Food Plots Buckwheat

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Yep...if your local Co-op doesnt have it then they can get it. Last we got was around $80 per 50lb...more than double what we had paid previously...but on a more positive note...It has a great germination rate (even with throw and mow) deer will nibble on it but wont mow it down, let it go to seed and the turkeys and dove love it (also it will reseed itself) Its a great soil builder....but one of the most impressive things we experienced is buckwheats abilty to surpress weeds..some of the cleanest food plots we had that year...only downside for us is price.
 
DoubleRidge said:
Yep...if your local Co-op doesnt have it then they can get it. Last we got was around $80 per 50lb...more than double what we had paid previously...but on a more positive note...It has a great germination rate (even with throw and mow) deer will nibble on it but wont mow it down, let it go to seed and the turkeys and dove love it (also it will reseed itself) Its a great soil builder....but one of the most impressive things we experienced is buckwheats abilty to surpress weeds..some of the cleanest food plots we had that year...only downside for us is price.
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This is why I'm wanting to plant it. Help build the soil and suppress weeds.
 
DoubleRidge said:
Yep...if your local Co-op doesnt have it then they can get it. Last we got was around $80 per 50lb...more than double what we had paid previously...but on a more positive note...It has a great germination rate (even with throw and mow) deer will nibble on it but wont mow it down, let it go to seed and the turkeys and dove love it (also it will reseed itself) Its a great soil builder....but one of the most impressive things we experienced is buckwheats abilty to surpress weeds..some of the cleanest food plots we had that year...only downside for us is price.
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Wow, I remember not long ago when it was $0.45 per pound! But, it will grow pretty much anywhere!
 
I've had real trouble getting it, even through the Co-op. Ordered some last year and it never came in.

But it is a great plant. Will grow in poor soil. Although I've found deer like it more as an early fall plant than a summer plant. I've planted it in my summer mixes and deer hardly touched it. But in fall plantings in August, deer tear it up until the first frost kills it.
 
DoubleRidge said:
Called local Co-op in middle TN (Dickson) and buckwheat is in stock $58 per 50lb. So in our area its come down quite a bit. Still high but better.
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That IS better! I too was paying upwards of $80/bag.

Of course, part of that is because many of the food plotting YouTubers from up North have finally gotten off their ONLY PLANT BUCKWHEAT! kick.
 
BSK said:
That IS better! I too was paying upwards of $80/bag.

Of course, part of that is because many of the food plotting YouTubers from up North have finally gotten off their ONLY PLANT BUCKWHEAT! kick.
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Why are they promoting buckwheat so much? Because it's good at building organic matter? It has such a short growing season that it really needs to be planted in a mixture.
 
Quailman said:
Why are they promoting buckwheat so much? Because it's good at building organic matter? It has such a short growing season that it really needs to be planted in a mixture.
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Like you said soil building. You can double crop on red clay, terminate before it seeds. I don't think there is anything better at what it does.
 
Quailman said:
Why are they promoting buckwheat so much? Because it's good at building organic matter? It has such a short growing season that it really needs to be planted in a mixture.
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Exactly why the guys far north promote it so hard... planting in June, then crimping it down for fall plots end of July.
 
Don't get me wrong... im not poo pooing buckwheat....

That being said, it doesn't give me the bang for my buck for summer plots due to cost. I'm a cheapskate... hard to beat cheap generic forage beans plus cheap sorgham plus cheap millet for summer plots to build and aerate soils.
 
Quailman said:
Why are they promoting buckwheat so much? Because it's good at building organic matter? It has such a short growing season that it really needs to be planted in a mixture.
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A couple of reasons. First, they are new to food plotting. We here in the South have been experimenting with food plot seed blends for 30 years. Up North, food plots are somewhat of a recent phenomenon. I remember when I was still working for Grant and we started managing properties in New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Those hunters thought we were crazy to plant crops just for the deer to eat. That concept just hadn't made it into that part of the deer world at that time. So their knowledge base about food plot plants is nowhere near what it is in the South. They will "discover" a new (to them) plant and suddenly that plant is the be-all plant. They then quickly produce several YouTube videos about it so they are the "first" to bring it to attention. And YouTube being what it is (a copycat world), every other northern land management YouTuber then jumps on the bandwagon. Then after a couple of years, they realize this plant alone has downsides. They then have to be the first to tell everyone DON'T plant this plant (even though they were the ones who first said plant it alone). The YouTube land management world is pretty crazy and loaded with managers with little experience in land management.

Off my soapbox now...

What value did they see in Buckwheat? In a heavy seeding rate monoculture, it does an amazing job of blocking weed/grass competition. They loved that. It will grow in just about any soil. It does fairly well being broadcast without incorporation into the soil (drilled or covered). Deer like it. But like any single plant, a monoculture has downsides, and it took them several years to learn that lesson.
 
BSK said:
What value did they see in Buckwheat? In a heavy seeding rate monoculture, it does an amazing job of blocking weed/grass competition. They loved that. It will grow in just about any soil. It does fairly well being broadcast without incorporation into the soil (drilled or covered). Deer like it. But like any single plant, a monoculture has downsides, and it took them several years to learn that lesson.
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No doubt it has value as I've been planting it on and off for almost 20 years. I definitely like the short maturity date, giving you an opportunity for a double crop in the growing season. Deer definitely seem to prefer it (at least on my farms), and it's a prolific seed producer for turkeys, doves, etc. But would I rank it high from that aspect as far as a food plot species to plant? Probably not, but as you mentioned, it's great at reducing weed competition, increasing organic matter, etc.
I would also never plant it as a single species IF I was wanting a quality summer food plot. It would always be in a mixture.

Also glad to see the price coming down a little!

I have a mixture I'll be planting this summer that consists of laredo soybeans, iron clay cowpeas, sorghum, millet, sunflower, and buckwheat. Looking forward to seeing how well it does.
 
Quailman said:
I have a mixture I'll be planting this summer that consists of laredo soybeans, iron clay cowpeas, sorghum, millet, sunflower, and buckwheat. Looking forward to seeing how well it does.
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That's a great mix... I did the same thing 3 years ago in my 8ac plot. I will say this... be careful with the sorgham and millet. It is easy to get too much of that stuff and choke out the expensive plants!
 
megalomaniac said:
That's a great mix... I did the same thing 3 years ago in my 8ac plot. I will say this... be careful with the sorgham and millet. It is easy to get too much of that stuff and choke out the expensive plants!
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Thanks Mega, the mix I've put together is pretty light on the millet/sorghum for that very reason! It's heavily weighted toward the laredo soybeans and cowpeas.
 
Quailman said:
I have a mixture I'll be planting this summer that consists of laredo soybeans, iron clay cowpeas, sorghum, millet, sunflower, and buckwheat. Looking forward to seeing how well it does.
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Let us know how that works out.

I'm following Mega's lead and just planting a mixture of cheap soybeans (not RR) and sorghum. And that is more about green manure production and weed reduction than food sources for deer. With all of our recent timber removal, deer seem to be feeding more on natural regeneration than food plot plants (in the summer - fall is a different story).
 
BSK said:
Let us know how that works out.

I'm following Mega's lead and just planting a mixture of cheap soybeans (not RR) and sorghum. And that is more about green manure production and weed reduction than food sources for deer. With all of our recent timber removal, deer seem to be feeding more on natural regeneration than food plot plants (in the summer - fall is a different story).
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Will do BSK! The remainder of my summer plots will be a basic mix of RR Corn/RR Soybeans. Easy to manage and control for weeds and of course high value as far as a late season food source.
 
Quailman said:
Will do BSK! The remainder of my summer plots will be a basic mix of RR Corn/RR Soybeans. Easy to manage and control for weeds and of course high value as far as a late season food source.
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Do you let your corn stand as is, or mow strips in it and replant a fall planting?
 
BSK said:
Do you let your corn stand as is, or mow strips in it and replant a fall planting?
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A lot of times, yes, I'll mow strips in the corn and broadcast wheat or wheat/crimson. It really depends on how well the plots did during the summer and the volume of food produced plus how much time I have to get out to the farm to overseed those areas.
I also try to have additional cool season plots around the farm just to compliment the summer crops being produced.
Next year my goal will be to start focusing on the woodland areas again through TSI to increase native food sources. As you're aware, it's definitely a process!
 
What do ya'll suggest for high quality bottomland soil where weed competition is extreme? I would prefer the RR Corn/Soybeans but obviously that's the most expensive option. We fight weeds continuously down there especially johnson grass. I would like to put something in that would be the best option for weed suppression and cut down on the chemicals. I have some standing corn/ wheat and crimson clover in now.
 
We are doing a mix of RR soybeans and RR corn. Mainly so we can spray around knee high to kill back the weeds. We'll be doing this to suppress weeds until they are mostly eliminated. Until then, no more buckwheat or sorghum or anything else in the mix until those are taken care of. I learned that after the last 2 years.
 
Bgoodman30 said:
What do ya'll suggest for high quality bottomland soil where weed competition is extreme? I would prefer the RR Corn/Soybeans but obviously that's the most expensive option. We fight weeds continuously down there especially johnson grass. I would like to put something in that would be the best option for weed suppression and cut down on the chemicals. I have some standing corn/ wheat and crimson clover in now.
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My opinion is to go with RR corn/soybeans so you have the ability to control weeds with herbicides. The food plot mixture I mentioned in an earlier post has a combination of both grasses and legumes that are not Roundup ready of course so my herbicide options are limited to say the least.

Also, I constantly see people mentioning how costly it is for corn/soybean seed, but for wildlife food plots there's no reason IMO to buy it at retail prices. I've been a member of various conservation groups for 25+ years and I can buy seed at a fraction of the cost. My main costs are fertilizer, herbicide, fuel. Corn, soybeans, and sorghum are readily available through groups like Quail Forever and NWTF. All it takes is a membership and contacting your local chapter.

Hope this helps!
 

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