So I planted Buckwheat

[Blazed]

Now what? It is just sprouted. good coverage on about 1.5 acres. I plan on put in turnips and rape in August. How do I manage the BW until then, and at planting time in August?
 
I have 1 acre beside this that I just plowed a let sit. I plan on mowing weeds until August, then round up, then overseed with T & R. in that acre.

[msbadger]

Here I just check it once in a while to see how much the deer chomped it down....It helps surpress weeds...has a deep ground busting tap root...so pretty drought tolerant....mine never gets a chance to completely go to seed so it lasts all summer just resprouting leaves and trying to flower and seed...should it go to seed the turkey, grouse and here pheasant will be abundant....as Aug gets here the deer and what else...we have alot of rabbits to...will have it thinned out enough to go thru and fertalize with a higher nitrogen fertalizer and the Bracc seed..... do this just before a good rain and there is no other soil prep to be done...

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[sagittarius]

ORIGINAL: Blazed   Now what?  How do I manage the BW until then, and at planting time in August?

  You don't have to do anything ... nothing you really can do.   You can mow and or disk the buckwheat down just prior to planting.   If it is too thick it can clog up a disk if you are not careful.   Start with the disk high and lower it on each consecutive pass.   It can help to mow it a week before hand and let it dry prior to disking.   You will get some volunteer buckwheat after disking, but this will die with the first hard freeze.

[msbadger]

Blazed....I've been doing this planting for a few years....never needed to disc...just over seed field before a rain....should the BW still be thick...which has never been the case for me you can mow but...Braccs are very good at sprouting with soil contact from a good rain and the BW is a good shelter in the Aug weather.;...also if you've never planted Braccs before ....the BW will get the deer coming in and tasting them as they try to get the last of the BW

[cdn1]

badger how long would buckwheat last into the fall season ? and is it an annual or perrenial?  I'm curious and thinking about planting another plot
late July or early August would it be a good option for a fall plot?

[msbadger]

BW..sprouts and grows fast but even a light frost will take it out.....it's an annual that I would think die once it goes to seed....my plots last because the deer browse it down and it keeps resprouting inorder to flower and produce seed.....We finally got rain so my bigger plots should be growing well...even with out rain they had started sprouting...I'll get pics up soon

[msbadger]

So hows your BW plot coming along? Here are the pics I mentioned.... these are the thinnest stands I've ever had..[&o]...good and bad I suppose means I have many more turkey than I thought and the deer started on them earlier....chopping them up pretty good....I'll have to up seed rate next year....



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[msbadger]

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[msbadger]

[Blazed]

BW is up and about 2.5' and flowering now. Started flowering 4 days ago, now the whole field is in white flowers. Deer did not hit it at all, but wiped out my 50' row of garden peas which sits on one side to the BW. Hoping that they will come on the second growth. I do have some larger weeds mixed in which I hope will get choked out after self-seeding takes place. The field next to the BW that was just plowed and leveled has about the same amount of vegitation as the BW field, but I have mowed that back 2X. I will round-up the weed field then broadcast turnips and rape. The BW field I am going to just mow then overseed with the same.