Big bluestem sucks!!!!

[Kansas-andres]

Seeded big blue today, what a nightmare. The seed doesn't go through a hand broadcast/ seeder very easily. My hand went numb because I was shacking the seeder constantly. My advice - Never seed a pure / only big bluestem seed...........Mix it with something! !!!!......Anyway, should turn into a great screen down the road, lol.......,..

 

[bigeight]

Like seeding cattail fluff :D !

I've used fertilizer layered with it with mixed through a spreader, and kitty litter, both with moderate to slightly crappy results.

The last couple times I just seeded with a slight breeze by hand and let the wind take it. End up with half a bag up your nose, but easier than monkeying with a spreader !

 

[mikmaze]

ah but it is worth it, nice stuff once it gets going. I have a lot of it around my place growing naturally, think about harvesting seed each fall, but never seem to have a need for it.

 

[dipper]

Native seed attachment on no till drill

 

[NT179]

I just used my left hand as a agitator in my earthway 2750 hand spreader to seed my big blue.It wasnt that bad but I did not have a lot to do.It took 2 years before I seen any sign of it coming up.Looking forward to see how it does this year.Last summer was the first year I seen sign of it the planting year.I sprayed the area hard the year before and we had rain every day but 4 in june .some of it made 12 inches high.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Mix it with slightly damp sand works well for broadcasting over small areas by hand.

 

[Bill]

I no tilled with a native grass box. The fellow at NRCS recommended adding graphite powder to the seed box so it would flow. Glad he did, It still took me two passes to get the correct amount on the ground.

If you're planting it for a screen get back there and top seed some switch to help it stand. My bluestem is flat by the end on Nov.

 

[john volkman]

i used a leaf blower to seed mine and it worked great

 

[Steve Bartylla]

Big blue, indian and switch together doesn't seed any better out of a hand seeder. On the Solo seeder, the opening is so short that I never did find a way to make it work well. The red bag (can't remember the name) seeder was better. Still, on either one, you can get so few seeds in the seeder to begin with that I just wing it and spread by the handfuls, when I'm not in position to drill it.

Something I've found over the years is that the results are a lot better in S MN, S WI & S MI and even better a state below them than as you go N from there. C MN, C WI & C MI and points north, it just doesn't do much for me once the snow flies, and not even as much good before that, as it does further south.

I'm really starting to believe that miscanthus x giganteous may be a much better choice for those more central areas of those states, but I have yet to try it as anything more than a screen, and I don't know if it would tolerate N MN, N WI & N MI yet.

 

[j-bird]

I had a mixture of big blue, indian and switch drilled - so far only the switch seems to have taken. Bad thing is the seed is so damn expensive for ho-hum results. I have started to just broadcast switch on a lighter seeding and once it is established just let the other broadleaf weeds do their thing. I noticed the other day my switch has little green shoots showing on it already.