I have never personally grown buckwheat, but I am pretty sure that when you cut it that is it. I think the biggest concern is that if you let it go to seed it will come back next year on its own and be a weed.

Buckwheat when cut while still green will not grow back and it does make a good hay.

Buckwheat can grow from seed to flowers in 4-6 weeks! If planted thickly, it works great for weed control in garden beds, as well as pulling available phosphorus out of existing soil minerals.

I like to plant it with a warm season legume like beans, for extra atmospheric nitrogen fixation too.

The next best cousin to buckwheat is sunflowers. I like planting various cheap sunflower seeds as warm season cover crops too.

Happy Gardening!

I just cut my buckwheat. I moved the cut to an area to dry and replanted another crop. It was up in 3 days! My northern-most three 8X4 beds are cut/plant every 30 days throughout the summer here in Bakersfield. They get sun all winter and are planted with salad crops in August and throughout the winter. Buckwheat gives you a lot of biomass for composting. Just do not let it go to seed!!!