Page locked

This page is currently locked for editing by another user. You have to wait until this user finishes editing or the lock expires.
Currently locked by: 65.108.227.178
Lock expires at: 2024/05/04 02:13 (4 min)
This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
===== Buckwheat =====

{{ :garden:cultivate:tasks:grnmanure:img_1020.jpg?200|The buckwheat was up in several days}}{{:garden:cultivate:tasks:grnmanure:img_1018.jpg?200 |Cleared of rye straw, buckwheat sowed as a smother crop}}I cleared some rye start that wasn't thick enough to keep out weeds. And I had some buckwheat seed left from last year, so on July 10 I put a buckwheat cover crop here for a quick "smother crop" and to add some organic matter to the soil. By July 14 I had a good many buckwheat seedlings.\\
\\

{{:garden:cultivate:tasks:grnmanure:img_1034wiki.jpg?240 |Buckwheat growing faster than the weeds, but lots of weed and perslane!}}
{{ :garden:cultivate:tasks:grnmanure:2159178.jpg?300|Weeds got a start before the buckwheat got tall so it wasn't an effective smother crop}}Under the buckwheat were developing many weeds that used that window of sunshine to get their start before the buckwheat could provide smothering shade. Next time I will wait for the seeds to sprout, then terminate them - and THEN plant the cover crop.\\

<note tip>Buckwheat is a quick Summer boost to soil by adding organic matter and shading out slower growing weeds.</note>
{{ :garden:cultivate:tasks:grnmanure:2089161wiki.jpg?240|}}{{:garden:cultivate:tasks:grnmanure:2089163wiki.jpg?200 |Buckwheat almost ready by August 6}}Buckwheat grew quickly. The first flowers were forming by August 8. Now I'm planning to terminate the buckwheat - and the weeds - soon. \\
\\
\\
\\
\\
\\
\\

{{ :garden:cultivate:tasks:grnmanure:img_1150.jpg?240|A start of turning under the buckwheat}}It's August 14 now and I really must turn under the buckwheat! I had a few minutes so I took a swipe with the diamond hoe to see how it would go. The hoe works great, both for terminating the buckwheat and for lopping off the weeds and perslane that have been lurking beneath the buckwheat cover.

Still, for terminating a large area the scythe is quickest and easiest.

==== 2015 update: turning under ====

For areas of up to 1000 square feet I'm finding it overall quicker to use my peasant (grub) hoe to take down the buckwheat, immediately chopping it into the soil. This breaks up the stalks, ensures termination and leaves a good bit of the stem in the soil. It's strenuous work, but it gets the buckwheat ready to decompose into the soil quicker than my other manual efforts.

{{ :garden:cultivate:tasks:grnmanure:buckwheat:img_2026.jpg?240|I chop the buckwheat with a hoe to turn it under.}}I found that the straight-through process of hoeing is quickest overall. Scything and then hoeing //seems// like more work and takes longer - like the hoeing is more difficult the way the scythe lays the stems down.

What about the tiller? When the buckwheat gets three feet tall the stems are sturdy enough to get wound around the blades of the tiller, so the approach of one thousand slaves bogs down. A few good hoers would be more effective.

{{:garden:cultivate:tasks:grnmanure:buckwheat:img_1954.jpg?240 |I used the scythe to terminate buckwheat in this 2,000 square foot area and left it as a mulch}}For a larger area, in this photo about 2,000 square feet, I scythed the buckwheat and left it as a mulch to discourage weeds. (In August the field was so dry it didn't encourage slugs.) I sowed a cover crop of tillage radish and oats directly into it.