yoderjac
5 year old buck +
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
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