Clearfield Sunflowers

[eastwoods]

Its just a dove field. I round up mine a week or 2 before planting and then a few weeks before I mow them down and it is slick as a button. I put out a ton of nitrogen at planting so they'll grow fast and crowd out weeds.

After you mow them they all sprout after the first rain where doves can't walk so I try to leave some standing and mow throughout the year.

I also use walmart bird seed at 7 bucks for 25 #s, take it to the fertilizer company and mix it in with fertilizer and broadcast with the fertlizer buggy. Then lightly disc it in. If I am in the mood I sometimes put out some prowl and incorporate for grass control, but have been leaving this step out the last few years.

It's easy, cheap, and has always worked. The biggest key is just don't skimp on the nitrogen thats your biggest expense, second is round up, third is fuel, fourth seeds.

Oh yeah, its time to plant!!!!

[Wildfowler]

Does anyone who knows anything about the clearfield seed remember when I talked about this last fall:

Having identified the terms. Here's the outline.

i. Seed type: Hybrid (Calvary) 50# bag = $150. 50# of seed needed to plant 8 - 10 acres. Cost = $15 per acre.

ii. Fertilizer:

Nit - 70-90 units per acre = $35 per acre
Ph - 46 units = $25 per acre
P. Ash - 80 units = $25 per acre

iii. Chemical weed control:

(Pre-emergence growth period)

1 quart of Prowl and 4 ounces of Spartan mixed together with 10 gallons of water per acre. Cost = $25 per acre.

("Lay-By" growth period)

1 quart of MSMA and 1 quart of Direx mixed together with 10 - 15 gallons of water per acre. Cost = $8 per acre.

("Dry-Down" growth period)

2 ounces of Aim OR 16 ounces of Gramoxone mixed with 10 gallons of water per acre. Cost = either $10 or $6 per acre.

Adding up these costs, worst case scenario, it should cost up to $143 per acre to correctly plant sunflowers. If chemicals are bought by the farmer in large quantities for his whole farming operation, the cost of chemicals should be cheaper than what is listed here.

If anyone who has read down this far and is willing to look past my possible incorrect use and understanding of terminology and would like to offer their opinions on this plan, suggestions they have seen work well, etc. I would really appreciate any discussion. I know it's about to be duck season, and the last thing on a lot of people's minds right now is how to plant a sunflower field. I have an opportunity next year, and don't want to wait around trying to gather information and possibly miss out.

I'm supposed to pick up the seed next week. Currently, the seed co is not 100% certain if they will receive the clearfield hybrid or not. Do you have to use a specfic series of chemicals for use with the clearfield seed? Will the instructions that I've given above work with the clearfield seed?

Thanks.

[TODO]

Does anyone who knows anything about the clearfield seed remember when I talked about this last fall:

Having identified the terms. Here's the outline.

i. Seed type: Hybrid (Calvary) 50# bag = $150. 50# of seed needed to plant 8 - 10 acres. Cost = $15 per acre.

ii. Fertilizer:

Nit - 70-90 units per acre = $35 per acre
Ph - 46 units = $25 per acre
P. Ash - 80 units = $25 per acre


iii. Chemical weed control:

(Pre-emergence growth period)

1 quart of Prowl and 4 ounces of Spartan mixed together with 10 gallons of water per acre. Cost = $25 per acre.

("Lay-By" growth period)

1 quart of MSMA and 1 quart of Direx mixed together with 10 - 15 gallons of water per acre. Cost = $8 per acre.

("Dry-Down" growth period)

2 ounces of Aim OR 16 ounces of Gramoxone mixed with 10 gallons of water per acre. Cost = either $10 or $6 per acre.

Adding up these costs, worst case scenario, it should cost up to $143 per acre to correctly plant sunflowers. If chemicals are bought by the farmer in large quantities for his whole farming operation, the cost of chemicals should be cheaper than what is listed here.

If anyone who has read down this far and is willing to look past my possible incorrect use and understanding of terminology and would like to offer their opinions on this plan, suggestions they have seen work well, etc. I would really appreciate any discussion. I know it's about to be duck season, and the last thing on a lot of people's minds right now is how to plant a sunflower field. I have an opportunity next year, and don't want to wait around trying to gather information and possibly miss out.

I'm supposed to pick up the seed next week. Currently, the seed co is not 100% certain if they will receive the clearfield hybrid or not. Do you have to use a specfic series of chemicals for use with the clearfield seed? Will the instructions that I've given above work with the clearfield seed?

Thanks.

I think what your describing is planting hybird flowers, not clearfield. Your chemical mix should be good with what u have. Clearfield flowers are labeled for newpath, therefore u wouldnt put out the above mentioned on clearfield, just the newpath. FYI, i planted regular peridovicks this weekend, sprayed a mix of dual, roundup and cotoran, 10 acres worth of chemical ran $450 bucks.

[eastwoods]

I planted saturday and did put some prowl out.

[eastwoods]

Got a great stand of sunflowers as of today, again using my very simple and cheap method mentioned above.

One word of warning. When planting via broadcasting and cultivating - the ermegence is real uneven. You have some that come up in 3 days and some that take 2 weeks. But sunflowers generally all come up eventually even using walmart bird seed.

I swear by the "round-up/bird seed" method.

[Ryano]

you can also spray them with select over the top for grass control @ about 7-8 onces/ acre. the heads on the clearfield do not get as big as the peridovic either. we sprayed round-up and valor on our field before planting so it will stay clean. had no problem so far. then a couple of weeks before season we spay them sodium chlorate! then mow them!Just my two cents

[eastwoods]

My flowers are knee high and shading the ground now. Very good stand.

[Wildfowler]

My flowers are knee high and shading the ground now. Very good stand.

I forgot to ask, how much/what fertilizer did you put out?

[Wingman]

Planted mine May 10th; 38" rows and 7 pounds of seed per acre, followed by pre-emerge spraying on the 11th and 1 qt of "roundup" per acre on the 13th. As of the 18th, the sunflowers were probably 75% emerged and the flush of teaweed, morning glory, sesbania, cocklebur and grasses that were emerged at planting time were history. .4" of rain on the 16th should've activated the pre-emerge and will give good control for 3 weeks or so.

20-25 gallons/acre of n-sol about the 10th of June will kick the sunflowers into high gear and a shot of Select if needed for grass control will finish them out. I've never sprayed anything on mine to dry them down. It would be nice to knock out some of the weedy vegetation that always seems to flourish after the sunflowers die, but my sunflowers are always dry before season and I mow several strips each week beginning the 15-25th of August.

Most people begin mowing earlier than this, but I have found that when I plant earlier than May 1, the blackbirds pull 50% of the seeds out of the heads across the entire field before the sunflowers ever get dry enough to mow. My theory is that planting later will mean more seeds for doves as the season begins.

Everybody has their favorite way to do it, the above is how I've planted my field the last 6 years.

[eastwoods]

I have about 5 acres and and I bought 700 pounds of fertilizer. I think it is urea which is about 1/2 (38%) nitrogen. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Years back I did research on what they did for ag crops of sunflowers in Canada and they put out 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre for maximum yield.

By the way, I have sunflowers shoulder high, waist high and knee high and very little weeds. The broadcast method and disking in lightly does create uneven emergence, but I would bet every thing comes up eventually.

[TODO]

looked at my place for the first time since i planted, lookin good except for the $%&#@ redvines. They eating me outta house and home. I have a couple acres that are volunteer, some of them had 8" heads already. The row planted flowers are about knee high.

[Wildfowler]

Thanks for the update. Looks like BMF and eastwoods both planted the same weekend. (April 21) with what sounds like pretty good results.

Ours were planted on May 7 or 8 and are probably around 6 inches high now. Based on your results, I'm a little worried about my crop. Should my plants be a little taller than this? I don't yet know if we got any rain on Sunday, prior to this, the only significant rain we got was the night they were planted.

Thanks again.

[Wingman]

Wildfowler, the doves and blackbirds will eat up their sunflowers in early August.

Your and my sunflowers will be there for them at the end of August. They really do quite well in drought conditions, but need a little water here and there. Think about where they grow most of the sunflowers....Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska etc...hot and dry and sunflower heaven.

Too much water on a sunflower is worse than too little. I've seen them die after a big rain when 2" of water stood on 6 foot tall plants for 3 days.

It'll all come out in the wash.

[TODO]

Thanks for the update. Looks like BMF and eastwoods both planted the same weekend. (April 21) with what sounds like pretty good results.

Ours were planted on May 7 or 8 and are probably around 6 inches high now. Based on your results, I'm a little worried about my crop. Should my plants be a little taller than this? I don't yet know if we got any rain on Sunday, prior to this, the only significant rain we got was the night they were planted.

Thanks again.

I would think your fine. One of my farmer friends just planted about 10 days ago. He takes his field extremley serious, and it'll be full of birds come september. His trick plantin so late is to fertilize three or four times, and he plows the fertilizer in.

[TODO]

Regular row planted



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