Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-07-30
THE BUCKWHEAT CROP.
By ". NJ. Kelley, New Yol


Our experience in growing buck
wheat has been confined largely to It's
use for green manuring purposes and
as cover crop, or catch crop to IN
crease the humus content OF our apple
orchards and grape vineyard SOILS. on
a stiff clay soil we have found no bet
ter crop for improving the soil texture
than this grain.
It will make good growth on q
thin soil and will smother out the
weeds and leave the soil in q fine me-
chanical condition. A crop plowed
under late In August will decompose
rapidly and leave the oil in fine. mel
low and friable condition for potatoes
or grain crops the following year.
On some sohs and under certain
conditions buckwheat is a fairly pro-
fitable crop for the farmers In this
section Of New York. On large pro-
portion Of farms certain fields are bet
ter adapted for the growth of this
crop than for other grain and during
many years when the springs work
lis pressing there are certain to be
some fields that cannot be seeded
with oats. corn and other crops that
Thus, 1t is essential th.t catch crop
be employed rather than SOW spring
crops out Of season. For this purpose
we have found buckwheat to stand in
q class by itself.
Buckwheat will thrive on a soil de-
ficient in organic matter better than
other grain crops. and when COM
mercial fertilizers are applied 1t IS
quite certain to produce fair crop
even on poor soil. One reason why
the average crops Of this grain are
comparatively small T. the fact that
the land Is ploWed and fitted hastily
and the seed sown in a careless and
Indifferent manner.
In order to get q good stand and
insure an even termination OF tho
seed. the land should be plowed at
least two weeks before the seeding
is done and narrowed frequently so AZ
to conserve moisture and insure q well
packed seed-bed.
When the land is p1owed late and
the soil improperly fitted, the young
plants suffer from the dry weather at
the most critical stage Of their growth.
The common practice in this lati-
tude Is to SOW the crop about the first
{ July so that the seed formation
takes place Just before the early frosts
while the weather is cool and dry.
The crop has no regular place In the
being used mostly as catch
crop on soils too poor for the profit-
able growth of other cereals.
The usual quantity Of seed sown 10
about one bushel per acre and COM,
mon grain drill is sued for seeding
and the fertilizer applied at the time
OF seeding. Our experience has been
that better results come from using
good grade fertilizer. although many
good farmers recommend fertilizer
rich in phosphor1c acid in readily
available form. The best crop we
have ever grown was raised with q
high grade potato fertilizer which was
lie :. /. yer from potato planting.
Most growers In this section use q
drop reaper for cutting. as self
binder ties the bundles tco tight and
wastes considerable grain. Buck
wheat is cut greener than other
grains; hence the bundles will cure
cut more thoroughly II made bulky
and loose. Tho variety We have found
best adapted to our soil and climate
Il tho Japanese, although some grow
ers prefer to SOW mixed seed.