Using Sorghum Sudangrass to Create Beautiful Garden Soil!

[@bruceway9335]

In my opinion, this is the best channel for anyone trying to have a successful vegetable garden in Southeast, especially zone 8.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks Bruce! We like to help folks all over the country (and world), but our videos are especially useful for those in the same zone as us.

[@sonnybrown1399]

Agreed 👍

[@portiaholliday8741]

I like seeing the Sunn Hemp yellow flower. Thank you. Sudex has the thinnest leaf. Mowing is a great option. Millet's leaf width is in between. Last year I grew a patch of Millet for the birds to enjoy. Barley has the widest leaf. I really like the wide Barley leaf. That is an awesome biomass. It is beautiful and peaceful to see a stand of cover crop grass. Grasses support, give sugar to mycorrhizae. Annual Rye has a root structure comparable to that biomass the experts say. I planted Annual Rye around my edges this year. Last year I planted Daikon Radish around the edges and a moving truck ran it over. Radish have such a pretty chartreuse green leaf but they do not support, give sugar, to mycorrhizae. Alliums make beautiful purple and white ball flowers. I was so late planting my tomatoes that I am just now getting yellow flowers:-) I sowed them on the 4th of July. We northerners are getting ready to go into a cold winter term. I bought (3) black Mollies for my empty but cycled 10 gallon tank. Mollies have babies every (30) days so they will tide me over til spring:-) It is nice to see what we would be planting if we lived in the south by watching Hoss:-) Patryck in Chicago plants in his window boxes in the winter.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Have never tried barley but it sounds like it could be a winner!

[@portiaholliday8741]

@@gardeningwithhoss I like growing Barley up north not only for its broad leaf but bc it likes a wet soil like brassicas. We have a lot of wet soil up north:-) We are going thru a drought right now but this is unusual. We had a drought in August last year. The well known Japanese farmer Masanobu Fukuoka planted mostly Barley. Albert Lea sells about (7) types of Barley. I use Barley I got from Johnny's.

[@TheMacs1]

Love your knowledge. Great great videos

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks for watching!

[@johnsheppard1491]

In Dothan here... I planted some of the sun hemp a few weeks ago. It sure looks like it’s going to be hot enough to let it grow for a while. I planted some heat tolerate broccoli under a 50% shade clothe. Keep your fingers crossed for them.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

It's been mighty hot for broccoli. Fingers crossed indeed!

[@johnandleighs.9193]

I think your new cat wants to be your new co-star . lol Nice cat .

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Tiger likes the camera.

[@pat_in_va8605]

Here in far southwest Virginia, we are hitting 90's (uncharacteristically) and hardly any rain over the past six weeks. It is miserable. All I have left growing is Okra, and few pepper plants hanging on. I am not sure I will do any planting before I put out my fall collards.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Sounds very similar to our situation here. Just on hold til these temps break a little.

[@tommathews3964]

Covers are looking great! If you have the time, you can pull the tarps back, add a little water, pull tarps back on and decomposition will certainly continue. It's all about time, like a lot of things in garden world. I could see the "stalks/stems" being a problem for us on the sunn hemp too. I might "cut and come again" with that variety while it was younger, like you did with the millet. Good video! Glad you're getting the word out about cover crops, giving back to the soils and the magic of silage tarps!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks Tom. You can certainly cut and come again with the Sunn Hemp. It grows pretty dang fast, so have to stay on top of it!

[@carolavant3778]

Hey, Travis! Thanks for teaching us more about cover crops and tarping - I'm gonna have to try this. Right now, I'm putting down drip tape and have planting either an early Fall or late Summer (depending how you look at!) crop of cucumbers, pole beans, bush beans and squash. These tend to do well here if planted now, but if we get a hurricane, I'll still have time to plant again. I've also got broccoli and kale started - The rest of the Fall crops get planted in October and November/December here. By that time, I'll have that danged ole shed down and more garden space. BTW - I'm amazed at how the drip tape keeps the water in the ground, even in this sandy soil! I'm betting that the seeds I planted Monday will be up in another day or two!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Good to hear you're liking the drip tape so far. It does do a great job of preserving soil moisture.

[@pegpeg3939]

Arent you lucky to be able to give your soil a nice long rest in the fall.. if I didnt already plant fall plants I'd be out of luck here on Oregon coast. On the other hand I do still have my spring garden producing like crazy

[@gardeningwithhoss]

It has been nice since we added more subplots. We can let some rest and don't have to farm each plot so hard.

[@felixyusupov7299]

You would almost have to have a DR Power brush mower to take on that sorghum sudangrass. That is great for adding biomass to clay or sandy soil that you probably have down there.

[@lddenbury7027]

Very nice garden areas and great info as always! Where do you get enough compost to cover that size beds? Thanks guys!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We've got friends with chicken houses, so we get the scrapings from them. It's chicken-manure and peanut hulls. We call it "compost" but it's probably not technically compost by most peoples definition. Really high-quality compost that has been screened is pretty dang expensive stuff!

[@lddenbury7027]

@@gardeningwithhoss yes it is, thats why I was asking about it. As much as yall use it would be very costly and probably worth starting some huge piles on your place! Thanks again for the info. 👌👍😁

[@alph8654]

I transplanted some lettuce about 4 weeks ago. We have been eating on it, but them the hot temperatures hit us here in Tn. and they have bolted. This morning i cut them all down and put some in our 2 refrigerators. My wife juices carrots and lettuce and we will be able to use it. i use it in green smoothies, also we gave some away. It was a bummer to for it to bolt though. I do not think it is too late to put some more in one of my high tunnels though. At least i am going to try it.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We've been waiting to start lettuce because it's been so hot. Hopefully it will cool soon.

[@ellenorbjornsdottir1166]

Regarding the sunnhemp, do you think the stem is herbaceous enough that someone with a well-sharpened scythe (yes, like they use in the hills for cut and carry or haymaking in Austria!) might be able to make short work of it?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Should work

[@rachelmalloy3102]

You can use a broadfork instead of tilling. Broadforking doesn't disrupt the microbiome as much as tilling

[@johnandleighs.9193]

Nice ! Everything is looking great ! Did you say you were doing a till and tarp section ? How's that working for ya ? I am wondering if y'all have a multispecies perennial mix I can grow in a future garden site that I could cut and harvest the clipping from to use as a garden mulch and horse feed for a couple seasons ?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Travis does consulting for a farm in a nearby county. There they are doing a till and tarp technique to remove bermudagrass. Don't know of a perennial cover crop. You could probably do a rotation of clover and sorghum sudangrass though. Both tolerate cutting.

[@johnandleighs.9193]

@@gardeningwithhoss thanks

[@paultaylor6178]

Great video. I would really like to see one on growing Zipper Cream peas.Mine were a total failure this year.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Unfortunately, we can't grow them anymore down here in south GA. The pea curculio has gotten really bad -- so bad that if we spray every day or every other day, we still can't keep the peas from getting stung. Even the commercial guys are having a tough time.

[@delsurf71]

I used your buckwheat cover crop in my last year garlic raised bed... it did great. I chopped it then mulched with my mower. I would love to try the tarps but my beds are 4’x8’. Any chance you could market some smaller 5’x10’ tarps that use backyard raised bed growers could use?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We could certainly if we had the demand. The problem would be standardizing the small tarp size. It seems like everyone's raised beds are all slightly different sizes.

[@gabbyrico4877]

@@gardeningwithhoss are the tarps easy to cut down I have a few odd size beds. I have used cardboard over most of my garden to control weeds, it decompses so I don't have to worry about pulling it back up.

[@alph8654]

@@gabbyrico4877 On one of his video's he talked about cutting them to the the size you want.

[@tommathews3964]

@@gabbyrico4877 Silage tarps are very easy to cut to size. A good pair of scissors or a utility (razor) knife. It is not a woven plastic, so edges will not fray. Cut to any size you want. We bought ours original tarps in rolls and cut to all 5 bed sizes, as big as 24'x40' and as small as 10'x30'.

[@tommathews3964]

Silage tarps are very easy to "cut to size." You can cut with a good pair of scissors or a razor knife. Edges will not fray. If you have material left, just hang onto it, you will eventually need it.

[@Wanderlust57]

How late can I put down Sorghum-Sudangrass in Zone 7b (Tennessee)? How did you plant the seeds? I have clay soil on an large easement I want to cover (I am new at this and have already killed the weeds there.) Would a drop spreader work?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Yes, a drop seeder will work. Roll the seeds or cover with soil a little. You can plant till the end of August. The sooner the better. Greg

[@garyschmelzer]

After you cut down the sorghum Sudan grass. Will the grass just wrap-around the tines of a Tiller

[@gardeningwithhoss]

No it won't. The sorghum breaks down pretty easily. The Sunn Hemp, however, will wrap around the blades if you let it get really tall because the stalks on it are very fibrous.

[@garyschmelzer]

@@gardeningwithhoss thanks HOSS

[@jamesbeasley8122]

I will be preparing a garden in NW Louisiana (zone 9). Will frost/Winter kill Sorghum Sudan Grass and/or Sun Hemp?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Frost will kill both.

[@jaydini3649]

How long does it take for the sorghum/ sudangrass to re grow to knee high after mowing? Trying to figure out a time line so it's waist high in October.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Most of the increase has come from sudangrass planted following corn silage on dairies. Sudangrass has traditionally been planted in the late spring, after the weather has turned reliably warm in mid May. Planted at this time, it is reasonable to expect at least three cuttings of 2 to 3 or more tons of hay per acre.

[@heatherreis7839]

Can the sorghum be mowed and then tilled right in or will it still do the same thing of wrapping all up in the blades of the tiller? I wanna do the mustard greens but i feel like it would be to hot down here in fl by the time i get it out. So im looking at either the sorghum or the sunn hemp

[@gardeningwithhoss]

If you mow it close, it should wrap around the tiller blades.

[@heatherreis7839]

I also read that it can be used for root knot control/suppression. Does it actually work at doing that?

[@markdavidmadden88]

have you ever tried not tilling? lots of different tactics out there but the evidence is mounting about tilling doing more damage than good, soil microbes and all. the biomass being created above ground is also happening below ground, creating good soil structure, tilling might not be necessary. Happy gardening, your farm looks awesome!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Our son has, but we have not on this farm.

[@rosenbergerw]

I put sunn hemp into an undeveloped spot outside the garden in early summer and let it go. Just inoculated with cowpea/peanut rhizobia. Its about 15 feet high and lush with flowers. Plan on harvesting the seed and running the stalks and leaves through the wood chipper into the compost pile. Maybe save some to use as green mulch.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Sounds like a great plan! 15' tall is quite a nice stand!

[@fightingbear8537]

Would a disc harrow cut the Sudan grass up?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

no it would not

[@TerraFirmaX]

I planted black eyed peas to help build the soil (Heavy Clay} I brush hogged the natural grasses for 2 seasons and we are starting to get better soil. I also planted Black beans but they are not doing as well as the black eyed peas. Im doing this in our fields, we also have a small garden but I've been trying to get the fields suitable for growing. I planted corn in the field, 6 rows 50 foot long. They seem to be alright, they popped up at day 6 which was September 5th and now range from 2 - 6 inches. But hell, at least it's growing. How is your fall corn coming?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Our fall corn is about 12 inches tall and will need hilling soon. We'll talk about that on an upcoming video.

[@DailyLifeandNature]

New experience for me , thanks for sharing. Welcome new friend here, stay connect, see you next video.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Welcome to our channel! Great to have you.

[@bronwynesterhuizengreensha5294]

Also what tropical cover crop would you reccomend for shade. I am going to try the sudan grass u til i find a better option.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Crimson Clover

[@charlescoker7752]

Will the nut grass come back?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

If you don't disturb the soil, it will. Nutgrass is controlled by soil disturbance.

[@rickpearce4653]

Maybe you can find an old Sicklebar mower .

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks for watching

[@stevenconner456]

Hey guys. Love your show and your products. My wife and I recently bought 20 acres in northeast TN. We currently live in South MS, but will be moving to our TN land in about 3 1/2 years. The soil there is primarily heavy clay. I would like to start amending my future garden area, and would like some tips on what would be the best way to start amending it, considering we do not live there currently, and aren't able to work it on a daily/weekly basis. Thanks and God bless.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Start with a cover crop of daikon radishes. That will help aerate and loosen the hard soil. Then compost, compost, compost.

[@charlescoker7752]

I forgot. How long has it been covered?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

About a month or so.

[@charlescoker7752]

Wonder what the Jambalaya is a cross from?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Not sure, but it's the most productive by far.

[@bronwynesterhuizengreensha5294]

Where can i get seeds in bulk? I have been growing sudan grass and su,hemp and collecting the seeds.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We sell by 1,5,10,25 pounds. www.hosstools.com

[@canixrayyou]

Why not mow it fresh or after tarping then till

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks for watching

[@scottrussell8463]

Have you ever tried to use a sickle to cut the Sorghum or hemp?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Have not. Have seen it done on videos and it looks pretty cool, but never tried it.

[@bloggalot4718]

Just a thought from an amateur gardener, it seems to me the crops you grow would be ideal for cattle to munch on and convert the grass et to manure.

[@p_eople6789]

Yes, they do! I was watching another feed farmer talk about these. It's not ideal for protein, but has great mass. I guess it's great yummy stuff for farm friends, but not cattle type animals meant for the grocery stores.

[@kenmcfalls1410]

Great video Travis. I’m preparing plots now for next spring. Thanks for all the info. Ken the blind gardener

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks for watching as always Ken!

[@johnandleighs.9193]

Are you using any nitrogen fixing and inoculants with your cover crops ?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We have not been. But it's something we have considered starting to carry.

[@sherrytucker7102]

How late can SSG be planted? Brown Top Millet?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

If you're in zone 8 it can certainly still be planted. If you're in a zone above that, probably want to just go with a cool-weather cover crop in a few weeks.

[@DoraJeanSweaters]

Make small holes to put seed starts or seeds and let the grass be mulch to shade out weeds. You don't want to disturb the roots as they let in oxygen and add support for the micro organisms.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

The sorghum sudangrass grows so fast that it would quickly shade out the transplants. If you did it right before a frost so that it would get winter killed, that would work.

[@freddyfreddy42]

So when the sorghum is at least knee high and you mow it, could you till it and it won’t grow back?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

yes

[@Raggs1968]

I’m new to your channel. What kind of soil do you have?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We have a sandy loam soil here in south GA.

[@buckwilder8673]

Why not use Gregg's flail mower?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Might just end up doing that. He lives about 25 minutes away, so have to grab the trailer and go get it.

[@timsolomon8352]

Did, or do you have any fungus issues doing it like that with the tarp?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

None.

[@Tyrashabrooks]

Hello where are you located?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We are in south GA, zone 8b.

[@mattingly1217]

I didn't realize how close you were to the main road

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Oh yeah. Right on it!

[@mattingly1217]

@@gardeningwithhoss figured yall had a million acres away from everybody

[@nanaeutriciakodima2771]

Hi, how can I have the seeds of that grass, I'm I Botswana

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We can's ship out of US

[@CottageGardensonForest]

It would take longer but you could use a sharp sythe to cut it down. Justin Rhodes uses one for his cover crops and maintenance on his farm. Even his kids of sythes that are made for shorter people. Lol

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Those scythes look really cool. Would love to try one.

[@Dirgy100]

What zone are you?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Zone 8b

[@matthewrosso8569]

Why not get a roller-crimper and go no-till?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Many reasons: 1) There have been several studies that have demonstrated (and we've tested it ourselves) that direct-seeded germination rates into crimped or rolled cover crops are not very good. We prefer all of our seed to germinate, not 3/4 or 1/2 of it. 2) Once crimped, the weed suppression ability of the cover crop is drastically compromised in our area. Weeds grow fast here and will start to thrive as soon as the cover crop is folded. You can't just crimp it and leave it and expect it to work like a heavy mulch. 3) We plant almost everything on sub-surface drip tape, so we have to cultivate the area (at least a strip) to bury our drip tape. 4) Without any cultivation, it would be extremely tough to plant transplants into a rolled residue. You would need a shovel as opposed to doing it by hand if the area is cultivated.

[@matthewrosso8569]

@@gardeningwithhoss thanks for explaining the situation!

[@dellrand3628]

Hi does sun hemp fix nitrogen nodules like hemp sesbania ?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Yes. Sunn Hemp is in the legume family and is a nitrogen-fixer.

[@magana559]

Any reason why you don't use animals like sheep and goats to process your cover crops?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

I think that would be a great idea, but I don't have anywhere to keep animals when they wouldn't be feeding on the cover crops.

[@garycurd2180]

Look after that cat ,my jack Russell comes to work with me sorts out the rats and mice.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

He is being well-taken care of -- glad we rescued him.

[@specbarn]

You don't need to till! It's better for soil health if you just put on the compost and plant right in the compost

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Depends on your situation. Sorghum Sudangrass has some great nematode suppression properties when tilled into the soil.

[@deltaromeo6256]

could you put some animals in their to eat it down

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Yes, that works really well. We used to have chickens that we used for that purpose, but the predators eventually got them all.

[@andrewkenseth4814]

Do the chickens like the green sogrhum?

[@thehuntfortruth]

Why till at all? You just built amazing soil & stuffed a bunch of organic matter to the soil

[@tinaluise9308]

No till plant between

[@charlottesmart750]

Could you just mow over it now that the tarp killed the grass. And maybe till it after

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Might try that first.

[@je-fq7ve]

oats and field peas are great before garlic onions..

[@charlescoker7752]

Back in the 60's our farm burned up. The farm had never been Sub soiled. And had a major hard pan at about 6 inches deep.My father borrowed a one shank Subsoiler. It was all our tractor could do to pull it through the soil. It would pull up clods of dirt 3 feet across. and 2 to 3 feet wide. The next year. It was the difference of daylight and dark. The county agent told my father. A disc is notorious for creating a hardpan. Have you ever checked to see if you have a hardpan? kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHzQXoduqc52e6c

[@gardeningwithhoss]

When we removed the pine trees, subsoiled, and disced this area, there didn't appear to be a shallow hard pan. But repeated tilling or discing can cause that. So we try to keep the tilling at a minimum.

[@suehudnut5150]

Maybe you should have mowed it first, then it would be broken down to till in

[@RocketPipeTV]

Please don’t till after you improved the soil. You’ll kill off everything you just created. If you get frost, the Sudan grass won’t come back.

[@anakamhi7097]

Don’t till!!! 😢 just cut the ground where you plant and water it.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

That won't work because the cover crop will go to seed and eventually become a weed issue. We have to terminate the cover crop somehow.

[@anakamhi7097]

@@gardeningwithhoss gotcha thanks but you can’t drill in the seed instead of tilling?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

On a larger scale you could. But it would not be practical to run a seed drill on 1,000 square foot plot.

[@MichaelMcbratney]

Brush Hog....

[@CarrieNita]

Just put the compost down and re-tarp it. Patience grasshopper, lol!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Haha. Patience is not in our gene pool.

[@CarrieNita]

Nor in mine. I have to work on it like pulling weeds.

[@stressyporkrind3828]

My question is it does not seem that you are saving any money by growing your own food, are you?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Depends on how you look at it. Some folks look at gardening as a hobby, others use it as a necessity. Tools and equipment certainly make that hobby or necessity easier. As with anything, you can spend as much or as little as you'd like to lighten the load on yourself or improve production.

[@richardruss7481]

Wow, you have dead plants on top of dead soil, GOOD JOB!!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We sense a little sarcasm Richard. Would love to hear your suggestions on how to terminate a cover crop for direct seeding.

[@richardruss7481]

@@gardeningwithhoss You sense correctly. What you mean by direct seeding is not exactly clear. How nature seeds directly is simply by spreading the seed directly ONTO the ground, but that ground is almost always already covered in plants. I think what you mean by "direct seeding" is a way that you can use your tractor to plant rows of crops that you can then harvest with your tractor. I am sorry to inform you, tractors cause compression. You will never get a healthy soil if you continue to drive over your soil with heavy equipment. Now, there are many comprises. Please check out the regenerative agriculture podcast for many ways to do that on an industrial level, but the key is to think of the soil first, the plant second. With regard to this video, you planted sorghum, let it grow, then crimped it and covered it. Not once did you consider how it would affect the soil. How it affects the soil should be your first priority, not your second. So, let us consider how it affected your soil, when you crimped your sorghum, crimped it and then covered it, you then cut off sunlight, oxygen and water (to kill the sorghum), you also cut off sunlight oxygen and water to your soil. It died. Your soil died, this does not bother you?

[@K9BoardAndTrain]

Do you actually know it’s dead? Have you checked the biology?

[@HomesteadDNA]

@@richardruss7481 Rotting sorghum has water in it.. for one thing. What specific microbes died? Dirt isn't living, be more specific with your thoughts.

[@HomesteadDNA]

@@richardruss7481 Also, DIRECT seeding is also when you put seeds in the soil directly, instead of growing seedlings and planting those. Semantics is a game we need not play.