Sunn Hemp is a fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing legume. Sunn Hemp is used for green manure forage, organic soil building and cover crop applications. Sunn Hemp is non seed-bearing in the North American climates. Sunn Hemp provides as much as 2.5 tons per acre of green tonnage. with a maximum of 100 units of Nitrogen fixation per acre in as little as 60 days. It is also known to suppress nematodes.~~~

Product Information

Application or Use: Pasture, Cover Crop, Green Manure, Food Plot, Erosion Control, Cattle Grazing, Hay Production
Germination Time: 7 - 14 days, under optimal conditions
Growing Locations: Warm Season, Transition Zone, Cool Season
Height: 3 - 9 feet
Sunlight Requirements: 8+ hours, full sun for best results
Advantages: Provides as much as 2.5 tons per acre of green tonnage, with a maximum of 100 units of Nitrogen fixation per acre in as little as 60 days.
When to Plant: Recommended planting time is spring and summer when night time temperatures are consistently 65+ degrees and 3 months prior to first frost.

Product Detail

Untreated and non-gmo
Nitrogen fixing legume
Fast growing
Used as cover crop, soil buidling and green manure forage
Supresses nematodes

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Product Information

Legume family (Fabaceae). Branched, erect, herbaceous shrubby annual growing 3 to 9 feet high with bright green simple, elliptical leaves. It has deep yellow terminal flowers (open raceme to 10 inches long) and the light brown pods are small (1 inch long and 1/2 inch wide) and inflated. It has a well-developed root system, with a strong taproot. The number of seeds per pound is 15,000.

Sunn Hemp is much easier to get incorporated into the soil when needed than sorghum, cowpeas, and many other cover crop varieties. Sunn Hemp is the next generation cover crop for vegetable farmers.

NOTES: Sunn Hemp can be toxic if ingested by humans!

Used as a cover crop, Sunn Hemp can improve soil properties, reduce soil erosion, conserve soil water, and recycle plant nutrients.

When grown as a summer annual, Sunn Hemp can produce over 5,000 lbs. of biomass and 100 lbs. of nitrogen per acre. It can produce this amount within 60 to 90 days, so it has the potential to build organic matter levels and sequester carbon in the soil. It is known to suppress nematodes.

Sunn Hemp originated in India, where it has been grown since the dawn of agriculture. It has been utilized as a green manure, livestock feed, and as a non-wood fiber crop.

Sunn hemp is a tropical or sub-tropical plant that, when grown in the continental United States, performs like a Summer annual. It can be planted year-round in Hawaii, below an elevation of 1,000 feet. However, it does not perpetuate itself well and is not found in the wild. Sunn Hemp is adapted to a wide range of soils, and performs better on poor sandy soils than most crops. It is for such situations that it has attracted attention. It grows best on well-drained soils with a pH from 5.0 to 7.5.

Don't forget to buy the necessary inoculant for this product!

This plant grows well all across the United States. "This will be the fourth season planting Sunn Hemp," says our customer David B. "I have had seeds produced on this plant here in mid-Michigan."

*Product packaging may appear different than what is pictured.~~~

Plant at a rate of 25 to 35 lbs. per acre if drilled, or 30 to 50 lbs. per acre if broadcast. The higher seeding rates should be used if the crop will be terminated in less than 60 days, or if severe weed competition is expected. Plant after the last chance of frost in the spring when your nighttime temperatures are consistently above 65 degrees F. Use an EL Type or Garden Combo Inoculant.

This plant may become weedy or invasive in some regions or habitats and may displace desirable vegetation if not properly managed. Please consult with your local NRCS Field Office, Cooperative Extension Service office, state natural resource, or state agriculture department regarding its status and use. Weed information is also available from the PLANTS Web site at plants.usda.gov.

As of 2005, Arkansas considered the genus Crotalaria as a noxious weed. Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

To establish a successful stand, seed should be broadcast or drilled and covered 1/2 to 1 in. deep into a well-prepared, weed-free seedbed. If broadcasted, seed at a rate of 40 to 60 lbs. of live seed per acre. If drilled, the rate should be 30 to 50 lbs. per acre in 6 in. rows. The higher rates should be used if the crop will be terminated in less than 60 days, or if severe weed competition is expected. Where weed competition is mild, drilled rates as low as 20 lbs. of live seed per acre have been satisfactory. Inoculate with the Cowpea-type rhizobia bacteria.

Using a winter cover crop/green manure is a conservation practice that provides soil-improving characteristics. A common problem, however, is that the relatively short period between cash crop harvest in the Fall and planting the following Spring can result in less than optimum biomass production of the cover crop. Sunn Hemp, because of its rapid growth and relatively short growing season requirement, can be an excellent alternative. Where conditions are favorable, it can provide the benefits of a Winter legume prior to a killing frost in the Fall and also in the Summer after the Winter crop has been harvested.

Warm weather (frost-free) is needed for 8 to 12 weeks to provide biomass and nitrogen. Small grains following Sunn Hemp can utilize the symbiotically produced nitrogen, thus reducing or eliminating the loss of nitrogen. It must be plowed under before reaching the full bloom stage or it becomes too fibrous when using it as a green manure.

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