Buckwheat Cover Crop Handbook
Where to buy
For bulk purchases, the most economical source are the companies that produce their own seed. These include:
- The Birkett Mills (Penn Yan, NY)
- Lakeview Organic Grain (Penn Yan, NY)
- Ernst Conservation Seed (Meadville, PA)
- Lancaster Ag Products (Bird in Hand, PA)
- Bouchard Ployes (Ft. Kent, ME)
- Homestead Organics (Berwick, ON)
Local farm seed dealers often carry seed from one of these suppliers, or can obtain them with advance notice. For a few bags, or when transportation is an issue, these can be the most economical sources.
Mail-order seed houses generally have buckwheat available, but the cost is often several times more than farm sources. These sources make sense mostly for market gardens or home gardens.
Nearby buckwheat farmers can sometimes provide seed inexpensively. Finding such a source often depends on word of mouth. There are two things to be aware of when using seed directly from a farmer. First, seed quality is critical for good cover crop performance. The handling and cleaning requirements are stricter than for grain use. Have a seed test done to make sure that the seeds are vigorous and that they don’t contain weed seeds. Second, buckwheat grown on contract is often a protected variety. Growers on such contracts can’t sell seed to others.