Buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum)

Characteristics:

• Leaves: elongated to heart-shaped
• Herbaceous, reddish stem
• Height: stem 30-80 cm → rapid growth and ground cover
• Flowers: white to pink
• Seeds: triangular pyramid shape
• Root: numerous fine roots in the topsoil region

 

Environmental needs:

• Undemanding regarding location, soil and nutrients
• Not suitable for heavy, cold, wet, compacted soils
• Needs warmth, very sensitive to frost (suffers damage at temperatures below 3 °C)
• Sensitive to extremely dry conditions

 

Use:

• Main crop Fagopyron esculentum (sowing between late May and early June)
• Forage mixture
• Good autumn bee forage, deer forage
• Catch crop

Green manure:

• Neutral within crop rotation
• Good ground cover and weed suppressant due to rapid, abundant growth
• Advantage of rapid die-off at first frost

 

Function within TerraLife:

• Dry germinating
• Shallow rooting
• Inorganically bound phosphorus-fixing
• Bee pasture

 

TerraLife mixtures:

• BioMax DT
• N-Fixx
• Rigol DT

 

DSV variety:

• LIFAGO

 

Respect: Under very good growing conditions, Buckwheat can reach the ripening in catch crop mixtures. Grazing of sheep is not permitted!