Clearfield sunflowers

[Mackie889]

Hi everyone. My mother-in-law has wanted me to plant a small patch of sunflowers for her for a couple years and finally, I am going to do it. I have the seed (lonesome dove clearfield) and I’m still waiting for the soil sample results to see what I need to add to the soil. What spacing between seeds and between rows should I use. I don’t have a planter, so will be planting them by hand. Any other advice would be appreciated as well.

 

[Gut_Pile]

How big of an area are you planting?

 

[rstallings1979]

Hi everyone. My mother-in-law has wanted me to plant a small patch of sunflowers for her for a couple years and finally, I am going to do it. I have the seed (lonesome dove clearfield) and I’m still waiting for the soil sample results to see what I need to add to the soil. What spacing between seeds and between rows should I use. I don’t have a planter, so will be planting them by hand. Any other advice would be appreciated as well.

I would go with 24-30 inch rows if doing by hand. Do you expect any deer damage? If so I would go with 5-6 inch spacing. If no deer damage expected go with 7-8 inch spacing. Clearfield is the best on the market in my opinion. Make sure you burn the planting area good with roundup etc and put some preemergent down as well. Spartan is a good preemergent. If the area isn't that big the deer could wipe them out if it is a high deer density area. Throw out some 19-19-19 fertilizer when you plant as well.

 

[Mackie889]

How big of an area are you planting?

It’s small ... maybe 100 feet x 40 feet?

 

[Mackie889]

I would go with 24-30 inch rows if doing by hand. Do you expect any deer damage? If so I would go with 5-6 inch spacing. If no deer damage expected go with 7-8 inch spacing. Clearfield is the best on the market in my opinion. Make sure you burn the planting area good with roundup etc and put some preemergent down as well. Spartan is a good preemergent. If the area isn't that big the deer could wipe them out if it is a high deer density area. Throw out some 19-19-19 fertilizer when you plant as well.

Thanks for the info. We have some deer, but low density. I can plant IC peas and soybeans and they don’t ever mow them down. The deer have ag crops to eat as well. I did burn it down w/ roundup and disced it up about 3 weeks after that. I will get some Spartan and fertilizer. Do I put the Spartan down before planting?

 

[rstallings1979]

Thanks for the info. We have some deer, but low density. I can plant IC peas and soybeans and they don’t ever mow them down. The deer have ag crops to eat as well. I did burn it down w/ roundup and disced it up about 3 weeks after that. I will get some Spartan and fertilizer. Do I put the Spartan down before planting?

You can apply the same day as planting. After you drop the seed is fine. It’s not cheap but it works.

 

[rstallings1979]

Thanks for the info. We have some deer, but low density. I can plant IC peas and soybeans and they don’t ever mow them down. The deer have ag crops to eat as well. I did burn it down w/ roundup and disced it up about 3 weeks after that. I will get some Spartan and fertilizer. Do I put the Spartan down before planting?

Oh the spartan needs rain to really activate it and get it in the soil. Probably within 5 days of applying. So if you plant this week you should be fine ha ha. Next week looks good as well.

 

[Mackie889]

Oh the spartan needs rain to really activate it and get it in the soil. Probably within 5 days of applying. So if you plant this week you should be fine ha ha. Next week looks good as well.

So ... I ordered an earthway seeder (thought about how much my back would hurt planting all of those seeds ... getting old), some Spartan and imox for weed control, and will pick up some fertilizer at my local farmers coop. Thanks for the info!

 

[Bigearl68]

Sunflowers can be a pain in the butt. Planting populations can vary a good bit and do ok. 30 inch rows at 7 up to even 10 inch seed spacing is fine. When it comes to weeds. Pre emergence herbicides are a must. I’ve personally never used Spartan but will most likely do so next year. It has a very long residual so and needs to be incorporated. So plow it in if possible. Don’t bury it but plowing about 2-3 inches deep is ideal. If waiting on rain to incorporation it then you really need and inch of rain to really get it activated. Spartan last a long time so you can put it out a month ahead of the plant we without worry. Prowl H2O is another good option and can be applied well in advance of the planter. Dual, Outlook,and Zidua can be applied pre as well and are all really good options.
Now once they come up your herbiced options are VERY limited. I see you have already picked up some generic Beyond and that’s good for the broadleaf weeds. Be sure to hit them early if you want a real clean field. If you can see the weeds from the truck, then you’ve waited to long. Beyond isn’t going to give very good control once those weeds get above 2-3 inches tall. Clethodium products will do a really good job on the grass that may sprout.

 

[Mackie889]

Sunflowers can be a pain in the butt. Planting populations can vary a good bit and do ok. 30 inch rows at 7 up to even 10 inch seed spacing is fine. When it comes to weeds. Pre emergence herbicides are a must. I’ve personally never used Spartan but will most likely do so next year. It has a very long residual so and needs to be incorporated. So plow it in if possible. Don’t bury it but plowing about 2-3 inches deep is ideal. If waiting on rain to incorporation it then you really need and inch of rain to really get it activated. Spartan last a long time so you can put it out a month ahead of the plant we without worry. Prowl H2O is another good option and can be applied well in advance of the planter. Dual, Outlook,and Zidua can be applied pre as well and are all really good options.
Now once they come up your herbiced options are VERY limited. I see you have already picked up some generic Beyond and that’s good for the broadleaf weeds. Be sure to hit them early if you want a real clean field. If you can see the weeds from the truck, then you’ve waited to long. Beyond isn’t going to give very good control once those weeds get above 2-3 inches tall. Clethodium products will do a really good job on the grass that may sprout.

Thanks so much for the info ... happen to have some clethodim from my clover field maintenance, so will apply that also if grasses pop up.