large acreage seeding

Planting wildflowers from seed, especially large acreage seeding sites, can seem overwhelming. Garrett Wildflower Seed Farm can help planning a variety of large acreage sites, such as meadows, pastures, utility rights of way, pipeline installations, farm acreage restorations, landfills, parks, CRP acres and construction site development. Drilling with specialized no-till drills or broadcasting equipment is recommended.


Drilling

Drilling

Use a specialized no-till drill with seed boxes capable of planting small sand-sized seed as well as fluffy or chaffy seeds.

Please consult owner’s manual for recommended seed sizing to match correct seed distribution box and factory recommended settings when planting wildflowers. We recommend that the lower seed rate setting is used when starting so you will have enough seed to cover your site. Double drilling or making another pass is acceptable to add more seed to obtain correct amount. Be careful not to plant seed too deep. Using depth bands on seed disks is highly recommended, or provide hydraulic lift carrying capacity to get the drill out of the ground to a planting depth of 1/16” to 1/8”. Planting at this shallow takes planning, checking depth with ruler and intense focus. Pressure wheels, closing wheels or drag chains should be properly set to light cover seed to ready for germination.


Broadcasting Seed with Spin or Oscillating Spreaders

When planting wildflowers in large sites, seed distribution through spin or oscillating spreaders is very acceptable. Ideally, the spreader with an agitator should be used to keep fluffy or chaffy seed moving inside the hopper so it can meter out evenly through the gate openings. Again, always set gate openings to a low setting to perform a trial run so that too much seed is not distributed in a small of an area of the site. It is better to go back over an area in grid crossing pattern to get good, even coverage.

It is also recommended to pull a harrow or drag to facilitate seed to soil contact.