348Winchester
Well-Known Member
My newest plot was carved out of the woods last January. It was planted with buckwheat in May and again in August. The buckwheat struggled but that was expected since the area was just cut out of the forest. The plot was limed and fertilized with both buckwheat crops. In late September the plot was fertilized and limed again. The lime was bagged lime so the total amount called for was reached upon the third application. I did it this way to spread out the expense and hassle of scores of bags. The late summer/autumn drought was brutal as you well know. I seeded the plot three times right before predicted rains that either never came or grossly under performed. There was minimal germination. What little seed that sprouted was in low spots that collected what meager moisture that was available. By mid-November all hope was abandoned. Then there were a few rains over the following weeks. The plot suprisingly began to green up somewhat. There was a couple of bags of seed and fertilizer left over because I gave up on the project so I spread them in mid-December. To my amazement they have sprouted and grown much better than expected. Even after the heavy snow and subsequent deep freeze there is new growth. There are some thin spots and I plan to oversew those with the last bag of rye grain in early or middle March. I also plan to frost seed some clover into it in about three weeks. Winter rye is an absolute workhorse of a crop!
