Native Grass and Forb Seed?

[TN-Hunter]

Anyone know where I can find reasonably priced native grass and forb seed? I'm planning on converting about 10 acres into native prairie this coming Spring. Everything I find online is crazy expensive.

 

[bigjohn]

May want to contact your local NRCS office. They offer several grants for this sort of thing and have contact information for the seed.

 

[Mattt]

Convert it from what? Research a natural seed bank. Unless a huge amount of stripping has been done, all the see you need is in the ground. You would not believe what ours looks like and we don't plant anything. Welcome to come look if it's convenient.

 

[MickThompson]

Anyone know where I can find reasonably priced native grass and forb seed? I'm planning on converting about 10 acres into native prairie this coming Spring. Everything I find online is crazy expensive.

What's in the field now? What is your seed mix?

 

[Boll Weevil]

I've ordered from these folks before. Not cheap but this type of seed is expensive everywhere. They can help you come up with a mix for any site to meet your objective. Really good to work with.

www.Roundstoneseed.com

 

[woodsman04]

Try with an NRCS agent first. You could get a grant and they have the knowledge to get you in the right direction.

 

[Popcorn]

We have both planted seed blends from round stone and went the natural route. Produced blends will get you a concentration of seed that may take years to arise naturally. On the other hand if you have a diverse existing crop then just prescribe burn every 3 years and it will develop into what you want. Remember 3 years to develop from beginning to reasonable stand for most blends. The first year it sleeps, second year it creeps, third year it leaps. Don't mow it, allow it to seed back. The stuff you want will survive the fire, most other things will not

 

[Popcorn]

You should also be aware that native and warm season seeds are hairy, fluffy and clingy! They will not plant thru a regular drill or planter. There are only 2 ways to plant these seed. Either you have access to a ""NATIVE GRASSES DRILL" or you thoroughly blend this seed with pelletized lime (I suggest adding a little of each at a time while someone mixes with a shovel) and spread out of a cyclone spreader. The seed are so light and knit together readily they must either be planted with a specially designed drill or mixed into a medium that will crush the hairs, separate the seed and carry them some distance out of the spreader.
Also know these seed need seed to soil contact but should not be planted more than 1/2 inch deep. You can spread on unprepared soil before a rain or snow and nature will put your seed down.
Do not prepare the soil if you are concerned about erosion, these plants establish slowly!
I advise not to fertilize at planting! These grasses will grow in poor soil.
Fertilizing before establishment will only improve plants maybe you don't want to a point that they prevent desired plants from establishing.
Best to burn and plant or mow and plant or spread and roll.
If you plant in fall or winter, you might mow cool season plants in the spring but not after warm weather when natives begin to show up.
I add black eyed Susan's, they are pleasing, attract pollinators and will bloom first summer / fall indicating your skill at seed distribution and proving that you planted something cause you won't see the warm season grasses the first year and that causes some to kill it and plant something else before it gets started.

 

[TN-Hunter]

What's in the field now? What is your seed mix?

Field is an overgrazed horse pasture. The more that I'm looking into this, the more I realize there are already alot of native forbes but not many grasses.

 

[ROVERBOY]

Most farms around close to me don't have a lot of native grasses. They've been sewed with fescue for years.