Food Plots Sunn Hemp

[BSK]

OK, color me impressed. Planted Sunn Hemp first week of June. Got 0.66" the night after I planted it. Then we went 48 days of near record heat with only 0.62" of rain. All my other plots are just a thin veneer of foxtail grass and no crop. Below is the Sunn Hemp:

 

[BSK]

And that's in soil so poor and acidic it wouldn't grow Buckwheat or Cereal Rye. The saving grace was that I turned those plots as deep or our new industrial strength tiller would go. 32 HP 4x4 tractor could barely keep it turning. This allowed what little moisture we received to sink in deep. But that growth in such terrible soil during a severe drought? Amazing.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Looks great. I'd be THRILLED with that. We planted it and didn't get rain for 7-8 weeks. Meant to take a picture, but forgot. It's about 24" in some places.

 

[tanasirivertea]

That's awesome! What brand or company is that sun hemp seed from?

 

[BSK]

Ordered it through our local Co-op. Seed bag looks like this:

https://www.seedworldusa.com/produc... Shopping&utm_term=sunn hemp seed&utm_content
Didn't pay that for it though! Wasn't cheap, but in 50# bags, somewhere around $1.70/lb

 

[BSK]

And it isn't "food" for deer, just a soil builder. It's a big drought-tolerant legume that adds nitrogen to the soil and will produce a lot of organic matter once it's turned into the soil.

 

[BSK]

These are the same two fields just 8 weeks ago:

 

[tellico4x4]

Will add to list next year for half dozen landing areas we pushed out. Looks great

 

[Andy S.]

Good informative thread with pics, thanks for sharing.

 

[BSK]

Will add to list next year for half dozen landing areas we pushed out. Looks great

And that's what those plots were, just big log-loading decks. TERRIBLE soil.

 

[TheLBLman]

Considering so many other forage foods suffering from the drought, did the deer eat your sun hemp?

 

[DoubleRidge]

OK, color me impressed. Planted Sunn Hemp first week of June. Got 0.66" the night after I planted it. Then we went 48 days of near record heat with only 0.62" of rain. All my other plots are just a thin veneer of foxtail grass and no crop. Below is the Sunn Hemp:

We've never planted sunn hemp....very impressed... especially considering the lack of rain fall....zooming in on pics it also it appears to be effective for weed suppression.
Not to go off topic....but while zooming in to look at the weed suppression I noticed something that caught my eye... considering your location...do you every find any arrowheads? What's in the pic may be a leaf? Sorry...back on topic....can't help but look when I see dirt. :)

 

[BSK]

Considering so many other forage foods suffering from the drought, did the deer eat your sun hemp?

No browsing that I could see.

 

[BSK]

We've never planted sunn hemp....very impressed... especially considering the lack of rain fall....zooming in on pics it also it appears to be effective for weed suppression.
Not to go off topic....but while zooming in to look at the weed suppression I noticed something that caught my eye... considering your location...do you every find any arrowheads? What's in the pic may be a leaf? Sorry...back on topic....can't help but look when I see dirt. :)

Weed suppression is amazing. Under the Sunn Hemp canopy, just bare dirt.

Yes, we find arrowheads. Unfortunately, found one that cut through the steel belts of one of my truck tires! :mad:

Was perusing through the history section of our local library and found big books detailing the histories of various counties in TN. Flipped through the history of Humphreys County and there were many stories about the Settler/Indian battles in my area. In the late 1700s, the Duck River was the dividing line between Settler land (north of the river) and Indian land (south of the river). Apparently, the steep hills and hollers of the Paint Rock area (Paint Rock Rd along the river) was the primary area of contention and there were lots of small battles and killings along that section of the river. First, I had no idea the Indians painted Paint Rock long before the todays teenagers spay-painted it! Second, my place is very close to that, on the "Indian side" of the river, so they were actively living and hunting the area right up until the early 1800s.

 

[megalomaniac]

Slam dunk for sure! Let me know how it chops up this fall...

My big reservation is the stems will become so fibrous they will wrap up in the axles of the disc or get wrapped up in the bushhog blades. After all, hemp was used for some tough rope for centuries.

What I really find appealing is the open ground under the plants... perfect for baby and young turkeys to move around in to bug, yet be hidden from avian predators.

 

[BSK]

My big reservation is the stems will become so fibrous they will wrap up in the axles of the disc or get wrapped up in the bushhog blades. After all, hemp was used for some tough rope for centuries.

I'm curious about that as well. I plan on bushhogging and spraying a week before tilling the ground. Have no idea how tough those stems are going to be for the bushhog and tiller. Will they chop-up or wrap-up?

 

[TheLBLman]

What I really find appealing is the open ground under the plants... perfect for baby and young turkeys to move around in to bug, yet be hidden from avian predators.

RUH-ROH

No More Sunn Hemp for BSK!

 

[BSK]

RUH-ROH

No More Sunn Hemp for BSK!

Ha! Those darn seeding eating feather rats! :p

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Ha! Those darn seeding eating feather rats! :p

LOL I kind of understand where you're coming from. But I love turkeys and seeing them around. This idea of sunn hemp @megalomaniac is referring to being a turkey and poult Mecca is interesting. Fawns too

 

[BSK]

LOL I kind of understand where you're coming from. But I love turkeys and seeing them around. This idea of sunn hemp @megalomaniac is referring to being a turkey and poult Mecca is interesting. Fawns too

I remember when I had to be very careful about when I planted because I needed near immediate germination. Otherwise, flocks of turkey would work across the plot sucking up all the seed. However, with the recent reduction in local turkey population, I haven't had the problem in a couple of years.

 

[BSK]

I stand corrected. Deer ARE eating the Sunn Hemp. I have them on video doing so. The stuff is just growing so fast I can't see the browse pressure. Here's a video of how tall the stuff is after 10 weeks, and this is in TERRIBLE soil.

 

[DoubleRidge]

I stand corrected. Deer ARE eating the Sunn Hemp. I have them on video doing so. The stuff is just growing so fast I can't see the browse pressure. Here's a video of how tall the stuff is after 10 weeks, and this is in TERRIBLE soil.

Amazing growth! Wow! And considering how dry everything has been... very impressive!

 

[Bgoodman30]

Weed suppression is amazing. Under the Sunn Hemp canopy, just bare dirt.

Yes, we find arrowheads. Unfortunately, found one that cut through the steel belts of one of my truck tires! :mad:

Was perusing through the history section of our local library and found big books detailing the histories of various counties in TN. Flipped through the history of Humphreys County and there were many stories about the Settler/Indian battles in my area. In the late 1700s, the Duck River was the dividing line between Settler land (north of the river) and Indian land (south of the river). Apparently, the steep hills and hollers of the Paint Rock area (Paint Rock Rd along the river) was the primary area of contention and there were lots of small battles and killings along that section of the river. First, I had no idea the Indians painted Paint Rock long before the todays teenagers spay-painted it! Second, my place is very close to that, on the "Indian side" of the river, so they were actively living and hunting the area right up until the early 1800s.

We're on the Indian side of the duck as well. One a spot that was a well used ford for the natives.

 

[BSK]

Sunn Hemp growth 11 weeks after planting in TERRIBLE soil and through one of the worst 8-week droughts I can remember:

 

[BSK]

Big questions will be, how easily does it bushhog down, and will those tough stalks be a problem when we try to till it under?

 

[Tennrock]

I stand corrected. Deer ARE eating the Sunn Hemp. I have them on video doing so. The stuff is just growing so fast I can't see the browse pressure. Here's a video of how tall the stuff is after 10 weeks, and this is in TERRIBLE soil.

Cattle graze it well.

 

[bjohnson]

Big questions will be, how easily does it bushhog down, and will those tough stalks be a problem when we try to till it under?

Well...how did it take to being bushhogged? I need a good soil builder for the next 2 years before alfalfa goes in once I clear this 3.5 acres of junk trees by May.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

One question I have. Were there any sunn hemp stalks left standing, whether intentionally or unintentionally? Just interested if it stayed "stood up" throughout fall and possibly be used as a screening barrier.

I had some sunn hemp leftover and thought about mixing it in with corn as a screening barrier? Corn needs nitrogen and sunn hemp is a legume - I wonder how those two would interact together

 

[BSK]

Well...how did it take to being bushhogged? I need a good soil builder for the next 2 years before alfalfa goes in once I clear this 3.5 acres of junk trees by May.

Bushhogging went well. Tilling went terrible. I will never try to till Sunn Hemp ever again! I'm going to have fields full of steel fibers forever! Now I think you could drill through the cut hemp with ease, as long as you are pulling the drill in the same direction of travel as when you bushhogged it.

Pic below is after bushhogging.

 

[BSK]

One question I have. Were there any sunn hemp stalks left standing, whether intentionally or unintentionally? Just interested if it stayed "stood up" throughout fall and possibly be used as a screening barrier.

I had some sunn hemp leftover and thought about mixing it in with corn as a screening barrier? Corn needs nitrogen and sunn hemp is a legume - I wonder how those two would interact together

Yes, they will stand, but a freeze will knock the leaves off.