I like to create my own mix.I dont believe you get any bargains by getting pre mixed seeds, plus you retain more control.
I would try to find suppliers who sell seed that is as close to local eco type as you can.

In order to do your own mix...you have to have the seed available to do your own mix. If you don't...try these:

Try Prairie Moon Nursery at:

www.prairiemoon.com

Or, Prairie Nursery at:

www.prairienursery.com

Or, the New England Wildflower Society at:

http://www.newfs.org/

april

Try wildflowerseed.com
They haves mixes for different areas; and, seed to make your own mix.
We never direct seed after we have put down herbicide. You didn't mention what type of herbicide you were using for this purpose. According to our extension office, herbicide for field crops such as corn cannot be used for flowers.

Bev,

I think you can herbicide (with Round-Up) right up until 2 weeks before you plant your seed. IF that's what you're using, I don't know much about other herbicides, and how long they stick around. That's been my experience on the very small scale with my prairie. Herbicide, everything dies, let new weeds get about a foot tall, Herbicide, everything dies, let new weeds get about a foot tall. Herbicide.

What you are trying to do is deplete the seed bank. Then, if what you're planting is Native Plants, you sow them in the fall, at least 2 weeks after the last herbicide(if you're using Round-UP)application.

If you're going for a native prairie kind of thing, I wouldn't buy mixes from wildflowerseed.com They usually have non-natives and annuals in their mixes. The annuals will not re-seed very well, and weeds will come back in to take their place.

Prairie plantings do require maintenance for the first couple years...you will have to do some mowing. Thereafter, you can burn or cut alternating sections, once a year.

If you're going for a general "wildflower" meadow kind of thing, then wildflowerseed.com is just the ticket. But be prepared for your weeds to come back. April

Well.......
April you have spoken. So, what you say must be taken as gospel. You say use herbicide; but, then well...maybe you don't know that much about it. Gosh. You people slay me.
You say, "If you're going for a native prairie kind of thing, I wouldn't buy mixes from wildflowerseed.com They usually have non-natives and annuals in their mixes. The annuals will not re-seed very well, and weeds will come back in to take their place." These people have seed that is specific for different geographical areas. Did you stop to think that just MAYBE they have people in those areas growing and collecting seed for them??? And, didn't I say that you could also buy seed from them that was specific to your area, and, make your own mix???????

April is correct comment about using roundup/glyphosate herbicide before seeding. It does not have persistent effects once it is in the soil. This is a standard practice in prarie/meadow plantings

And I also agree with her about wildflower farms. They are definitely not the way to go if you want a native seed mix. And even if this is not your priority, their mixes are loaded with annuals to make that nice show in the first summer -- which makes me doubt whether they are the best choice for establishing a long-lasting perennial planting. Regarding their 'regional seed mixes', the species mix may be adjusted to account for regional differences in climate, but I don't believe for a minute that they have teams of seed collectors collecting seeds in different regions -- they are a large-scale national distributor.

My bottom line: If you want a reginally-appropriate seed mix, the best place to start is with a company in your area that sells regionally-appropriate seed mixes. Which usually means native seed mixes. The web site below lists a bunch of native plant nurseries in your region -- none in WV, but several in adjoining states.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Native plant nurseries

I thought April's message made it clear that she was speaking from her own experience with Round-Up, and that she gave clear directions on how to use it.

I agree with April and John's advice not to use the seed mixes from wildflower farms. Since I am in the midwest and know the plants here the best, I looked at their midwest mix. It includes one variety that is on the invasive plant lists of several midwestern states and one native plant that is a miserably performing perennial in my area, although it grows quite well in areas north of me. Frankly, I would be hesitant to take the further recommendations of a company that is offering these two varieties in their standard mix.

Bev, a more general answer to your question about buying a mix versus doing your own - even the most reputable companies will vary the "ingredients" of their mix somewhat based on what they have the most of at that time. So if they tell you that the mix contains 10 varieties, that doesn't mean you get 10% of each variety. This year, you might get 15% of variety A and next year you might only get 5% of variety A because their crop didn't perfomr as well. If you have specific plants that you want more or less of, you may want to create your own mix by ordering those varieties and mixing it up yourself.

V.

Yeah, flowerfarmer..that's what I said...that my word is gospel. Did you know that 90% of reading is comprehension? I guess you don't. Comprehend this, if possible:

As I recall, I said I have had personal experience with the use of ROUND-UP. I know it's a very short lived herbicide in the environment. It says, right on the damn bottle, which I'm looking at right now, not to use it if you're planning on seeding in less than 2 weeks.

I use it a bit, on my land. I used it when I started my prairie.

I also said that there are other types of herbicides I don't know *that* much about because I don't and wouldn't use them, and consider them to be environmentally very suspect, such as Garlon, Tordon, and 2,4, Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4,D). These others show persistence in the environment, leaching and damage to surrounding plants. Whereas Round-up only kills that which it comes into direct contact with, AND only for 24 hours AND only within a certain ambient temperature range. Let me repeat, so you can comprehend: I have PERSONAL experience with Round-UP. The other ones...no.

Fun fact for you: Did you know that 2,4,D and Tordon(picloram)were mixed together and used in Vietnam to defoliate the jungle and were called Agent White? Which was used to kill everything Agent Orange (a mix of 2,4,D and 2,4,5,T)didn't?

But, I'm sure I'm totally wasting all this on you, so lets get back to the seed mixes.

-Did you stop to think that just MAYBE they have people in those areas growing and collecting seed for them???

Since I can read AND comprehend what I read, Yes, if you believe everything in a glossy catalog. I get their catalog. The issue of the specific region wasn't my point, lots of places sell regionally based seed mixes. Big deal.

My point was this: If Bev wants to do a general flower meadow type of thing, then Wildflower Farms would be a good choice for her, but I was warning her that as the annuals died out(and they will,when faced with competition..or WINTER)...more weeds would come in to take their place, and that's what she was concerned about.

If Bev would like to do a native plant thing..then she should steer clear of Wildflower Farms, for the reasons I mentioned a couple of posts ago. There are places that do all-native plant seed mixes much better. Wildflower Farms have non-native annuals and perennials in their seed mixes. I don't care what area they collect from..if it ain't native, it ain't native. And if native is what you're shooting for...what the h*ll is the point of planting a seed mix with non-natives?

-And, didn't I say that you could also buy seed from them that was specific to your area, and, make your own mix-

Yes, you did. Cosmos grows in my area. So what? It's not native. And your point is? Prairie Moon and Prairie Nursery and the New England Wildflower Society also offer the same service, only all natives.

We slay you because we know what we're talking about, we've all spent enough time studying, and walking the talk, that's for sure. April

I almost think I detect a hint of hostility in this forum.
Could be related to a lack of sunshine!
Disagree with me and I'll hit you with a flower.

no need for hostility - please. i wouldnt want anyone beaten by a flower. particularly a purple cone flower! i have visions of those spines sticking in an eye - ouch! i think differing opinions can be expressed nicely and then let the readers gather info and do some research on their own to make a decision. sometimes a key word or link placed in a thread gives someone a place to start their own research.

i think whether one would choose to use only round up or mix of both RU and 24D depends upon the size of the area to be treated and the existing plants that are growing there... i find that in small patches in my yard that smothering works better and is much more effective for long term weed control than any spray. however its not very practicle to smother a 40 acre field. if the existing growth on a very large field is primarily woody shrubs rather than herbacious grass-like weeds then round up alone is not going to be as effective as 24D. i dont like to promote the use of 24D, but if applied by a professional in the right situation and conditions, a first time effective kill on a large area may minimize the use of continual applications of other herbicides in the future.

i think for some better answers the original poster might want to provide more details - like how large is the field, what is growing their now and what is a desirable end result.

as for pre-mix versus mix your own - that probably totally depends upon where you get the mix and there may be some economy in buying one over the other. what we usually do is use a pre-mix over an entire field and then go back over the road side edges or line of sight areas and add additional pounds of selected forb seed for color in the more visible areas.

Rude Rudy...

I'm hostile...only when provoked. April

Thanks for the great link to PlantNative, John.

I am in the process of seeding some Rounduped bare soil with the "Time to Go wild" seed mix from JF New nurseries. I have ALSO bought smaller individual forbs from another source and will seed these 14 local "favorites" in with the mix. Some I plan to start in flats to use as accents/specimen plantings--my space is about 1/4 acre total.

My questions:
1) What forb-to-grasses (Lttle blue and Sideoats) ratio do you recommend?

2) How do I come up with a good "formula" for quantity of each seed to plant for the space given?

Thanks, Mike

I don't think there is a single 'correct' answer, but I have seen a variety of forb-to-grass ratios that all seem to center around 50-50. Many seem to think that a higher proportion of grass is more 'natural' in prairie plantings, and may reduce weed problems. But others say that you can increase the proporiton of forbs to make your planting more visually appealing. This is all complicated by the fact that grass seed is generally larger than forb seed, so equal weights (the way they are sold) doesn't necessarily translate to equal amount of plants.

I've heard 60-40, grass to forbs...but if you're going for maximum flowers, then 50-50 wouldn't be bad, or even 40-60. I think the mix I bought and planted is 60-40 grass to forbs. We'll see what happens with it...April