bulk seeds?

Kathyp · February 22, 2008, 07:45:06 PM

i am looking for bulk buckwheat seed. i have a pasture that i don't need for the horses and thought i'd plow it under and plant it. even though i hear that buckwheat seed is grown here in oregon, i am having a hard time finding a place that doesn't want to sell me either a packet, or a ton.

i am also considering planting hairy vetch in the fall. i feel a little foolish about that as i have spent 10 years killing what was growing on my property :-(. there may be some that has escaped, but probably not much.

seems the guy who owned this place years ago kept bees.....i found bits of old honey supers around and burned them never knowing what they were.......

randydrivesabus · February 22, 2008, 09:10:48 PM

i think the shipping would be prohibitive for something like a 50 lb sack of seed. do you have any farm supply stores nearby?
the only place i can think of that may have what you need is in Maine...Fedco seeds.

BeeHopper · February 22, 2008, 09:17:03 PM

Here's a link to a comapny I buy seeds from:

http://www.seedland.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?

Quote from: kathyp on February 22, 2008, 07:45:06 PM

i am looking for bulk buckwheat seed. i have a pasture that i don't need for the horses and thought i'd plow it under and plant it. even though i hear that buckwheat seed is grown here in oregon, i am having a hard time finding a place that doesn't want to sell me either a packet, or a ton.

i am also considering planting hairy vetch in the fall. i feel a little foolish about that as i have spent 10 years killing what was growing on my property :-(. there may be some that has escaped, but probably not much.

seems the guy who owned this place years ago kept bees.....i found bits of old honey supers around and burned them never knowing what they were.......

rdy-b · February 22, 2008, 11:27:31 PM

THIS is where i buy seed you can buy one pound or fiftey http://www.groworganic.com/search.html?pCommand=DoSearch&pMode=Search&sText=buckwheat&sCategory=catalog

T-Bone 369 · February 23, 2008, 12:22:56 AM

mainstreetseedandsupply.com

I have purchaced from these guys before - always been good to work with.

CBEE · February 23, 2008, 09:22:07 AM

We can get just about anything in 50 lb sacks from the farm co-ops where I live.
Even the stuff they carry in bulk they will sell by the pound and sack it for you.

Cindi · February 23, 2008, 12:52:06 PM

Kathy, I could send you a couple of handfulls, I did gather quite a bit of buckwheat last year, I have more than enough. Have a wonderful and beautiful day, love life. Cindi

Kathyp · February 23, 2008, 01:06:25 PM

thanks cindi. didn't know you grew buckwheat! i think i'll need more than a handful, just less than a ton :-) looks like the organic place is the cheapest. thanks you all for your answers. i can find the hairy vetch here. turns out it used to be a very popular crop and seed crop here, but not as much anymore. even so, i can get it here and save the shipping.

cindi, if i plant a couple of acres, how much seed do you think i'd need? i don't need a thick ground cover crop the first year. i'll let it go to seed as you did. as i understand it, buckwheat comes back year after year if let to go to seed?

rdy-b · February 23, 2008, 01:43:18 PM

I calculate using the website I posted -60-80LB per acer-RDY-B

Kathyp · February 23, 2008, 07:15:37 PM

thanks for all the info. looks like i can get Coastal to order buckwheat for me. they can get 50 lb bags and that should be just about right. it's not very expensive and if they get it, i don't have to pay for the shipping!

i'll wait on the hairy vetch and hope that there is still some around here. this time i'll pamper it :-)

Michael Bush · February 23, 2008, 09:04:43 PM

I had the local feed store order buckwheat seed for me.

wtiger · February 24, 2008, 03:11:31 AM

This is where I ordered some sweet clover, crimson clover and wild sunflowers. http://www.outsidepride.com/store/catalog/Buckwheat-p-16141.html
Although I'm surprised you can't get Buckwheat seed from a local feed store.

Cindi · February 24, 2008, 09:26:48 AM

Kathy, no clue how much you would need. I don't want a couple of acres, hee, hee. A 50 pound sack is gonna sow alot of buckwheat, think of all the pancakes you will get to eat with that flour you will grind, hee, hee. Just kidding, remember Aunt Jamima and her buckwheat pancakes, you surely must remember that beautiful ol' black gal's picture on the bag.

Yep, I grow buckwheat. I remember seeing Dallas' pictures of his buckwheat and then thought of what my buckwheat looked like when it grew. We have lots of moisture here, Dallas I think is quite dry, his buckwheat was very short, mine was pretty tall. It was interesting to say the least.

Yes, buckwheat self-seeds like the dickens. Where I originally planted buckwheat I no longer sow there, nature does it all for me. If anything I have to cull many many buckwheat seedlings because they are growing where I don't want them.

This year I plan on having many areas of buckwheat sowed. I will gather the seed when it browns and I am going to make buckwheat husk pillows. My Husband has one, it is called a "Sabakowa" pillow. We bought it years and years ago and he loves it to pieces (sometimes I think more than me, hee, hee).

The buckwheat hull pillows are very nice to sleep on, they keep your head cool, they move around so you never get a hard lump on the pillow, and they are organic and natural fibres, so it is all good. That is my story with the buckwheat husk pillow, it should be fun.

My massage therapist has one and she is going to start to get them in for her customers, she recommends the buckwheat hull pillows to everyone. Maybe I could start a small buckwheat husk pillow, I think we paid about $60 or something like that for it, about 15 years ago. I don't think they wear out, hee, hee.

Kathy, good luck with the buckwheat, you will love to look at the beautiful beautiful flowers, and the bees will be ever so grateful to you......have a wonderful and beautifully awesome day, loving and grooving on our life. Cindi

twb · February 24, 2008, 09:54:01 AM

Quote from: kathyp on February 22, 2008, 07:45:06 PM

i am also considering planting hairy vetch in the fall. i feel a little foolish about that as i have spent 10 years killing what was growing on my property :-(. there may be some that has escaped, but probably not much.

What we will do for our bees :). I "felt a little foolish" asking an AT&T worker if I could transplant some weeds(bird's foot trefoil) that were growing in a field surrounding their outbuilding. He was sitting in the middle of it working and you should have seen his face when I told him those little yellow flowers around him were filled with honeybees ;). Good luck with the bulk planting, it sounds fun.