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Does anyone know of any cheap ways to plant a food plot with sunflowers? I am tired of paying $200+ for ag sunflower seed. Just wondering if anybody on here has broadcast planted black oil sunflower seeds meant for bird feeders and what was the result? Thanks for the input.
Yep, just buy a 25 pound or 50 pound bag of black oil sunflower seed. Works great.
Or you can go with the cheapo birdseed mix and create a smorgasboard.
But if you're going for a dove field, stay with the straight black sunflower birdseed.
I was given 100lbs of black oil sunflower seed this year and have no idea how to plant them. Any advice on cover crops, planting depth or seeding rates? I've done some searching but turn up very little info.
i sell sunflowers for $60 a bag for certified.
Deer love sunflowers and planting them solely might leave bare ground. Bare ground tends to lead to weed issues. I recommend seeding them with my four galore blend. You would end up with forage soybeans, trailing soybeans, lablab and cowpeas. Seed 10 lbs of sunflowers with 40 lbs of four galore.....
Plant 3/4" deep
We need heat for them to grow.
You all see me say this a million times but...i'd NEVER ever Never plant anything that you don't know a germination count and weed seed count on. Why would anyone plant cheap seed that could lead to a 1/2 stand, or a major weed issue, could even be noxious weeds. I should shoot a video starring my dad with this topic. He is semi retired but his new full time job is spraying noxious weeds that the neighbors have blessed him with because they used cheap seed. At least it gave the state a project to try to figure out what the heck was out there.
If people gave me free seed. I'd spend the $15 to get it tested at a lab before planting. Or say you don't believe anything i say about weed seed and actually love the looks of weeds, then at least plant a number of seeds in a pot and count the germination.
Three or four years ago I planted some soybeans from my local feed store. In them were some kind of noxious weed that was not native to Texas. My biologist saw them and researched them. Turns out they are native to Kansas. I hand pulled them up before they could seed out but I still had some the next year. Went RR beans two years in a row so I could knock them out. I very seldom get anything other than iron/clay peas from the feed store anymore.
Jason, did you see the article I did on the guy in Cherokee County who planted one acre of sunflowers in his rural backyard annually?
One year they shot over 900 doves off that one acre, though managing hunting pressure was important.
There's some sort of seed that's similar to "round-up ready," Weed control was a huge part of his success.
Works well in wide-open areas...like maybe where you guys are building the new house?
I can get you a link to that article, if you'd like.
The link....I hope.
We shot limits again, on the same field almost until Oct. 1. He's shot mid-Oct. limits many years.
Not how he manages the hunting pressure. Mid-day shoots only, never at sunrise and dusk. Only two days per week.
A few issues with sunflowers beyond being unable to use gly. 1. When the head out the bears and birds will come from miles and wipe them out in short order. 2. The heavy/fibrous stalks are hard to work into the soil, they plug the chizel plow and do not disk in well. They take all winter to break down.
Thorton,,,I can pretty much promise bears won't be a problem.
You've got the mowers to pulverize anything, many times over.
Thanks guys. Writer I remember the article well and it is part of my motivation. The plot will be on the Harvey County property and I hope it attracts the several roosters and covey of quail that frequent the place. Several years ago I planted 2 acres on the greenwood property and had about 70 doves, a covey of quail, and some hen turkeys use it.
Just go buy black oil sunflower seed...(bird feed) Don't ever pay $60 a bag for seed, unless you have more money than brains. That's crazy. I have planted sunflowers for years and have had excellent results with bird feed, all you have to do is a germ count. Real easy.
Jason...note in the article.
Too late this year, but Brian rotates sunflowers and wheat side-by-side.
When the wheat is ripe, he mows it as close to the ground as he can get it...that attracts and holds doves all summer. About August 20 he mows 90 percent of the sunflowers.
Brian now even has a faux powerline going over the middle of the fields to keep doves off the road, and where they were getting shot at by roadhunters.
Like to look at that property sometime...I go near it often, as you know, heading to El Dorado.
Gee, wouldn't it be terrible to have a great dove spot right out your door?
Brian's is on his five acres, and he sits out and drinks a beer most evenings and watches the birds come in.
I should have it planted as soon as the rain stops. I only disced an area maybe 1 acre? It almost hurt to do it because the native grass there has never been tilled in its known history and it took 20 passes to get it worked up. I'll let you know when all the construction is done on the road in. Right now they are trenching for the underground electric line. BTW, what is a germ count?
Germination count. to see what percentage of your seed will germinate. Some plant, say, 100 test seeds in soil, or paper towels, and then count those that sprout.
That way you know how many seeds to plant per acre when you go for the real deal crop.
You may be a bit late for dove season, maybe. If you get a good crop, though, you'll be good for feeding lots of other birds.
I can get you Brian's (guy in the article) contact information if you want to talk with him. Great guy, willing to help others.
Some other tips on sunflowers. There are sunflower seeds you can buy that are "clearfield" Back in the early 90's before the roudup rage came into play, there was a lot of people using corn with the trait "clearfield" The chemical you used on that corn was called "lightning."
If anyone chooses to use clearfield sunflowers, just don't put them on light soil and spray with lightning. There usually tends to be herbicide damage issues with that.
Weeds are usually not that much of an issue if you do good preplant burndown and so few people in the wildlife industry use "residual" chemicals with their roundup. The 2nd part of the equation is good seed to soil contact. The last part of the equation is planting seed that has high germination count and that contains low weed seeds.
I know some don't want to hear this but i want to ask the people who think bin run sunflowers, oats and grains are totally ok to plant...what % of weed seeds in the bag would you find acceptible? Next question is, do you know how many weed seeds in a bag would cause a major weed infestation? If you don't know the answers to that nor do you care, then I sure as feel bad for the neighbors who live downwind.
If I get them in this week, I should be good to mow them by August 20th. I've noticed with all the rain, some of my mowing customers have bird seed sunflowers growing 6" in a week and a half. I called Delange Seed and they have black oil sunflowers for the birds for around $20 per 50 lbs.
I plant a mixed bird seed I get from Ace Hardware, during the spring for the birds and turkey . Almost all seeds grow fine . but the deer take what they want.
If you go with Delange, you won't be able to spray for weeds, will you?
Proper management is the key to weed control, no problems with any resistant weeds here. The over use of Glyphosate caused that issue.
Define "proper management" please?
Writer- I broadcast about 65 lbs of seed I bought here at the feed store in Eldorado. On the south edge, I planted wheat to try to prevent erosion. I disced the 1 acre on 4 different occasions prior to planting. This acreage is native grass and brome and has very few weeds and none in the area I planted. If you ever heard my personal story of herbicide poisoning, you will understand why I am trying to grow them without spraying.
No explanation needed on trying to go without herbicide.
Man, herbicide poisoning, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever...it's amazing you still go outside. Let s know how the field goes.
Oh, judging by what grows under my bird feeders, the sunflowers from El Dorado Feed germinate nicely.
Jason,
What others said already. I used cheap bird seed sunflowers from Tri-Star. Mixed it with beans and milo and had more wildlife on that plot than any other.
Would do it every year if not for the field clean-up. Had to either burn or mow before my equipment could work the residue under. That was the only drawback.
I think you have access to real ag equipment, I am using only a 45 or 60 hp tractor with a 7.5' disc (notched on all gangs) from King Kutter. Not quite heavy enough in my soil type.
I did pay the neighbor to come in with real equipment this year. Disced everything under real nice. I will work the fields again before planting. If he continues to do this for me I will go back to this plot again. Good luck!
I only have the old Farmall 50 hp? reactor I just bought and the hydraulic disc that came with it. I will have a drill by fall hopefully and simply broadcast the current plot. The only thing I see as a problem now, is there is some erosion going on in the food plot and I hope the seeds don't wash out.
You've had ideal rains lately, Jason. How are you getting your tractor and gear from farm to farm. You and your wife own two or three different properties, right?
I leave it at one place. No need to plant the Greenwood Property since my lessor planted corn this year. If and when I do move it a car trailer will be plenty big.
Went after after the recent rains and discovered they were not hard enough to wash out the seeds. Hopefully I will see sprouts in another week. There was a hen bobwhite near the disc and I could hear a gobbler sounding off a few hundred yards to the east.
Framing the new barn 400 yards to the south of food plot.
Well, they came up! I'm very impressed so far with the outcome of $12 sunflowers!
Ooooooo boy...that should make for a great dove shoot come September.
Nothing like a bunch of bacon wrapped dove breasts on the grill, cold beer, and some good SEC football.
:-)
Yessir! Problem is, I planted them the last day of May so I think they wont be ready for a dove hunt until mid September. But I suspect the covey of quail and the few pheasants that live around there will enjoy them when it gets cold.
If you're wanting them for pheasant and quail, you may just want to leave them standing or at most drive through and knock them over, so they'll have some overhead protection from Coops and other flying predators.
You'll be amazed, well, maybe impressed, at just how many birds will hit that field and there will still be seeds galore.
The black birds are going to love you.
Imagine the cardinals and other songbirds you'll hold most of the winter.
I bought a bag of black oil seeds at the local farm store this spring, 14 bucks for 40#, and broadcast them over worked ground. Dragged in and must of got near 100% germination, they are as thick as grass!
I hope the dove like mine
we usually plant our deer fall plots in late September - Early October.
some times we will plant a few early season plots after labor day.
i'm going to throw in some sunflowers with my wheat /oats for early season forage and see how that works.
I know they won't make sunflowers - but deer love the forage...
Dizzy- were yours ag sunflowers or cheap birdseed?
My seed were a Clearfield variety that I got through the National Wild Turkey Federation for about $30 for a 25# bag. I got 2 bags and planted about 7-8 acres with seed left over. The seed was the cheapest part of the whole deal when you consider the cost of diesel fuel, herbicide and fertilizer. Actually, instead of the exorbitantly priced Beyond herbicide, I used Plateau which is similar(not the same), and it did a pretty good job.
After poisoning myself with herbicide by accident, I was reluctant to use it on such a large area. I tilled my plot on 4 or 5 different occasions and it worked fine. The sunflowers came up long before the grass and weeds. I may try that brand because your seed heads are bigger than mine.
Question: Im a newcomer at planting and have a ranger and tow behind disc. I attempted sunflower over a very rainy weekend in May with some "triple cleaned" black oil sunflower bird seed. I disced up the area real well and then basically ran back over it a few times after spreading the seed. I got ZERO growth out of it. I dont feel the seed could have washed out but could it have been overwatered? Could the triple cleaned seed be the problem and not be able to germinate? I was very surprised to not get one stalk. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
I am not an expert and have had limited experience with sunflowers. The first year I ever planted them I bought a bag of what I suppose were ag seed from the local coop and none of them germinated. I don't recall the weather that year. I have learned since that they do not like "wet feet" and will either not germinate or suffer an early death in a poorly drained spot. They seem to do better in well drained soil and tolerate a drought much better than some other crops, such as my corn which burned up this year with only 0.8 inches of rain the whole month of June. And, if you have a high deer density, you have to plant a good size area so the deer can have their share.
Look for Peredovik sunflower seed. We sell them for about thirty bucks a bag. Peredoviks are black oil sunflowers that have been purity and germ tested.
