Days to Maturity: 70 to 90
An heirloom variety, Organic Buckwheat is highly versatile, suitable for growing as a cover crop, a forage crop, or even as microgreens. Buckwheat produces edible "grain" (actually kernels) that are rich in fiber and typically ground into flour and used in a variety of foods.
A quick-growing, warm-season annual, buckwheat seeds germinate quickly, within 3 to 4 days, and thrive in nutrient deficient and uncultivated soils. Reaching a mature height of 24 to 36 inches, buckwheat is an attractive, well-branched plant with its heart-shaped green leaves growing along red stems. The plant flowers heavily and continuously for weeks, setting clusters of pinkish buds and white blossoms, and is suitable for use in flower beds and vegetable gardens. The wildflowers are not only beautiful and long-lasting in bouquets but also abundantly nectar rich. They attract and support a variety of beneficial insects, including honeybees and ladybugs, which increases yields of crops planted nearby.
A low-maintenance, warm-season cover crop, buckwheat improves crop diversity, water infiltration and availability, and soil health. Annual buckwheat is primarily grown for its rich nitrogen-fixing bacteria and is reported to make phosphorous more available as a soil nutrient through root-associated mycorrhizae. But it is also used as "green manure" when mowed before it goes to seed (about when 50% of crop has bloomed) and mulched back into garden soil at the end of the season, improving tilth and adding organic matter to the soil, feeding your soil for future harvests. Buckwheat is not winter hardy, which makes it easy to terminate and mulch back into the garden. Buckwheat also slows erosion, suppresses weeds, and helps control garden pests, such as thrips, mealybugs, and other leafhoppers.
Buckwheat is often used as forage for livestock. Although Buckwheat has a lower nutritional value than most forage grains. It is high in lysine (an amino acid), which is deficient in other grains; however, for forage, it should be grown with other grains, such as barley, corn, oats, rye, or wheat.
A Fagopyrum esculentum variety, Buckwheat is a broadleaf cultivar in the Polygonaceae family and is entirely unrelated to wheat. Open-pollinated, it produces seed that grows true to variety, ideal for seed saving.
Learn how to grow cover crops with our blog: Know Before You Grow: Cover Crops.
Buckwheat can also be grown as microgreens. Mature and ready to harvest in 7 to 14 days, the shoots have leafy green tops and hints of red and yellow along the stem. They have a citrus-like flavor with tart and tangy notes and are high in vitamins B, C, and K as well as folic acid and fiber.
If you're new to growing microgreens, be sure to check out our blog titled, An Introduction to Microgreen Gardening and How to Get Started. Also, Microgreen Gardening Ideas and Inspiration offers a few quick facts to get you started. You'll find everything you need to grow microgreens at home, on our Microgreens & Supplies page, from Bootstrap Farmer microgreens growing solutions to grow lights and heat mats.
