Just wondering if anyone has planted buckwheat just for the honey. I've been offered the use of two small fields, 4 acres and 2 acres, and can move hives near them. The seed runs about $28/50lbs., which is good for an acre. The plan is to plant in about two weeks, which should give it time to bloom, re-seed itself, and bloom again before frost.
I have. It especially does well in a drought. If you stagger planting and plow it under for seed you can get a constant supply of blooms from spring to fall. I'm not sure how much of my honey was buckwheat, but it kept them from starving in the dry summer.
I planted about an acre as well. The girls are working it now. Not enough to make any honey but just to give the girls something to do this summer. I was hoping to get about 3 crops out of mine.
Marty
Please explain a little about buckwheat.
I have some seed ordered that I will sow in a few days. At what stage do you plow it under that it will reseed itself? Will it come back in the spring?
If you want it to come back you have to wait until it goes to seed and then plow it under. I don't think it will come back in the spring here because a hard freeze will kill it, but in the deep south it might.
Found a farmer who used to grow it here, he had trouble with it volunteering in the following year's crop. Not sure if it was enough to make a difference for bees or just a nuisance for crop production though.
I suppose it depends on if you get a late freeze if you get a lot of volunteers.
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