Got a good sunflower bean mix????

[WTNUT]

Do any of you have a good sunflower, bean or pea mix that is low cost that you have used. I got one from a forum member on another forum but never used it. I have 8 acres of plots (a five acre field and a 3 acre) that drive me crazy. They are right by the road so I like to plant something tall there, but most years the fields lay too wet for corn to be happy and when it turns lime green and stops growing I get really ticked and "say you idiot how many years are you going to do this".. Beans will grow there but I want some height mixed in. The mix I have is sunflowers, cow peas and buckwheat. No one sells cow peas around me for miles and miles and miles.

 

[tinytim]

I wanted to try cow peas here too, but couldn't find a seed source, so I went to our local bulk food store and bought black eyed beans(cow peas) for 0.79$/lb inoculated them with standard garden inoculant and they grew just fine.

 

[scott44]

Last year I tried a mix of millet, sorghum, E-wheat, forage peas, soys, hairy vetch,oats, rye and very little sunflowers. This year I'm going to try the same mix but add a lot more sunflowers to the mix. This did pretty well last year into the fall because I also broadcast some brassicas into the growing mix in July so they had some into the fall.

this years mix



Late July 2015



Late Aug







Late Sept



Late Nov and the brassicas are still going

 

[WTNUT]

How much of each seed per acre? You may need a calculator and spreadsheet that is a lot of different plants!!!!

 

[strawhead]

I like the tall cover. What will you plant this spring to follow that crop? What are your plans dealing with all the thatch?

 

[Honker]

Here's a calculator if you need one: https://smartmix.greencoverseed.com/

 

[scott44]

How much of each seed per acre? You may need aulator and spreadsheet that is a lot of different plants!!!!

Wish I could tell you but it started out with just some left over seed and I added some.

 

[scott44]

I like the tall cover. What will you plant this spring to follow that crop? What are your plans dealing with all the thatch?

Depends on how wet it will be when I plant, I'm thinking I'll broadcast into it and roll it.

 

[WTNUT]

Depends on how wet it will be when I plant, I'm thinking I'll broadcast into it and roll it.

Wish I could tell you but it started out with just some left over seed and I added some.

Well haven't you been busy!!! Looks great. I could not tell from the photos how well the mix really did. You are adding more sunflowers are you cutting anything out?

 

[mikmaze]

looking at your seed mix reminds me of a wild bird seed mix, anyone give wild bird seed a try at planing? sure looks to be an interesting mix of seed in them, cheap, but bulk city.

 

[wiscwhip]

Clearfield sunflowers and non-RR Tara forage soybeans. You can't use gly anyway, so don't waste your money on RR beans.