Homestead mailing list

["Robert Walton" <waltonrp AT gmail.com>]

Hey all,

Last week I plowed up my back field, a little less than an acre. Since
frosts should be past us here, I planted it to buckwheat. I also
planted some buckwheat in a stony, weedy area in the orchard that I'm
trying to get under control. When I fist planted the orchard, I used
buckwheat as a cover crop.

Buckwheat is not frost hardy, other than that I can't praise it
enough. It mellows soil making it a good first crop. It grows fast
making it a good smother crop. I like to plant a little on the edge of
the garden, in open spaces, etc. to attract bees and nectar loving
insects. Buckwheat "mines" phosphorus, utilizing phosphorus in forms
that other plants cannot and then releasing it in a form they can
utilize. If you let it seed, you'll get volunteer plants, but it's not
really that aggressive. The first year I planted it, I let a plot go
to seed and then disced it in, the field grew back to a nice stand of
buckwheat.

You might want to try some buckwheat this year.

Rob - Va