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Wickson, Edward J. (Edward James), 1848-1923

"One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered"

Sow thinly in shallow furrows or
"marks," 3 1/2 or 4 feet apart and cultivate as long as you can easily
get through the rows with a horse. About 8 pounds of seed is used per
acre. If grown for green fodder, sow more thickly and make the rows
closer, say 2 1/2 feet apart.

Buckwheat Growing.

Two or three farmers in this locality desire to plant buckwheat. Not
having done so heretofore they are in doubt as to the soil and other
conditions that go to make a successful crop.
The growing of buckwheat in California is an exceedingly small affair.
The local market is very limited, as most California hot cakes are made
of wheat flour. There is no chance for outward shipment, and the crop
itself, being capable of growing only during the frostless season, has
to be planted on moist lands where there is not only abundant summer
moisture but an air somewhat humid. Irrigated uplands, even in the
frostless season, are hardly suitable for the common buckwheat, although
they may give the growth of Japanese buckwheat for beekeepers who use
dark honey for bee feeding. The Japanese buckwheat is well suited for
this because it keeps blooming and produces a scattered crop of seed,
but this characteristic makes it less suitable for a grain crop, and it
has therefore never become very popular in this State. We consider
buckwheat as not worthy of much consideration by California farmers.


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