“Blending the Blends” is ChatGTP an agronomist?

[Westwind]

Thats exactly what I’m thinking- but I want to do milpa blend next to soil builder or maybe a pollinator next to summer blend etc.

I have a little .8 acre plot right next to my house. I get so much enjoyment when I’m grilling/mowing/hanging out on my deck looking to see what’s going on out there. Last summer it was all soil builder and I was seeing millet seeds carried everywhere. I’m starting to see pheasants and quail again and the only thing that changed is what I’m putting in my plots. I also learned on this site that the diverse plots attract beneficial insects and may reduce the pests. I swear I’m seeing that affect and I want to see if I’m right. Can’t help thinking an even bigger variety of plants blooming at different times will help that.

@T-Max I was also thinking I might try blocking some tubes on my seeder so I could do rows of corn and a row of milpa every four rows to grow into the corn. Not sure if I can get the rate right but maybe I can get it close enough.

 

[Westwind]

Milpa blend: Green Beans, Black Beans, Spring Forage Pea, Keystone Winter Pea, Iron and Clay Cowpeas, Mung Beans, Balady Berseem Clover, Hubam Sweet Clover, Mancan Buckwheat, Okra, Black Oil Sunflower, Russian Mammoth Sunflower, Phacelia, Flax, Purple Top Turnip, Pink Celebration Radish, Crimson Giant Radish, Nitro Radish, Collards, Brown Mustard, Arugula, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Pie Pumpkins, Decorative Gourd Mix, Butternut Squash, White Scallop Squash, Payroll Squash, Early King Pumpkin, Gold Star Squash, Watermelon Blend, Squash Blend, Melon Blend, Cucumber Blend, Showy Flower Blend

Our Milpa Garden Warm Season mix is a great way to get fresh produce with minimal amounts of labor. The milpa technique originated in Central America where the Mayans used a mixture of corn, squash, and beans to improve the soil and grow food. At Green Cover Seed, we went beyond the three sisters and compiled a mix of over 40 different seeds. This is an excellent way to utilize a small portion of land to produce food without going through the hassle of tillage, weeding, and hours of planning. If you want a fun mix to grow food for your family, community or even local food pantry, this is the perfect mix for you!

And apparently deer also love this blend. Photo below stolen from Green Cover.

One of my concerns is that pumpkin seeds are really big. I planted a mix that had some of this stuff and I felt like the pumpkin and squash seeds were jacking with my seeding rate.

 

[T-Max]

Milpa blend: Green Beans, Black Beans, Spring Forage Pea, Keystone Winter Pea, Iron and Clay Cowpeas, Mung Beans, Balady Berseem Clover, Hubam Sweet Clover, Mancan Buckwheat, Okra, Black Oil Sunflower, Russian Mammoth Sunflower, Phacelia, Flax, Purple Top Turnip, Pink Celebration Radish, Crimson Giant Radish, Nitro Radish, Collards, Brown Mustard, Arugula, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Pie Pumpkins, Decorative Gourd Mix, Butternut Squash, White Scallop Squash, Payroll Squash, Early King Pumpkin, Gold Star Squash, Watermelon Blend, Squash Blend, Melon Blend, Cucumber Blend, Showy Flower Blend

Our Milpa Garden Warm Season mix is a great way to get fresh produce with minimal amounts of labor. The milpa technique originated in Central America where the Mayans used a mixture of corn, squash, and beans to improve the soil and grow food. At Green Cover Seed, we went beyond the three sisters and compiled a mix of over 40 different seeds. This is an excellent way to utilize a small portion of land to produce food without going through the hassle of tillage, weeding, and hours of planning. If you want a fun mix to grow food for your family, community or even local food pantry, this is the perfect mix for you!

And apparently deer also love this blend. Photo below stolen from Green Cover.

One of my concerns is that pumpkin seeds are really big. I planted a mix that had some of this stuff and I felt like the pumpkin and squash seeds were jacking with my seeding rate.



View attachment 74267

A farmer near us did like 20 acres of the MILPA blend a few years ago. They told all of us neighbors to help ourselves. Between the neighbors and the deer eating all we wanted we never put a dent in it. They put cattle on it late in the winter and they did it in. Incredible the tonnage it produced.

 

[Westwind]

That’s a gob of milpa! Did they do it into corn or by itself?

I used to do some sweet corn until I sold my planter. Sweet corn and milpa sure would be fun if it worked.

 

[T-Max]

That’s a gob of milpa! Did they do it into corn or by itself?

I used to do some sweet corn until I sold my planter. Sweet corn and milpa sure would be fun if it worked.

All by itself. It was pretty cool of them. There was a lot of canning going on in my neck of the woods that fall!

 

[Westwind]

Man I love that. A cool and easy thing to do for your neighbors. And a lot of fun to watch.