green manure Buckwheat

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rowlandwells

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green manure Buckwheat
« on: April 29, 2021, 14:46 »
I bought some green manure the other day called Buckwheat never grew this one before always grow mustard but i thought i mite give  Buckwheat a try on one plot  I'm going to continue growing mustard on the other plot

so can anyone who has been growing Buckwheat give me some advise if its worth growing is there  any downsides or upsides to growing Buckwheat it says on the packet sow may to August? it also says fast growing and deep rooting to break up subsoils i though i would give it a try it on some heavy ground ?

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Russell Atterbury

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Re: green manure Buckwheat
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2021, 16:12 »
Not sure about the green manure bit. But we eat a lot of the grain here. Good and healthy stuff as well. I think the Uk could get more into it.

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Omega

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Re: green manure Buckwheat
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2021, 23:06 »
I’ve planted some this year to try to see if it’s an easy / lazy way to improve a bit of ground that is compacted from being walked on and not dug over. The advantages are that buckwheat is not in a common plant group, (related to rhubarb), so there are no issues with rotation and it’s quick growing apparently so hopefully I can get 3 crops in one year if you cut it down before it fully goes to seed.

I found it because I was looking for a deep rooted green manure but when researching it more I came across https://sarep.ucdavis.edu/covercrop/buckwheat which said, “Buckwheat is termed a deep rooter by Pears et al. (1989), but this is apparently an error (Bugg, pers. obs.). Rooting system is superficial but does show a high root volume in the upper soil stratum (0.0-0.25 m in depth) (Bugg, pers. comm.)”. This fits in with other comments about it being easy to pull up. So I don't actually think it is deep rooted, although since I only have 30cm or so down to clay it probably isn't a problem for me.

I just dug over the top few inches of soil and scattered the seed on the surface at around 6-8g / m2 and kept it damp by watering every day. I planted mine back on 17th April. I covered over part of it as we were having cold nights and some started to germinate after 4 days but most took longer probably because of the cold. The seeds are now about 1” high. The section which was not covered is just starting to germinate now.

Senior Gardening: Growing a Buckwheat Smother/Cover Crop “Buckwheat for green manure should be cut and turned under around a week after it begins blooming in force (not just a bloom here and there). When it begins to put its energy into maturing seed, it has slowed producing the lush, green organic matter one wants to improve the soil.”
 
At that point I will have to see how loose the ground is compared to planting phacelia and if still compacted will try planting phacelia next, otherwise I will dig in the buckwheat which should be easier if the soil have been loosened and plant another crop of buckwheat hopefully to fit 3 in the year.

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rowlandwells

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Re: green manure Buckwheat
« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2021, 19:04 »
That makes very interesting reading Omega and well worth taking into account when we start sowings in May i have to say there is only one part of one plot that i will be trying  as i said in my first post its quite heavy ground so its going to be a suck it and see thing



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