Perennial buckwheat seed

I have only been growing perennial buckwheat (Fagopyrum cymosum complex, also called Fagopyrum dibotrys) for a small number of years.  This perennial vegetable is mostly grown for its edible leaves, stems, and roots, while the annual species tend to be grown for their seed.  

Each year my perennial buckwheat flowers, but it seems reluctant to set seed.  In the few years I have been growing this, they have not set seed before.

I have a lot of plants, but they are all genetically identical, perhaps they have some sort of self pollination incompatibility, or perhaps the growing conditions were not right.  Based on what I am seeing now, I assume my clone is largely self-incompatible. 

Perennial buckwheat setting seed

I grew some perennial buckwheat in various different containers of soil, and I grew some in the soil.  Some was inside my greenhouse, some was growing outside.  I have a lot of plants, but they are all genetically the one clone.  I hoped growing them under different conditions may allow me to be lucky enough to get some viable seed.

This year, for the first time in my garden, the perennial buckwheat is setting seed.

Perennial buckwheat flowers are produced in huge numbers, the flowers are complete, they produce pollen, and they should be able to set seed.  For some reason, most flowers abort early.

The buckwheat inside my greenhouse flowered and was covered by many different insect pollinators over an extended period of months, yet not a single seed formed.  The perennial buckwheat plants grown outside in the soil are yet to produce a seed (I think this may be because it is a little dry where I grew them).  One container of perennial buckwheat growing outside is producing a few seeds.   

Sometimes when a plant is self-incompatible, if conditions are just right the plant can produce seed.  This plant is producing hundreds, if not thousands of flowers, over several months.  These flowers were visited by many different pollinators including honey bees, native bees, ants, wasps, flies, butterflies, beetles etc.  Some flowers opened in the heat, others with warm days and cool nights, others in colder temperatures.  Some were open when it was dry, others in rain, others with dewy nights or foggy mornings.  

Out of those hundreds upon hundreds of flowers I found a small number of developing seeds so far, and there is a chance more may be produced before the frosts arrive. 

Perennial buck wheat flowers

Perennial buckwheat produces a large number of flowers

The flowers are complete, should be able to produce seed, yet most abort

Self incompatibility in plants is not always 100%, even when there is genetic self incompatibility.  When a plant makes a huge number of flowers over an extended period of time, there is a chance a few might set seed.  That is likely what I am seeing here.

If the seeds are not eaten by something and are not destroyed by the nearing frosts, there is a chance none will be viable.  There is also a chance that one or more will be viable.  If I plant them, and if I am able to get at least one to grow to maturity, there is a chance that they will contain the same self incompatibility gene as the mother plant, and they won't be able to pollinate one another.  

Keeping all of that in mind, there is a chance that if I get a seed to grow that it will be different enough from the mother clone that they will be able to pollinate each other and I will be able to produce somewhat decent amounts of seed.  This is what I am hoping for.  

So many flowers, so few seeds

The one pot of perennial buckwheat that set seed

I had always heard that perennial buckwheat seed was much smaller than seed from the annual species.  So far it looks pretty similar in size to buckwheat groats I buy and eat.  Perhaps because this plant is producing so few seeds it is able to devote more energy into the seeds and they are larger than they otherwise would be.  

Only time will tell if I am able to get a genetically distinct second clone and am able to produce grain from my perennial buckwheat.  If I am able to get a decent harvest of seeds, I have no idea if they will be too small to be worth my time. 

While I would love to grow perennial buckwheat seed more reliably, I do grow this as a perennial leaf vegetable and as animal feed.  This vegetable is very good at doing what it does (ie growing rampantly and producing a lot of highly nutritious leaves) so if it never produced grain for me I will still gladly continue to grow it.  

Growing a nutritious leaf vegetable that most people would not recognise as being edible is not a bad thing to do.  Given how nutritious the leaves are, they also make a great addition to poultry forage.  All of this means even if I never get a decent amount of seed out of perennial buckwheat, it is still worth growing for the leaves. 

I will probably have a few small perennial buckwheat plants for sale soon.  If you are interested they will be listed on my for sale page.  That page will link to that month's for sale page, and I try to do a new blog post each month with the perennial vegetables I have on offer.  If I don't list something on my for sale page for that month, then I don't have it for sale that month. 

Trampoline fern update

Last year I wrote a blog post on a fern that appeared under my trampoline.  It appeared by itself, I dug up a little one to try an protect in my greenhouse where it was eaten by rats or mice.  There were a few others under the trampoline, so I left them there and watered them.  They have grown a lot.

I don't know a lot about ferns, I currently don't even know the Genus of these ferns.  I am hoping a fern expert will point me in the right direction.  

Baby trampoline fern - this one did not survive

I try to water these ferns over summer when it's very dry.  I put bricks around the trampoline ferns.  These protect them from accidentally being mown over summer, and provide slight shelter from frosts. 

I pull out the grass and weeds around them when I remember.  There is too much shade under the trampoline for the grass to do well, so pulling out is usually pretty easy.

trampoline ferns protected by bricks

I had brought home some fertile fronds from tree ferns, and hoped to grow some sporelings.  Originally I hoped these ferns may have come from those spores.

The base of the fern was not looking hairy enough for any species of tree fern I am familiar with.  I am not familiar with baby tree ferns, so hadn't ruled out anything based on that.

base of ferns

base of fronds not very hairy

Still young, but growing

These ferns then started to spread.  They are not tree ferns.  

They are sending out above soil runners.  The runners are relatively thick, and sometimes they appear to branch a little.

I had hoped these were baby tree ferns that grew from spore.  The runners has shown this is not the case.  That's too bad, but it is what it is. 

 

Fern runners

Spreading by thick runners

The trampoline ferns have started to produce fertile fronds.  The shape and position of the sporangia should help identify the species.

Fertile fronds

If not tree ferns, I had hoped they could be hen and chicken ferns (Asplenium bulbiferum).  The runners and the lack of plantlets on the fronds indicates that it is unlikely to be hen and chicken ferns. 

Winter frosts will be here soon, the ferns will likely be burned down a lot but hopefully they will survive.  They survived last winter when they were smaller, this year they are larger and stronger, and will hopefully survive even if they sustain some frost damage.

Trampoline fern fronds

I like these little ferns.  Presumably these arrived on the wind as spores.  I don't know if they are a native species, or if they are exotic.  They burn back badly in the frosts, and need protection from sun, which does not help me narrow anything down very much.  

Hopefully one day I work out what species they are.  After winter passes, I will try to dig up some runners and grow them in other areas, but for now they can sit under the trampoline and slowly grow larger. 

Dahlias, edibles grown as ornamentals

My kids and I have been growing dahlias from seed for a few years.  Growing dahlia from seed is easier than I had imagined, plus it gives me a chance to dabble in breeding them.

Each year the existing dahlia plants grow larger, and we grow some new ones from seed.  The bees and other pollinator insects prefer open single flowers, so for now that is what we mostly grow.  Dahlias flower over summer and autumn here, which is when bees tend to struggle finding food in preparation for winter. 

Dahlia flowers

This past summer was very dry.  Our dahlias started to flower, then stopped and struggled through the heat.  In autumn we got some rain and some of the dahlias are flowering again. 

The other day we picked some dahlia flowers to bring inside.  I like them so thought I would share some photos.  

The darker pink, the red, and the more metallic bronze looking ones are not flowering at the moment.  We have various yellows, some pinks, and some white.

I like dahlias.  They are mostly grown as cut flowers, but they were originally grown as perennial vegetables.  The tubers are edible, some taste good but most varieties are pretty bland as so much effort has been put into their flowers and little breeding attention has been paid to their taste.  The leaves and stems are also edible, but I don't like the taste and tend to leave them to provide energy to the plants.  

It is too bad that these perennial edible plants are mostly grown as ornamentals these days.  Even the most uninteresting ones still look nice.  

At this stage I mostly grow dahlias for cut flowers, I also grow them for the pollinators as they bloom profusely when there is little else flowering in my garden.  If I ever get a good tasting one I would love to grow them as vegetables, but for now I am happy to grow them and enjoy the flowers.

We sell dahlia plants in season, and sometimes I sell dahlia seeds.  While I only collect seed from the more interesting colours, they were open pollinated (and highly heterozygous) and when grown from seed there will be mostly yellows, some pinks, some white, and only occasionally do you see some other colours.  

They are seasonal and only available during some months of the year.  If interested, please go through my for sale page and then click through to see what I have for sale that month. 

Perennial vegetables for sale April 2026

For sale in Australia: perennial vegetables, heirloom vegetable seeds, edible herb plants, organic berry plants, corms and bulbs, and a few non-edible plants and things.  Everything has been grown organically by me. 

Maintaining my old for sale page wasn't working for me.  Each month I now write a new blog post with an updated list of what I have for sale that month and include a link on my old for sale page.  

Succulents - Plectranthus

For Sale: April 2026 

Small Bare Rooted Plants $5 each (unless otherwise stated): 

Everlasting onions 
Tree onions (small bulbils)
Babington leek (dormant bulbs)
Pineberry strawberry 
Virginian strawberry
Atilla alpine strawberry 
Jekkas thyme 
Peppermint 
Lavender mint 
Pineapple sage
Willow herb
Lime balm 
Lemon balm
Vietnamese fish mint
Vietnamese coriander
Variegated water parsley 
Green water parsley (more vigorous stronger tasting version of the variegated form) 
Asparagus (Variety: Purple) 
Asparagus (Variety: Precoce D'Argenteuil)
Sweet Violet 
Lemongrass 
Water cress 
Brahmi/water hyssop  
Water pepper 
Rosemary - blue flowering 
Azolla $3 per scoop 
Duckweed $3 per scoop 

Dormant bulbs or corms:

Muscari grape hyacinth bulb (sprouting now)  $2 each
Muscari grape hyacinth - Packet of seeds  $4

Ancient Cultures: 

Milk kefir - around 1/4 cup grains  $5 
Kombucha SCOBY  $5 

Heirloom Vegetable Seeds:  $4 packet (unless otherwise stated) 

Immali corn
Purple hot mustard
Wasabi salad herb (not true wasabi) 
Purple asparagus
Tomato Tommy Toe
Tomato Reisetoimate 
Tomato Woolly Kate 
Senposai
Hon Tsai Tai / Choy Sum (purple stem) 
Huacatay
Black raspberry SEED (note: needs minimum of 3 months cold wet stratification to germinate)

Non edible things:

Succulent - Plectranthus $5
Aloe vera $5 
String of pearls succulent - plant $5, cuttings $2
String of beans succulent (from Coober Pedy) - plant $5, cuttings  $2
Red jelly bean succulent  $5 
African violet leaf cutting (Variety: New Hampshire) $3 each
African violet leaf cutting (Variety: unnamed double light blue) $3 each

Candle mold 'skep' $10 each 
Candle mold 'owl' $10 each 

Postage Prices: 

$12 for plants etc 
Or $3.50 if only buying seeds. 

I post the Monday after payment has cleared.  

Tomato Tommy Toe 

To order anything from the above list: 

Please send me an email saying what plants/seeds you would like and I will reply with prices/payment methods.  My email address will need to remove the the spaces, put @ instead of the word 'at' and . in place of the word 'dot': 

damien_beaumont at yahoo dot com dot au 

Photographs, binomial names, descriptions of plants, and notes on how I grow them, can be found on my old for sale page.  Please note my old page has a lot of things not currently in season/not currently for sale.  The only things I have for sale this month are listed in this blog post above.