How to grow Buckwheat (Green Manure)

Fagopyrum esculentum

🥕 Vegetable 🌱 Grown each year

A fast summer cover crop: up in days, flowering in six weeks and loved by hoverflies. Frost-tender — sow after the last frost.

At a glance: Sow early May to late July, harvest from mid June.

When to sow, plant and harvest

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Sow outdoors

Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.

Early May – late July · 3 weeks after the last spring frost
Sow on Bare Ground
Rake the soil, scatter the seed evenly, rake it in lightly and water if dry. Great for beds that would otherwise sit empty.
7–21 days after “Sow on Bare Ground” · Mid May – late May
Check It Has Come Up
A green carpet should be showing. It smothers weeds and protects the soil from rain.
42–63 days after “Sow on Bare Ground” · Mid June – early July
Cut Down and Dig In
Before it flowers or sets seed (or when you need the bed), chop it down, let it wilt for a few days, then dig it into the top 20 cm.
14–28 days after “Cut Down and Dig In” · Early July – mid July
Wait, Then Plant
Leave the bed for 2–4 weeks while it rots down before sowing or planting the next crop.