I could see it if you have a combination of poor forage in your area combined with high deer numbers in that case, but I'd appreciate any insight here.

If I were in the mid-west and had fertile soil, I would probably use it less if at all. It is a great OM builder which is great on marginal soils, but it is not the only one. Different conditions and different strategies. I'm far enough south that between deer browsing pressure and weed competition in the summer, soybeans really need to be RR forage beans. They are expensive, they produce small beans and except for mast crop failure years, they are ignored by my deer. Using gly multiple times a year, burn down, and weed control in beans, exacerbated a Marestail problem. I found the fast germinating buckwheat along with sunn hemp worked better in my marginal soil at a lower cost covering our summer stress period. In the north and in more fertile soils, I would see less of a benefit from buckwheat compared to some of the alternatives.

In the north, I would probably only plant for the winter stress period. For some specific purposes, buckwheat would still work well. If I was establishing a perennial clover field, I would probably plant buckwheat to get an even better handle on weed control before a burn-down for my fall plant with a cereal grain nurse crop. Here it can be a mainstay. In the mid-west, I would see it as a more specific situation crop.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[jsasker007]

I add it for diversity. Deer like it.

 

[Teeder]

Hardly an expert here on foodplots, but I use buckwheat when I'm starting a plot, mainly with clover. It comes up quick and keeps the weeds down until the clover gets established. Mine gets browsed by deer and the turkeys seem to love it too.