| So you are considering a new garden plot. If you plan | | | | Just rake the seed in and keep the soil damp until it |
| on a 25 by 50 foot garden with 3" of compost to get | | | | sprouts, about 3 to 5 days should do. |
| it started that is going to require 312.5 cubic feet or | | | | The cover of the ground will be intense. Weeds will try |
| about 12 cubic yards of compost. Realizing that a third | | | | to grow but will be crowded out by the buckwheat. |
| of a compost pile can be lost due to moisture and | | | | Scientists have reported that the crop can be used to |
| carbon dioxide loss while it is being made, about 18 | | | | eradicate Canada thistle, sowthistle, creeping jenny, |
| yards need to be produced which means in turn a pile | | | | leafy spurge, Russian knapweed and perennial |
| 3 feet by 3 feet by 54 feet. This is a lot of material | | | | peppergrass. Quackgrass will likely be controlled but |
| and a lot of work. While there is still work involved, the | | | | not eliminated. |
| material can be home grown. | | | | One of the problems with buckwheat is it may deplete |
| The simplest way of composting in this situation is to | | | | the nitrogen in the soil. This will not be a problem for us |
| perform an old farming practice developed before the | | | | because we will return it with the composting. Once |
| days of chemical herbicides and fertilizers, green | | | | the buckwheat is starting to bloom it is time to stop its |
| manuring. Just as a compost pile by passes the need | | | | growth before it seeds and becomes a weed problem |
| for a horse to make manure, green manuring | | | | itself. There are two choices. One is to cut it down and |
| bypasses the need for a pile to generate compost or | | | | compost it traditionally and then dig in the stubble. The |
| usable organic matter. Instead of moving material to a | | | | other is to dig in the whole plant. This is by far the |
| pile and then from the pile to the garden, we grow it in | | | | most effective method. The stems are hollow and |
| place. One of the simplest materials to use and an | | | | easily dug in with shovel or tiller. It leaves all the nitrogen |
| easy one to get seed for is buckwheat. | | | | available for the soil and adds a lot of organic matter, |
| First dig over the garden plat and get it ready to seed. | | | | up to 3 tons per acre of dry matter plus the extensive |
| Do not worry about removing the sod as you might in | | | | root system. It also adds a lot of potassium to the soil. |
| a normal situation, just break it up and bury it as you | | | | The garden should be left for two weeks before |
| go. Sow the buckwheat heavily, as much as 1 to 2 | | | | planting the next crop to begin the breakdown or |
| pounds of seed for the 25 by 50 plot. This is a heavy | | | | composting in the soil and ready it for the next crop. |
| sowing if growing for seed but not for organic matter. | | | | |