Sunn Hemp

[yoderjac]

I just went back and read the old Sunn Hemp threads. I tried a small amount several years ago, but I'm not sure I planted enough acreage to overcome the browse pressure at the time. My soils are heavy clay and I understand Sunn Hemp prefers well drained soils, so that may have been part of the issue. I found several guys planting it in the old threads, but I did not see much about how it worked out for them.

We have been having a Marestail issue ever since we thinned our pines and did a controlled burn. Must have been in the seed bank. It ended up invading our fields. I found it too hard to control and plant soybeans at the same time. This year we planted buckwheat instead of soybeans for our warm season annuals. The late planting date allowed me to spray for Marestail and wait for the soil residual effects to subside before planting the buckwheat. I understand Sunn Hemp does better when soil temps are warmer too. The buckwheat worked well as a smother crop for any marestail not controlled by spraying. The only down side is that it does not bank N like soybeans and the nutritional value is not as good. So, I'm considering mixing Buckwheat with Sunn Hemp next spring.

I have a few questions for folks that have used it:

1) How did it perform for you?
2) What is your location/usda zone?
3) Do you have clay soil?
4) Has anyone done a 50/50 mix with buckwheat?

Also, Hancock has a pretty good price on it right now. I presume that it is last year's seed left over but I don't know that for sure. Has anyone used previous year's seed? If so, what kind of germination rates did you get?

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Sconnie]

Last June I planted a mix of Sunn Hemp, Sunflowers, Grain Sorghum and Buckwheat



Much like Grandpa Rays Bird & Buck mix)

Zone 4b, sandy loam soil, planted in terminated rye, soil ph 5.8-6.3. 50# of Potash per acre, 80# gypsum per acre.

Got great growth (6-8’) and the deer browsed the sunn hemp hard over summer. Not so much the buckwheat. After first frost all buckwheat and sunn hemp self terminated. Plot was almost too thick to oversees with rye this fall. Grain Sorghum is still untouched.

I’m disappointed in the fall usage, going to soybeans next year...

 

[mikmaze]

I planted a pure stand a few years back, red clay soil, but well tilled. it sprouted well, got about a foot tall and was found, 1 ac plot was kept below 6 inches except for a few plants that happeneed to grow along the edgeinside mfr. the mfr protected the sunn hemp and it grew to about 5 foot tall and flowered. As expected it was knocked by the frost and gone as far as the deer were concerned after that. Sconnie, that mix looks amazing, but "my deer" would never let any of those plants get that tall, they would mow down all you planted if I were to try it, high density deer populations. I plot in zone 7 and as said, red clay soils for the most part. I would have to galagher fence a plot to mature like that above. Not quite in my budget. I could have been able to drag a disk through and over seed rye, but I wanted to see what would happen if I left it go till spring. seemed a bit pricey as far as coverage in pure stand, mix would help a lot.

 

[yoderjac]

I planted a pure stand a few years back, red clay soil, but well tilled. it sprouted well, got about a foot tall and was found, 1 ac plot was kept below 6 inches except for a few plants that happeneed to grow along the edgeinside mfr. the mfr protected the sunn hemp and it grew to about 5 foot tall and flowered. As expected it was knocked by the frost and gone as far as the deer were concerned after that. Sconnie, that mix looks amazing, but "my deer" would never let any of those plants get that tall, they would mow down all you planted if I were to try it, high density deer populations. I plot in zone 7 and as said, red clay soils for the most part. I would have to galagher fence a plot to mature like that above. Not quite in my budget. I could have been able to drag a disk through and over seed rye, but I wanted to see what would happen if I left it go till spring. seemed a bit pricey as far as coverage in pure stand, mix would help a lot.

That is encouraging. Our deer numbers are down but bouncing back. I think I might give it a try. I'll be planting multiple acres. I presume the buckwheat will have some protective value as well. Even if the deer wipe out the sunn hemp, they will still have the buckwheat. One more question: It sounds like the sunn hemp established but then got heavy browse pressure and responded well. If it was kept at 6" but did not die and kept producing leaves, I guess it did its job. Back when my deer numbers were very high, I had eagle bean respond like that. The deer kept them from forming a canopy and pretty much naked all summer but could not kill them. The eagle beans, once established, responded to the browse pressure by continuing to produce leaves. They did their job since the produced forage all summer and just about all of it ended up in the bellies of deer. Is this how your sunn hemp responded to the browse pressure?

Thanks,

Jack

 

[mikmaze]

yes, it kept up enough growth to keep the deer interested, larger plot might have done even better, but again, be ready with a fall plant, rye/ crimson clover to over winter/ spring regrow!

 

[yoderjac]

yes, it kept up enough growth to keep the deer interested, larger plot might have done even better, but again, be ready with a fall plant, rye/ crimson clover to over winter/ spring regrow!

Yes, deer ignore my bean pods most years, so I always broadcast a cover crop into standing beans. I plan to throw and mow a cover crop of WR/CC/PTT for fall.

 

[Baker]

I'm a little late seeing this thread as it is hunting season down here. I am a big fan of sunn hemp. Last yr my mix was sunn hemp, cow peas, soybeans, sunflower and buckwheat. Plan to repeat this year.I'll be brief now but happy to elaborate later. I've experimented with letting it grow all summer and keeping it mowed. Both have benefits. Also planted it late in summer with great results. on all the benefits I see from the hemp which include amazing drought resiliency , heat tolerance, grazing tolerance, trellis for peas and soil building qualities . I crimp it in Sept and follow with rye, and radishes.

 

[yoderjac]

Very nice. I'm considering doing something similar. I picked up a couple bags from Hancock on sale.

 

[Rit]

Baker did you crimp with actual crimper?

I will be adding sun hemp to my cover crop cocktail. I may double crop all my plots this spring. Hopefully it will work well with broadcasting and TNM.

 

[Baker]

Yes I crimp with I & J roller crimper then drill directly into thatch. Both summer and fall plantings. Multi specie cover crops never tilled. haven't used synthetic fertilizer in years. Crops provide the nutrients.

 

[Rit]

That is fantastic. I looked into RTPs roller crimper a few years ago. The 2019 8’ model is around 5k. I’d sure like to luck into a gently used version cheaper than that. I’d love to stop fertilizing and spraying.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I also saw it in the new Welters catalog the other day for those of you looking.

 

[mikmaze]

that growth is amazing, what a difference deer density makes, I would have to have a ten foot high fence to get growth like that.

 

[Frosted brassica]

I did a mix this summer of buckwheat and sunnhemp and was happy with it. It stayed about 12-24” tall with browsing of it and the buckwheat. I only tried a 1/4 acre spot on the edge of a soybean field.

 

[davidhelmly]

I'm a little late seeing this thread as it is hunting season down here. I am a big fan of sunn hemp. Last yr my mix was sunn hemp, cow peas, soybeans, sunflower and buckwheat. Plan to repeat this year.I'll be brief now but happy to elaborate later. I've experimented with letting it grow all summer and keeping it mowed. Both have benefits. Also planted it late in summer with great results.View attachment 22005View attachment 22006 on all the benefits I see from the hemp which include amazing drought resiliency , heat tolerance, grazing tolerance, trellis for peas and soil building qualities . I crimp it in Sept and follow with rye, and radishes.

Baker, on your "Last yr my mix was sunn hemp, cow peas, soybeans, sunflower and buckwheat", do you remember your amount of each per acre? I've got several new acres that I will plant next year and would like to start with something like this in the spring.

 

[Baker]

Baker, on your "Last yr my mix was sunn hemp, cow peas, soybeans, sunflower and buckwheat", do you remember your amount of each per acre? I've got several new acres that I will plant next year and would like to start with something like this in the spring.

I’m in the Rio Grande brush country hunting for a bit. I’ll get you the recipe when I get home

 

[davidhelmly]

I’m in the Rio Grande brush country hunting for a bit. I’ll get you the recipe when I get home

Thanks and good luck!!

 

[Baker]

Baker, on your "Last yr my mix was sunn hemp, cow peas, soybeans, sunflower and buckwheat", do you remember your amount of each per acre? I've got several new acres that I will plant next year and would like to start with something like this in the spring.

This is the mix I used last year on the field that performed best :

sunn hemp-8.3 lbs/acre
buckwheat-4 "
cowpeas -16"
soybeans-8"
sunflower-1 "
I made this recipe up.

The sunn hemp qty. was about right. I used a higher amount in another field { 10 lbs/acre best I remember } and the sunn hemp chocked all the other cultivars out. This spring I plan to add a little more buckwheat. As you know it came up quick but doesn't last long. I don't think a higher amount will interfere . I may add a little more sunflower also. Not sure how much grazing value the soybeans added as they tended to get lost in the jungle. I added them to provide a different root profile. The cow peas flourished and were at the top of the sunn hemp [ 10' ] when I terminated the field. I don't need to add more cowpeas cause they couldn't eat what was there...this an 11 acre field. Adjust accordingly to field size.

Deer utilization was constant from time of planting till termination... and antler response was fantastic.

 

[davidhelmly]

This is the mix I used last year on the field that performed best :

sunn hemp-8.3 lbs/acre
buckwheat-4 "
cowpeas -16"
soybeans-8"
sunflower-1 "
I made this recipe up.

The sunn hemp qty. was about right. I used a higher amount in another field { 10 lbs/acre best I remember } and the sunn hemp chocked all the other cultivars out. This spring I plan to add a little more buckwheat. As you know it came up quick but doesn't last long. I don't think a higher amount will interfere . I may add a little more sunflower also. Not sure how much grazing value the soybeans added as they tended to get lost in the jungle. I added them to provide a different root profile. The cow peas flourished and were at the top of the sunn hemp [ 10' ] when I terminated the field. I don't need to add more cowpeas cause they couldn't eat what was there...this an 11 acre field. Adjust accordingly to field size.

Deer utilization was constant from time of planting till termination... and antler response was fantastic.

Thanks Baker, I’m going to do some acreage in that mix this year and see how it turns out.
I just ordered a new seeder and will be itching to try it out this spring!
How did you do in the brush country??

 

[DIY]

Does anyone know if sunn hemp is good to go with Prowl H2O? I didn’t see it listed on the label. I’m planting Power Plant this spring and I know the Prowl H2O won’t be an issue with the soybeans, peas and sunflowers, but not sure about the sunn hemp.