Planting/growing Buckwheat

[CloverKnollFarms]

I’m buying a tractor this spring, 40-45 PTO hp. We are planning to plant 2-3 acres of buckwheat and clover for the bees. (better forage than orchard grass). Anyone grown buckwheat? I plan to plant mid May… which means it should flower by mid June, mature around August 1 and I plan to lightly till it under. Hoping to then get another crop by mid September to give the bees one last boost of nectar before winter.

Is it realistic to see two generations in a year? I plan to use a 7’ tiller to work the ground… any reason this won’t work? The clover patch will be alsike, the bees love alsike. Between the two, we will increase potential honey production on our acreage alone, by 300 pounds per year… or $3600

 

[ponytug]

I have only done one crop per year as part of a multi crop rotation. It is generally considered to be a cool weather crop, so I have my doubts about double cropping it with an August planting. Can you harvest it easily? If not, perhaps you overseed with another legume, or crop the bees would like?

In the bigger picture, have you explored mixed cropping the buckwheat and clover, and then reseed the buckwheat as needed?

All the best,

Peter

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I have only done one crop per year as part of a multi crop rotation. It is generally considered to be a cool weather crop, so I have my doubts about double cropping it with an August planting. Can you harvest it easily? If not, perhaps you overseed with another legume, or crop the bees would like?

In the bigger picture, have you explored mixed cropping the buckwheat and clover, and then reseed the buckwheat as needed?

All the best,

Peter

Buckwheat is so fast growing, it seems to smother anything else out. Not sure how I’d grow both?

I cannot harvest it, I’m just returning it to the soil

 

[ponytug]

Buckwheat is so fast growing, it seems to smother anything else out. Not sure how I’d grow both?

Growing both is about getting the relative seed/plant densities matched. Normally, you want to grow buckwheat at a high enough density that you block sunlight to the soil quickly to smother everything else as soon as possible. Growing clover with buckwheat would be growing a small fraction of the buckwheat that one would normally plant so that by August, you have the ratio of clover to buckwheat that you want.

To be clear, I have never grown those two crops though I have dual cropped other species.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ponytug]

FWIW:
Growing Buckwheat for Grain or Cover Crop Use

All the best,

Peter

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I think I’ll run one acre of clover and one of buckwheat. I don’t need two plantings of buckwheat per season necessarily… I was curious though. One bloom of buckwheat has a 150 pound honey potential. The clover about the same.

 

[BravoXray]

One year the farmer across the road from me planted a few acres of buckwheat, harvested it and sold it to a local water powered mill. They made it into flour sold it to the public and made some money to maintain the mill.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Three weeks in, with almost no rain. Hoping for a few showers this week to get it popping and blooming. Nice to see it doing this well during a drought

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Four weeks in and she is blooming!

 

[Torvy]

 

[Peter 315]

View attachment 808918

OTAY...

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

After two months of drought, and it miraculously growing... We just got 2" of rain as soon as it blossomed. Hoping to see a bloom for 4 weeks here in July. Till under mid August, then see a bloom mid Sept to mid October to round off the year.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Well, the bees found the buckwheat... I've never seen such a dense gathering of bees!

 

[Jstpssng]

Well, the bees found the buckwheat... I've never seen such a dense gathering of bees!

Good for them, and good for you.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Good for them, and good for you.

They have put up a lot of clover honey, looking forward to seeing how this planting helps them produce through July, where they typically stall out

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

6 weeks in the ground, blooming for two, it’s still growing! Now it’s chest high!
I’m really amazed considering the first four weeks we had almost no rain. This stuff just wants to grow

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

7 weeks since planting. Id say it grew well, considering the month of no rain after it was broadcast. It's a full 4' tall in most areas!

They say an acre will produce at least 800 pounds of seed. It only took 100 to plant it. I'm considering an old International 80 combine to harvest the seed after the bees do their work.

 

[ponytug]

Video of the harvest and seed processing?

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Crimped it over and rolled it in today. Let’s see if it grows again?

 

[ponytug]

Photos?

Just curious...