Buckwheat (Grain)

Fagopyrum esculentum

Polygonaceae (Knotweed)

A fast pseudo-grain that matures in under three months on poor soil — gluten-free flour and great bee forage.

EdibleAnnualSurvival cropStaple caloriesPollinator

Buckwheat (Grain) (Fagopyrum esculentum) illustration — Texas Roots plant database, by Jordan Polasek

Sun

Full sun

Water

Low

Soil

Tolerant, even poor

pH

5.5–7.0

Hardiness

Warm-season annual

Height

2–4 ft

Spacing

Broadcast

Days to harvest

70–90 to seed

What it is

Buckwheat (Grain) (Fagopyrum esculentum) is in the Polygonaceae (Knotweed) family. A fast pseudo-grain that matures in under three months on poor soil — gluten-free flour and great bee forage.

How to grow it

It wants full sun, water it low, and give it tolerant, even poor soil. Target a soil pH around 5.5–7.0. Space plants about Broadcast apart. Expect roughly 70–90 to seed. Warm-season annual.

How it's used

Buckwheat (Grain) is used: seed ground to flour; groats.

🔎 How to identify it

Heart-shaped leaves
White flower clusters
Reddish hollow stems

Edibility

PartsSeed (groats)

UsesSeed ground to flour; groats

CautionNot frost-tolerant.

🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.

Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.