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Common Buckwheat - Fagopyrum esculentum

Fagopyrum esculentum
Common Buckwheat, Silverhull Buckwheat

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More information

Also known as buckwheat, this annual plant is cultivated both as a cereal for its nutrient-rich brown seeds and as a green manure for its ability to smother weeds while improving soil structure. The seeds are consumed boiled like rice, and the flour is used in the famous buckwheat pancakes. This plant is particularly suited to poor, heavy, acidic, compact soils, as well as humid climates.
Ease of cultivation
Beginner
Height at maturity
70 cm
Spread at maturity
30 cm
Exposure
Sun
Soil moisture
Moist soil
Best planting time April to May
Recommended planting time March to June
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Flowering time June to July
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Harvest time September to October
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Description

Common Buckwheat, in Latin Fagopyrum esculentum, is an annual flowering plant classified as a pseudocerealgrown both for its edible seeds and as a green manure. Its brown seeds, rich in nutrients and proteins, are consumed boiled like rice, while the flour is one of the main ingredients in the famous buckwheat pancakes. Used as a green manure, buckwheat improves soil structure and effectively combats the proliferation of weeds. Buckwheat is particularly well suited to poor, heavy, acidic, compact soils, as well as humid climates. It is planted in spring.

Buckwheat belongs to the family Polygonaceae and not to the wheat family (genusTriticum, family Poaceae) despite its name 'black wheat'. It is used as a green manure, especially for its weed-suppressing properties and its strong covering power. Buckwheat has upright stems that reach a height of 30 to 70 cm (12 to 28in) and have a purplish color. The leaves are heart-shaped and the small flowers, white or pale pink, are clustered tightly together. Buckwheat is sensitive to frost. It thrives in all types of soils, including poor soils.

Widely used in organically cultivated gardens, green manures like buckwheat have many advantages. They nourish and improve the soil by providing it with various nutrients and stimulating the soil's microbial life. Their roots loosen and aerate the soil. In addition, the presence of a vegetative cover protects the soil from leaching (nutrient loss in sandy soil), rain compaction (formation of a crust in loamy soil), and erosion (caused by runoff in steep terrain during heavy rainfall). This vegetative cover also helps suppress weed growth by preventing the growth of unwanted weeds. Finally, green manures are often honey plants that attract pollinators.

Green manures are sown on uncultivated plots or between rows of vegetables. They are destroyed either naturally by frost or by mowing before seed formation. Once destroyed, they can be left in place as mulch, or they can be shredded and incorporated into the top layers of the soil, or they can be collected and added to compost.

Harvesting: the seeds ripen gradually, starting from late September.

In the kitchen: Buckwheat seeds, gluten-free (like quinoa and sorghum), can be cooked in various ways to replace rice or semolina. The gluten-free flour is perfect for intolerant and allergic individuals, but it is not suitable for baking bread. To make buckwheat bread, it is necessary to mix the flour with others that contain gluten.

A gardener's tip: just like for vegetable crops, it is important, for green manures, to consider rotations: don't always sow the same ones in the same place! Buckwheat husks also make excellent mulch against slugs and snails.

 

Harvest

Harvest time September to October
Type of vegetable Seed and pod vegetable
Size of vegetable Small
Interest Flavour, Nutritional value, Productive
Use Cooking

Plant habit

Height at maturity 70 cm
Spread at maturity 30 cm
Growth rate very fast

Foliage

Foliage persistence Annual
Foliage colour medium green
Product reference 175901

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Planting and care

Sowing buckwheat is done from April to July, the plant is fully grown 100 days after sowing. 

Buckwheat thrives in the sun, in all types of soil, including poor, sandy or rocky soil. It does not require any particular maintenance during cultivation, except for a little weeding if necessary. Water generously only in case of prolonged drought.

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Cultivation

Best planting time April to May
Recommended planting time March to June

Care

Soil moisture Tolerant
Disease resistance Good

Intended location

Type of use Border, Vegetable garden
Ease of cultivation Beginner
Soil Ordinary
Exposure Sun
Soil pH Any
Soil type Clayey (heavy), Silty-loamy (rich and light), Stony (poor and well-drained), 130

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