Buckwheat Acres - Second Bloom for Crepe Myrtle

Mrs. Ichabod spent far too much time on her phone yesterday, telling her cousin about the Buckwheat that took over the rose garden.

Energizing and nutritious, buckwheat is available throughout the year and can be served as an alternative to rice or made into porridge.
While many people think that buckwheat is a cereal grain, it is actually a fruit seed that is related to rhubarb and sorrel making it a suitable substitute for grains for people who are sensitive to wheat or other grains that contain protein glutens. Buckwheat flowers are very fragrant and are attractive to bees that use them to produce a special, strongly flavored, dark honey. 

One of Mrs. I's quips - we had so much Buckwheat that I could start raising bees, but "we cannot see the roses anymore."

I will photograph the amber waves of Buckwheat and use a hedge clipper to mow them down, leaving the plants as mulch. A bigger problem is the Japanese beetle invasion, which I am treating with Milky Spore Disease powder. Milky Spore is an organism in the soil that kills the grubs of the beetles. They develop in the soil: we had a very mild winter. Once a grub is infected, it dies and spreads the infection to other white grubs.

Japanese beetles have a great fondness for rose petals - I found six blokes on one bloom, so I provided a great place for their food. Roses seem to be their primary target, but the pirates devour other plants as well. The only other controls are:

1. Picking the adults off and destroying them.
2. Letting Grackles and Starlings peck them out of the soil.

The Buckwheat seems attractive, green, and blooming here. The plants quickly doubled in height.

The Crepe Myrtle was so well nourished this year that the bush went from this beautiful bloom immediately into forming seeds and losing petals. Around town the myrtles are just filling out now and not going to seed. 

My solution was to cut off all the seed clusters and use them as mulch under the plant. The myrtle is now budding and ready to flower a second time, when the others are fading away. The dry season will preserve the flowers and slowly form seeds for the birds in winter.

In my defense - since most soil fertility comes from the growth of roots - this season has added a lot more organic matter to the soil. Cardboard, paper, logs, and wood mulch continue to foster fungi growth, which is essential in the network among plants - where water and minerals are exchanged.

The Buckwheat of Evangelism - Teaching Faith in Christ

I needed buckwheat. Many farm and seed stores are around town, but would I ever go by one and get some buckwheat? Not likely. How does one introduce the need for buckwheat in the shopping discussions?

Mrs. Ichabod - "I need some bananas and brats."
GJ - :Farm and Fleet. I need a pound of buckwheat."
Mrs. Ichabod - "We can get some at Walmart. Don't be silly."

Bee all that you can bee - on buckwheat.

I decided to seize the moment and order some from Amazon. That is either where I start or end up with odd agricultural requests.

Some are already wondering - why buckwheat? The grain has several distinct advantages. One is its appeal to pollinators. The plant flowers quickly.

But an unusual feature is buckwheat's ability to displace weeds. I am going to try it in the calladium patch around the maple tree. I have had trouble with grassy weeds taking over there.

Buckwheat
Buckwheat is the speedy short-season cover crop. It establishes, blooms and reaches maturity in just 70 to 90 days and its residue breaks down quickly. Buckwheat suppresses weeds and attracts beneficial insects and pollinators with its abundant blossoms. It is easy to kill, and reportedly extracts soil phosphorus from soil better than most grain-type cover crops.

Buckwheat thrives in cool, moist conditions but it is not frost tolerant. Even in the South, it is not grown as a winter annual. Buckwheat is not particularly drought tolerant, and readily wilts under hot, dry conditions. Its short growing season may allow it to avoid droughts, however.

Anything drastic would mean killing or pulling up calladiums that are just starting to pop up and show their colors. Calladiums emerge late from the soil and look like flagpoles. Next they unfurl their colorful leaves and wave them back and forth in the wind - great contrast - and they love shade.

I will sow buckwheat around the maple tree, knowing the plant will do its job without introducing another round of  "Why did I ever plant that?" At the worst some will bloom and feed some butterflies and bees. At the best it will displace some of those grassy weeds.

Later in the season, when the Calladiums are almost done, I can cover the area with cardboard and newspaper for the fall and winter, holding it down with mulch and leaves.

The Buckwheat of Evangelism

Lutheran church bodies are shrinking because they obsess about conformity, enforce their man-made laws, neglect doctrine, and fail to teach faith in Christ.

The main work of every congregation should be to teach faith in Christ and all its benefits. If people only read Chapter 3 of Luther's Galatians Commentary, they would know exactly what to do. Or - they could read a Luther sermon each week.

Teaching the Gospel and emphasizing the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace will not rid the world of weeds, but it begin to displace the opportunistic weeds of triumphalism, legalism, and clericalism.

1. Triumphalism - We are the best, the purest, the only true saving church - all Lutheran sects today.
2. Legalism - In order to remain with us in good standing, you must obey these 10,000 rules, even if we do not know what they are until we tell you how you violated them.
3. Clericalism - How dare you disagree with me? God put me in this position to rule over you.

Don't look around - oh oh -
the Commisar's in town.