The Great Buckwheat Experiment

This year we are going to grow. Drumroll please..... 



Buckwheat.




No, we are not into gluten free cooking.  Although, I heard buckwheat pancakes are neat-o.

No, we are not into medicinal benefits.  Although, I do have a mortar and pestle if I wanna try making some those poultices.  Once we find out what they are good for.

And no, we are not into a yoga mats (yet) or new style of pillow that will give you exercise while you fluff it.  (Though buckwheat may be little--that is a quarter in that picture below--buckwheat be no light-weight).





What are we into?  Apparently, green manure.  It is not as nasty as it sounds.  Basically, you offer up the poor plant for sacrifice, in the name of increasing the nutrients and organic matter of the soil, to make up for those veggies that try to rob the soil blind :-)  You know who I am talking about, potatoes.  I hear you snickering, tomatoes.  Don't go around looking so innocent.  Anyway, buckwheat is also good as a ground cover, smothering weed growth--although, I like the weeds.  Bad bugs tend to get the munchies for them instead of the plants we get munchies for.





So, anyway, decision made, Mom went on a local quest for buckwheat since our online quest for cheap buckwheat turned up less than impressive results.

Yesterday, Mom met success at our local feed store, and triumphantly brought home the prize:  our first bag of buckwheat.






15 lbs at 90 cents per lb.   So about 15 bucks worth of seed.

We may have gone a little overboard, but once we find out how to store it, we are set for a while.  Quite a while.





We plan on letting the first crop just go through its natural life cycle, to see how long it takes, what it does to the soil, what it looks like, how hard it is to harvest the seed if we wanna harvest it (who knows how long buckwheat seed is viable), and so on.

After that first crop, we want to use it after we take out our potatoes.  That is, plant it in the second garden and till it in.  If that works well as green manure, then we'll try planting it after other veggies.

Well that is about it on our first day of The Great Buckwheat Experiment.  Oh, before I go, I admit there is one last reason why we are doing it.





Pure old fashioned fun :-)

Anyway, stay tuned to the blog to hear about our adventures in the fine art of buckwheat farming.

Presenting the Life and Times of the New Year's Amaryllis

Ah, what can one say about an amaryllis.  They grow tall--fast.  Inside.  Even on a table top quite a bit away from natural sunlight.  Make that winter sunlight, no less.  And if that feat weren't enough, they also produce beautiful vibrant flowers that last several days.  All this we learned from experience, raising our first bouncing baby red.

Here is a timeline of the late Christmas present, planted sometime in mid-January.  Photos range from Jan 24 to Feb 20, 2010.





 

Ahhhh.....

Since we are so proud of our baby, how about a few more pictures.

Here's January 24, 2010:   

With a close up on the size... 

Look how tall she is.  21 inches!

Here is February 6, 2010:

What happened to the rest of January?  Well, the baby was a wee bit shy and didn't want to reveal much . . .

. . . until now.  See.

Here is February 7, 2010:

And look what a day can do!

Lookit!  Siamese Twins!

Here is February 8, 2010:

Hmm, not much change here.  Except in camera angles.

Here is February 9, 2010:

That's our little expansionist, that she is. We are so proud.

Here is February 11, 2010:

And look what happens when you miss a day.  Shame.

Here is February 12, 2010:

Well, she is no longer a Siamese Twin . . . but a Siamese Trip--Quadr--oh, Siamese Multiple :-)

With a late bloomer.

Here is February 15, 2010:

Ah, they grow up so fast.  Sniff.  Sniff. ;-(

Here is Today, February 20, 2010:

Wow, where does the time go?   But I've heard that if you do a little trimming, well, more like a buzz cut after she begins to droop with old age, she'll be like a . . . young bud again.  Yeah!

Until next time, these were the Days of Our Amaryllis's Life...  :-)