BACKYARD BUCKWHEAT
(Page 2 of 3)
May/June 1986
Greg and Pat Williams
Who Has the Varieties?
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Unfortunately, seed of the few good buckwheat varieties can be quite difficult to locate. Most likely, your local farm supply store can provide you with "common" buckwheat, which is OK but nothing special. The same goes for the few mail-order houses selling buckwheat seed (see source list).
If that's the best you can find, go with it. But there are a few certified varieties available in states with commercial buckwheat growers. For example, the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association supervises production of Mancan and Giant American seed. Your local county extension agent might be able to connect you with a source of these seeds.
How We Grow Buckwheat
In most areas, the best time to sow buckwheat is about three months before the first expected killing frost: The idea is to plant as late as possible to avoid high temperatures during much of the period of seed formation. Most northeastern growers, then, would sow during the last week of June, while southerners would plant a bit later. In a pinch, you can sow as late as two months before the first expected frost and still expect some yield.
Buckwheat does not need very finely worked soil, although numerous studies have shown that early seedbed preparation promotes high yields. In our experience, this grain loves to follow an early pea crop. We broadcast the seed by hand at a rate of between two and four pounds per thousand square feet, and cover it by lightly raking the sown area.
The seedlings emerge within a few days with two heart-shaped leaves. Growth is amazingly rapid—the plants start flowering in little over a week! As the seeds develop, they change color from green to dark brownblack. Because buckwheat blooms indeterminately (over a period of time), late in the season the plants will have flowers as well as both ripe and unripe seeds.
When about three-quarters of the seeds have become dark brown, we cut the stems near the ground with grass shears. We always harvest before the first killing frost; otherwise the foliage will collapse in a tangled mass and many of the seeds will "shatter" (fall off the plant). Even before frost, the most mature seeds shatter easily, so we try to be gentle when harvesting.
