#113
Isaac Leuty of Sanilac Co., Michigan, states in the Western Rural that he has cultivated the “Mammoth Russian Sunflower,” as a field crop, with great success. He plants in drills 4 feet apart, and 18 inches in the drill, requiring two quarts of seed per acre. Many of the stalks grow 16 feet high. They want rich land. From eight to ten tons of leaves have been gathered from an acre, making good feed for cows, horses and pigs. The first leaves are pulled in July, going up 3 or 4 feet high. The next pulling is as high as a man can reach. They make good green food when pastures are dry. The tops with the seed are cut with a sickle, as high as a man can reach, putting a dozen bundles in a shock, as soon as the seed glazes. In winter, the seed is threshed with a flail, the main heads reserved for seed and the small ones threshed separately. The main heads gave 31 bushels per acre, and the small ones 16 bushels—47 per acre. Have any of our readers had similar success?
[The Cultivator & Country Gentleman]
1 comment:
We have the Mammoth sunflowers growing and I was pondering how best to use them for feed. I was thinking about the seeds because as a consumer I am used to seeing the finished product. It takes some doing to change that way of thinking. This information is just what I needed. In a situation like we are having this year with the hay shortages you begin to look at everything in a diferent light. Making the most of everything and being deliberate about what you do.
Post a Comment