Buckwheat · Tatvan, Bitlis, Turkey

When to plant buckwheat in Tatvan

Main outdoor window

25 Apr - 9 May

A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.

Timed from last spring frost

14 April

In Tatvan, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

4-24 Jul

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Estimated soil-warming check. The historical frost estimate is 21 Apr. An air-temperature model suggests soil suitable for buckwheat may warm to about 10°C (50°F) around 25 April. This is a planning estimate, not a soil measurement. The calendar uses the later date; measure your bed at sowing depth and check the forecast before planting.

Step by step in Tatvan

Download these planting dates (.ics)

Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.

Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.

Sow direct

25 Apr - 9 May

Delayed by a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. The frost-only date would be 21 Apr. Measure your soil before planting.

Harvest

4-24 Jul

Sow in succession. A single sowing gives you a single glut. Sow a short row every 30 days through the window above and you get a steady supply instead.
Frost tolerance
Tender
Damaged below
0°C (32°F)
Days to maturity
70–90
Min soil temp
10°C (50°F)
Spacing
15 cm
Sowing depth
20 mm (0.8 in)
Sun
Full

Buckwheat through the year

Against the frost risk in Tatvan

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Sow direct Harvest Today
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Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in Tatvan

April has the highest average precipitation (81 mm); August has the lowest (4 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 64 mm
Feb 62 mm
Mar 76 mm
Apr 81 mm
May 52 mm
Jun 17 mm
Jul 6 mm
Aug 4 mm
Sep 11 mm
Oct 53 mm
Nov 54 mm
Dec 69 mm

During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.

Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.

Monthly growing conditions in Tatvan

Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.

NASA POWER climate averages, 1995–2024
MonthAverage lowAverage highFrost days
January -10°C (14.1°F) -1.1°C (30.1°F) 30.8
February -7.2°C (19°F) 0.5°C (32.9°F) 27.1
March -1.5°C (29.3°F) 5.3°C (41.6°F) 20.0
April 3.5°C (38.3°F) 11.4°C (52.6°F) 4.4
May 8.5°C (47.4°F) 17°C (62.5°F) 0.1
June 13.8°C (56.9°F) 24.2°C (75.5°F) 0.0
July 17.7°C (63.9°F) 29.5°C (85°F) 0.0
August 18.4°C (65°F) 29.9°C (85.7°F) 0.0
September 13.7°C (56.6°F) 24.2°C (75.5°F) 0.0
October 7.5°C (45.5°F) 16.3°C (61.3°F) 0.6
November 0.6°C (33.1°F) 8.1°C (46.6°F) 10.9
December -5.9°C (21.5°F) 1.8°C (35.3°F) 27.9

For buckwheat, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.

Local growing check

Before choosing buckwheat for Tatvan

  • April is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 81 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.

Before you plant buckwheat

Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.

  • Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 10°C (50°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
  • Check the local overnight forecast before planting out. Delay planting or keep protection ready if frost is forecast, even after the historical last-frost date.
  • Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.

Decide between a flowering cover crop and a grain harvest

Use suitable warm-season conditions and a drained bed. Excessive nitrogen can encourage growth that is harder to manage. If cover is the aim, decide when to terminate before seed becomes unwanted volunteer plants.

For grain, assess uneven ripening and collect mature seed with a plan for drying, cleaning and dehulling. Do not treat the whole green plant as interchangeable with edible groats. Record whether grain processing is practical at your scale.

What to record this season

Was the planting more useful as soil cover and flowers or as a cleaned grain crop? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.

Further reading: NC State Extension: Fagopyrum esculentum . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.

The reference describes plant identity and cultivation. Its regional calendar months and hardiness observations do not validate the calculated dates for another location.

How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy

Why these dates

Use suitable warm-season conditions and a drained bed. Excessive nitrogen can encourage growth that is harder to manage. If cover is the aim, decide when to terminate before seed becomes unwanted volunteer plants.

Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.

This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Buckwheat are timed for direct sowing 1 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Tatvan.

The calendar also applies a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. Where that estimate is later than the frost-based date, it delays the window. Soil in your own garden can warm earlier or later; a thermometer at sowing depth is a better final check. Cold, wet conditions can slow germination and increase decay risk.

The median frost-free season here is 205 days, against 70 to 90 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Tatvan →

Growing buckwheat in Tatvan

Can I grow buckwheat in Tatvan?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. April is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 81 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

When should I plant buckwheat in Tatvan?

Aim for 25 Apr - 9 May in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 2-16 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

Can I plant buckwheat earlier in Tatvan?

The historical frost estimate is 21 Apr. For Buckwheat, an air-temperature model estimates soil warmth of about 10°C (50°F) around 25 Apr. This is not a soil measurement or a forecast. Check your bed at sowing depth; cold, wet conditions can slow growth and increase decay risk.

When might buckwheat be ready to harvest in Tatvan?

The estimated period is 4-24 Jul, based on 70 to 90 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.

How much frost will buckwheat tolerate?

Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.