I don’t disagree with blumsden very often…..but I’m gonna have to present an opposing opinion on the buckwheat……..If you’re someone just getting started with T&M and you’re field is not in good shape……I think you will be better off to go with millet on you’re first summer rotation……Here’s my reasons why…..
As I’ve already mentioned….my experiments with buckwheat showed that the deer would eat the chit out of it. I’m sure that’s gonna be deer density and plot acreage dependent. That’s not so good if you’re wanting to end up with biomass at the end. Also buckwheat is a succulent broadleaf sort of like clover but bigger. When we’re talking about producing long term soil organic matter you need high C:N grasses. A crop of green buckwheat being added back to the soil if acting as a feeder crop to the next rotation in line….not really building long term soil organic matter. Here’s a video that explains the differences in growing biomass to feed the next crop versus growing biomass for long term OM.
One other reason I would prefer millet for someone who is just getting started is because it has a very tiny seed. It’s much more likely to do well in those “less than ideal” situations that many folks are dealing with in the beginning. It’s also pretty dang cheap.
