Last edited by shiny on November 10, 2026. View history
Buckwheat
Buckwheat
How to sow buckwheat: Direct seed (broadcast or drill), thin seedlings to 10cm apart
Sun requirement for buckwheat: Plant in Full Sun
Buckwheat is a versatile short-season crop related to sorrel, knotweed and rhubarb. It does not like hot, dry weather and should be sown 3 months before the first expected killing frost. It grows well in low-fertility soils as long as they are well-drained. Buckwheat is grown for it's grain-like seeds, edible leaves, as a sprout, or as a summer cover crop/green manure. As a cover crop, it builds organic matter and suppresses weeds with its rapid and dense growth, brings up phosphorus and calcium from deep in the soil, prevents erosion, and attracts pollinators. The nectar from buckwheat flowers makes a dark-colored honey. Buckwheat's leaves can be eaten raw or cooked like spinach. Seed should be harvested just before the first killing frost. It's triangular seeds are rich in complex carbohydrates and can be ground into a gluten-free flour, made into noodles, or cooked whole.
- 5
- plantings
- 1
- harvest
- 0
- seed packets
Buckwheat facts
Lifespan
Height
125cmRow Spacing
5cmGrown for
whole plant harvested 1 timeCrop cycle
Max altitude
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For buckwheat, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 7°C and a shortest growing cycle of 55 days at its best temperature, about 825 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your buckwheat will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
How members grow buckwheat
Sunniness
Planted from
Harvested for
Plant buckwheat with
Photos
Photos
Buckwheat crops
Buckwheat plantings
Buckwheat harvests
Video
Where buckwheat grow
Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.
What people are saying about buckwheat
Nobody has posted about buckwheat yet.
Sign in or sign up to post your tips and experiences growing buckwheat.
Who's planted buckwheat
- midiprincess In Ground Bed 1 · 94122
- tegan garden - front yard
- tiki19 Drylands unirrigated food forest · Thornlie, Perth,...
- GoatLady Goat Pasture · Culpeper County,...
Buckwheat harvests
-
midiprincess harvested not specified.
over 9 years ago
midiprincess harvested not specified.
Find buckwheat seeds
There are no seeds available to trade on Growstuff right now.
- Purchase seeds via Ebay
- Sign in or sign up to list your seeds to trade.
Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 55 to 85 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Fagopyrum esculentum Moench
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Caryophyllidae Polygonales Polygonaceae |
|---|---|
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | annual |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium, light |
| Optimal soil fertility | moderate |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours) |
Learn more about buckwheat
Resources outside Growstuff.
