Non-leguminous Soil Seed

Annual Rye
Brome, Smooth
Buckwheat, Japanese
Millet, Japanese
Oats, Praire
Orchardgrass, Potomac
Timothy
Winter Rye

A = acre sf = square feet

Note - Soil seed prices have increased in 1998. In many cases some of the increases are quite dramatic. Seed supply is quite low on some varieties due to drought conditions in the seed producing regions of the U.S. and Canada over the past couple of years. We'll do all we can to keep prices stable over the course of the year, but these prices are subject to change.

Annual Rye 
Lolium multiflorum A highly versatile crop. It can provide fast cover to bare or burned ground, be spring- or fall-grazed, used as fall cover crop, plowed down as green manure, or used as nurse crop for fall-seeded legumes. The seed is quick to germinate and its dense, fibrous root system makes it ideal for erosion control and an excellent catch crop which can assimilate up to 200# nitrogen/A. It has a very high tolerance to intermittent flood conditions. Because it withstands heavy traffic without being invasive, annual rye is great for walkways between crops. Reports state that annual rye aids in the control of flea beetle and root maggot control. We encourage your trials for these uses. 18-25#/A. Use up to 120#/A for temporary turf and erosion control.

	Item#	Description	Wt.	Each	Order
	2005	Annual Rye	(50#)	$44.00

Brome, Smooth 
Bromus inermis Offers an effective combination of an extremely hardy root system with succulent, highly palatable plant growth. Its deep roots enable it to survive dry weather and overwinter in cold climates. Brome is used mostly as a pasture grass but is also quite effective for erosion control and as a green manure or cover crop. A superior pasture can be created by seeding 4-6#/A of brome with 6-10#/A of alfalfa in spring or early summer. The alfalfa keeps the brome from getting rootbound. For other uses, sow spring - fall at 15-30#/A.

	Item#	Description	Wt.	Each	Order
	2023	Brome Grass	(50#)	$209.95

Buckwheat, Japanese
Fagopyrum esculentum Buckwheat will 1) shade out weeds with its thick broad-leafed canopy; 2) grow on new or low fertility soils; 3) scavenge calcium and phosphorus from soils; 4) break up hard clay soils with its deep tap root; 5) capture free soil nutrients with its additional shallow roots; 6) attract and provide forage for beneficial insects; 7) produce significant amounts of succulent biomass (greater than a ton/acre). Up to 3 successive crops per season can be grown in the Northeast. Work buckwheat into the soil 7-10 days after flowering or sooner. Decomposition is very rapid. Plant when ground is thoroughly warm as buckwheat is killed by frost. 30#/A in good soil, 50-60#/A in poor soil.

	Item#	Description	Wt.	Each	Order
	2033	Buckwheat	(50#)	$47.50

Millet, Japanese  
Echinochloa frumentacea Combines a vigorous, drought resistant root system with abundant leaf surface to offer superior weed suppression and add organic matter to the soil. Grows to 3' in average Maine soils. Requires warm temperatures for best growth and tractor tillage to work in large or mature stands. 30#/A at 1" deep after soils have thoroughly warmed.

Oats, Prairie 
Avena sativa When spring planted, oats grows 24-60" tall and produce 8,000-12,000#/A of biomass while suppressing weeds. When fall planted, oats will die in the winter and form a layer of dead vegetation to protect the soil. Oats are very tolerant of soil type and pH (as low as 4.5) and are more tolerant of wet soils than barley. They are a very effective nurse crop for slow-germinating legumes such as alfalfa and sweet clover. Two successive crops of oats can be used to improve poor soil to the point where it will sustain clover. 60-90#/A. Lower rate for nurse crops.