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What Are the Best Tips for Planting Buckwheat Seeds?

Brandon May
Brandon May

Buckwheat is a simple plant to grow during the late spring or summer, and doesn't require heavy care to bring into life. Using buckwheat seeds to grow the plant may be more difficult than beginning with a starter plant; however, it still can be grown relatively easily throughout the most parts of the world. Tips for using buckwheat seeds to help ensure successful germination and growth include soaking the seeds, fertilizing, and proper watering of the plant. Grown and harvested buckwheat plants can be used as a soil amendment to help provide nutrients to other growing plants, whereas the freshly grown buckwheat seeds can be ground into flour and used in baking.

Hulled buckwheat seeds are usually purchased for growing buckwheat; they are tan in color with four irregular pyramid projections extending from each side. Most gardeners, before planting, will take the buckwheat seeds and soak them overnight to increase the rate of germination. This will shorten the time it takes for the plant to sprout above the ground and grow. While this can be helpful, this step isn't necessarily essential for successful buckwheat plant growth. What is important, however, is having enough moisture within the soil without creating an overly damp environment.

Soba noodles, which are made with buckwheat.
Soba noodles, which are made with buckwheat.

Most garden soils will grow buckwheat quite easily, yet it is still suggested that a gardener use fertilizer and even compost to ensure the soil has enough nutrients. There are different amounts of fertilizer and compost that are needed to help build a healthy and life giving soil, but this depends on the size of the garden as well as the type of garden soil used. Many gardeners test their soil to find the levels of nutrients available and will substitute the nutrients that are low with soil amendments. The nutrients buckwheat needs for proper growth are nitrogen and phosphorus, and these can be purchased as soil amendments in any gardening store.

Buckwheat seeds should be soaked overnight before planting.
Buckwheat seeds should be soaked overnight before planting.

Careful watering and plenty of sunlight is needed for buckwheat seeds to emerge and grow into full buckwheat plants. Since this plant requires little care to grow, watering should be done irregularly, perhaps every other day or every two days. During the day, the buckwheat plant will wilt somewhat in the heat and light of the sun, but they will usually recover fully during the evening and dark hours. Buckwheat plants flower after about a month of planting, and the entire plant will mature in double that amount of time.

Discussion Comments

anon994353

I would recommend not soaking buckwheat seeds. That usually results in more damage than benefit. They are one of the fastest seeds out of the ground if planted about half an inch deep, in good contact with a moderately moist soil. They should be up in three or four days.

pastanaga

@umbra21 - Buckwheat doesn't have gluten, but people can be allergic to it just the same. So, it's a good idea to make sure you aren't before over indulging in it as an alternative to wheat.

It's also used to make gluten free beer. I know we have one at my local bar which is quite nice.

You can also eat sprouted buckwheat as part of the raw food diet. Just sprout them like you would any other kind of seed.

But, be careful. People sometimes get food poisoning from eating sprouts because they don't sterilize them before eating them. Bacteria like growing in the same conditions that seeds do, so you have to make sure you protect yourself from them.

umbra21

Did you know buckwheat isn't actually related to wheat? I just found that out a few days ago. That's why it doesn't contain gluten and you can eat it if you are gluten intolerant.

That makes me happy, because I really enjoy buckwheat noodles and I am trying to avoid eating gluten as much as I can.

I've heard that if you sprout the seeds first, they become much more nutritional. Maybe I'll try making my own buckwheat noodles, using flour made from sprouted buckwheat.

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    • Soba noodles, which are made with buckwheat.
      Soba noodles, which are made with buckwheat.
    • Buckwheat seeds should be soaked overnight before planting.
      By: yuliakotina
      Buckwheat seeds should be soaked overnight before planting.