Summer Solar

Ready to Make Your Purchase?

A diverse legume-forb cover crop mix of aggressively growing summer annuals, with possible dual use as a wildlife food plot. The mix includes four very different components—buckwheat, cowpeas, sunflower, and sunn hemp. These species work together to perform several functions during their brief growth period:

Nitrogen fixation and recycling
Organic phosphorus liberation and recycling
Soil organic matter building/ carbon sequestration
Other nutrient cycling and soil health building
Summer pollinator and beneficial insect attraction
Summer weed smother crop
Disease and nematode break crop

Both conventional and organic growers will find this a useful break crop in between spring and fall crops that builds soil nitrogen levels and attracts pollinators and other beneficial insects. It can also be used in farmscaping strips to draw beneficials throughout the season.

Other summer annuals can be combined with this mix if more diversity is desired, such as sorghum-sudan, millet, or brassicas.

Summer Solar Mixture Tech Sheet

Key Features

Cover crop mix with flowering species that attract pollinators and many other beneficial insects.
Not recommended as a forage, but can be used for wildlife food plots.
Summer soil health builder that works well in rotation before fall planted crops, such as garlic or small grains (wheat, barley, triticale, winter spelt or cereal rye or in a shorter rotation before late summer planted vegetable crops.
Broadleaves suppress weeds early on.
Summer nutrient cycling— cycles nutrients during summer months, and root exudates also make nutrients that are tied up more available for the next crop in rotation.

Product Formula

Cowpeas-Iron Clay — 52.5%
Peredovik Sunflower— 17.5%
Sunn Hemp “VNS” — 12.5%
Buckwheat “VNS” — 10.0%
Sorghum Sudan — 7.5%

Best Uses

Break Crop; Soil building and nitrogen fixation before small grain or vegetable crops. Summer Pollinator, Summer weed smother crop, Wildlife food plot.

Establishment

Seeding Rate: 35-60lb/Acre
Seeding Depth: 1/2” to 3/4”
Seeding Dates: Late spring to early summer; when soil temperatures are 65 degrees F and above.