Back to BUCKWHEAT!!!

[FordGuy]

Ok - I have seen the traffic concerning planting of buckwheat and, to show you how serious I am about this, I picked up 50 pounds of buckwheat seed last week.  

This week I read that youhave to buy the right kind - NOT self pollinating!  so, my variety is "MANCAN" from athens GA...can anyone tell me if I screwed up and bought self pollinating Buckwheat?  Thanks a  bunch.

[FrogPond]

Mancan is a mid-season buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) cultivar developed at the Agriculture Canada Research Station, Morden, Manitoba. It has a seed size 26% larger than Tokyo and is the first large-seeded buckwheat cultivar licensed in Canada. It is especially suited to southern Manitoba.

Go here FordGuy: http://www.jeffersoninstitute.org/pubs/buckwheat.shtml

50# should be enough for about one acre, and you will need to drill it in. If you want to look for older varieties that are also organic certified, you might try Johnies or Fedco - both can be found on the web.

I will be interested in hearing how you do with this. I may be planting some buckwheat as a cover crop on part of my farm. Good luck and keep us posted!

[Chad S]

I usually till an area lime and amend accordingly.  Spread seed by hand or drop through seeder.  Lighty till seed in, and voila!  Buck wheat 4' tall.  Mourning doves love Buck Wheat so if you don't have a seed drill then you need to plan to till or rake the seed in.

Also some one was asking about Buck Wheat and the Bees not being on it.  I was out near the Buck Wheat the other morning, and about 8am I notice the Bees on it big time.  Like three bees per square foot.  This went on for about an hour and 1/2.  Then the amount of bees working the Buck wheat dropped by about 95%.  Very interesting.

[banjojohn]

Chad, I read somewhere that they have found that bees can tell time, within 10 min. Some flowers only produce nectar for a certain time each day and the bees knew it. They would only come about 10 min. ahead of that time, never any longer. The surmised that the bees did not waste time by getting there too early or late and were at the flowers that were producing.

[FordGuy]

I sewed 50 pounds of buckwheat this last weekend....50 pounds only covers a half acre...to my dissappointment.  I will try to update you guys and let you know if "mancan" plants produce a fall flow (or produce at all!).