Cover crop

jlane35

Well-Known Member
I’m going to plant buckwheat as a cover crop for a fall plot.

Has anyone mixed in regular store bought black oil sunflower seeds with buckwheat to add more forage? Good idea? Bad idea?

And if it’s a good idea what should be my seeding rates of each?
 
You don't mention how many acres you are doing but I think it's a great idea unless you have a very small area. I'll warn you when they find the sunflowers they will hammer them till they're gone. Mine never got 3 inches tall outside of the fence.
 
I would be doing two separate areas. One being 3/4 of an acre and another being 1 acre.

I figured the sunflowers would get wiped out long before they mature but I could buy a bag fairly cheap so I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to mix or just stick strictly with buckwheat.
 
I would be doing two separate areas. One being 3/4 of an acre and another being 1 acre.

I figured the sunflowers would get wiped out long before they mature but I could buy a bag fairly cheap so I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to mix or just stick strictly with buckwheat.
You are correct in areas that small they will never make it to maturity. But for the cost of a bag of sunflower seeds plus the crude protein they will get from the sunflower sprouts I don't see a reason not to do it.
 
So on a per acre basis, what should be my seeding rate.

I’m seeing 50 pounds for buckwheat and 4 pounds of sunflower seed per acre.

Should I split it 25 pounds and 2 pounds? Or stay to the heavier side of buckwheat and just add in some sunflower.
 
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Heck, I'd plant 30-40 lbs of buckwheat and 5-10 lbs on sunflower. Not sure where you got that seeding rate on sunflower but its very light. The two are compatible and if the buckwheat doesn't smother the sunflower it will grow up over the top. Though as said if you have many deer, once they figure out the sunflowers they will eat them all overnight. I was also surprised to see heavy grazing on buckwheat last year on my farm though they had never seen it.

I assume you are broadcasting?
 
Heck, I'd plant 30-40 lbs of buckwheat and 5-10 lbs on sunflower. Not sure where you got that seeding rate on sunflower but its very light. The two are compatible and if the buckwheat doesn't smother the sunflower it will grow up over the top. Though as said if you have many deer, once they figure out the sunflowers they will eat them all overnight. I was also surprised to see heavy grazing on buckwheat last year on my farm though they had never seen it.

I assume you are broadcasting?

Yes I will be broadcasting. I got the seeding rate off almighty google. But that’s why I asked here before I made a mistake.

And perfect that they are compatible. If I get sunflower heads then great, my wife and daughters will love it. And if not, then the deer will eat well instead of a field growing weeds before my fall plantings.
 
Agree with others. Sunflowers and buckwheat go good together but you’ll likely never see any sunflower mature. I’m planting a half acre of buckwheat in a few weeks. I’m gonna plant sunflowers on a portion of the edges of the plot and plan to net around them hoping they make it. My sunflower planting will be mainly cosmetic and not for deer food
 
It’s expensive but sunn hemp is another good companion with buckwheat and does good on marginal soil too. Iron clay cow peas is another companion option also
 
The only way I've ever been able to get sunflowers to maturity in a small field is to hide them amongst grain sorghum. Even then they didn't last. One day the field was scattered with beautiful yellow sunflower heads and the next day they were all gone. I would have loved to have watched it unfold.
 
Smartmix Calculator on Green Cover Seed website says the seeding rate should be just over 7 pounds of black oil sunflower and just under 27 pounds of buckwheat (per acre). Those numbers were calculated with broadcast application. Broadcasting with incorporation reduces the seeding rate down to 6.3 and 23.7 pounds respectively.
Unless you incorporate, or cover with thatch (Throw and mow) I can say that you will lose a lot seed to birds. Birds will hammer those varieties of seed if laying on the surface.
Keep soil temp and frost in mind for timing the planting. Neither tolerate frost and sunflowers do best when planted in 60-70 degree soil.
 
Smartmix Calculator on Green Cover Seed website says the seeding rate should be just over 7 pounds of black oil sunflower and just under 27 pounds of buckwheat (per acre). Those numbers were calculated with broadcast application. Broadcasting with incorporation reduces the seeding rate down to 6.3 and 23.7 pounds respectively.
Unless you incorporate, or cover with thatch (Throw and mow) I can say that you will lose a lot seed to birds. Birds will hammer those varieties of seed if laying on the surface.
Keep soil temp and frost in mind for timing the planting. Neither tolerate frost and sunflowers do best when planted in 60-70 degree soil.
That calculator is a neat resource. Should I broadcast first and use a drag harrow with a log or two or drag first, broadcast and then drag?
 
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That calculator is a neat resource. Should I broadcast first and use a drag harrow with a log or two or drag first, broadcast and then drag?
Sunflower seeds are not durable like hard-seeded stuff like clover, brassica, etc. You can damage seed I suppose.
Somebody on here (in Kansas??) did throw and mow sunflowers and had a tremendous plot. Was it Catscratch or maybe chainsaw?? I think there are some nice pics of it on the throw and mow thread, but I don't know how you would find them.

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I've had some good sunflower plots with Throw-n-Mow. I've mixed them with buckwheat, millet, sorghums, beans, pumpkins, chicory, okra, and probably some other stuff. All turned out well, but deer sure love to eat them while young. No worries if they do because (as mentioned above) they are high in protein. The only issue is if the wife doesn't get her field of pretty flowers.

My seeding rate may be off... I do 50lbs per acre.
 
Excellent information guys. I really like the website, that looks like it will be a great resource.

And like stared earlier I don’t care if they flower or not. I’m just looking for an easy to grow, beneficial plot to give the deer some food before I plant fall plots and weed suppression.
 
One of my so-so sunflower plots.
481beac4d20e8ab10f4c8f1f2f206a35.jpg


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Since we can't go anywhere and it's pouring rain outside, I'm sitting here killing time. So here are some other sunflower pics from a few years ago...

Flowers are just starting to open. I've just removed the E fence and letting the deer in.
sunflower4.jpg

A week or so later. Deer are hammering the leaves. Seeds in the flowers are still immature.
Sunflower browsing.jpg

My wife likes to go out and take photos of them. It's the one thing that I plant that she fully approves.
She captured this pic with a humming bird in the upper right corner.
Check out all of the pollen laying on the leaves.
Sunflower pollen.jpg


I over-seeded a mix of brassica, chicory, and a little clover. The deer traffic created good seed-to-soil contact.
This was a month or so after I removed the E fence. There's not much left of the sunflowers but deer still picked at fibers on the stocks even into the winter.
I also watched some young bucks rubbing on stocks.
P9250248.jpg


Lots of bees and other pollinators.
These were Clearfield sunflowers.
tmpphpJ6mnoZ.jpg
 

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