Buckwheat Cover Crop Seed

Scientific name

Fagopyrum esculentum

Uses

A quick summer cover that shades out weeds and shields bare soil from washing away. Its roots help crumb the soil and ease compaction. The grain can be ground into flour or cooked as groats, and bees work the flowers heavily.

Sowing

Buckwheat loves warmth and grows fast. Wait until frost is no longer a risk, then sow any time from late May into July. For a grain crop, allow 12 weeks or more before the first hard fall frost; as a fall cover, allow at least 4 weeks. Cover seed 1/2–1" deep with a light raking. When broadcasting use the top of the seeding range; when drilling, aim for 1–2 seeds per inch in rows 4–6" apart (around 55–60 lb. per acre). You can grow two or more crops in a row in one season, sowing again as soon as the previous stand is worked in.

Management

The soft, leafy growth rots down fast after it is worked in. Buckwheat adds no nitrogen of its own, but it pairs well with a legume or fits between other short cover crops during the season. It drops seed freely, so work it in before seed forms unless you want volunteers. Serious pests and diseases are rare.

Seeding rate

Green manure: 2–3 lb. per 1,000 sq. ft. or 50–90 lb. per acre. Grain: 1 1/2–2 1/2 lb. per 1,000 sq. ft. or 48–64 lb. per acre.

Light and soil

Sun or part sun in ordinary soil. It also thrives on thin, worn-out ground, so it is a handy quick fix for poor fields. Best at pH 5.0–7.0; heavy, soggy or very alkaline soil holds it back.

Height

About 2–5', sometimes taller.

Grain harvest

Wait for a killing frost and for the plants to dry, then cut, thresh and mill the grain to take off the hulls.

Termination

You can end the stand at any point, though the ideal window is about 7–10 days into flowering, before seed forms. Tillage, mowing and tarping all work well, and a tarp lies flatter if the crop is mowed or crimped first. Frost kills buckwheat outright, so it never overwinters.

Seeds per lb.

About 15,600 on average.