I had a request to locate sources of bulk sunflower and wildflower seeds. He wanted to plant an acre. If you want to do something similar, I thought I would share what I found out.
They're expensive. And you need to select based on region (SouthEast) full, part sun or shade and wet or dry. Some choices are based on soil type, like clay, but not many ask for that.
There are many sites selling wildflowers, fewer selling in bulk and the most I found was five pounds.
http://www.americanmeadows.com/WildflowerSeeds/WildflowerSeedsfortheSoutheast/WildflowerMixtureSeedsfortheSoutheast.aspx
Here is one that hooked me into buying six selections before I could get off to finish this article. http://www.cheapseeds.com/store/home.php?cat=271
This next site only sells bulk seeds through the soil conservation districts. You can see the choices here http://www.bentleyseeds.com/four_pound.php
I don't know if our local service center participates, but they should be able to find one tha does. If all else fails, call Bently Seeds and see if they will narrow the choice down. They were very helpful when I called.
SHELBYVILLE FIELD SERVICE CENTER (Bedford County)
709 East Lane Street
Shelbyville, TN 37160
(931) 684-4197, Ext. 3
Now one might wonder why wildflowers are so expensive, they're free aren't they? Well, not really. Maybe the original source was, but by the time you dedicate acres and acres to producing one type, keeping it relatively weed free, harvesting, willowing the trash from the harvest getting a very lightweight finished product, the price might seem so high. PLUS probably less than half of that goes to the farmer.
Sunflower Seeds
http://www.edenbrothers.com/product_sunflower.html?gclid=CL7FyLTwuZkCFQoMDQodJDXL6A they recommend 5 pounds for every 2,000 square feet. $125 per 5 lb mix.
http://www.johnnyseeds.com 5 pounds of 10" diameter flower 109.75
More space given, flowers tend to be bigger. Depending on what you want to accomplish, you might be able to buy bird seed from the CoOp and do well.
