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Bulk Purchases

20 years ago

I am helping to restore an 8.5 acre property on my free time and with a low budget in Westchester County, New York. Any suggestions for a mail order supplier of native seeds in bulk and at a good price? Is that too much to hope for?

Also, since time is limited, can y'all suggest seeds that do not require much ground preparation? Is that also too much to hope for?

The property is hilly, wooded in many areas and has some streams and related wet areas. Most of the property gets partial sun. A few areas get full sun.

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Comments (5)

nywoodsman
20 years ago
That sounds like a great project.I'm doing something similar in southern dutchess county.I have found though,that 95% of my effort has gone into erraticating invasive plants.The existing native seeds banks have reemmerged once the suppresive weeds have been controlled.Plants historical native to my area but now absent,I try to secure from local sources.Plants from distance sources have not thrived and have looked out of place.
bob64
Original Author
20 years ago
I have been battling the invasives for 4 years and have removed thousands of pounds of material. I figured I also need to plant some natives to compete with the invasives. My native plant count has increased but I think more needs to be done. We have gotten a lot of saplings from the Putnam County Soil and Water Conservation District sale in the spring. I think Dutchess has a similar sale. I am hoping (probably unrealistically) that I can find some native seed in bulk that I can broadcast with little preparation to help with the fight. Time is limited and the job I do for money must come first. Thanks for the tips. Good luck with your project.
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Hi Bernie! Yes the link to the Special Instructions is broken and has been for some time. That was why I was really 'amazed' that the Test Forum got fixed as quickly as it did. Anywho, I am the resident busy body here, and I started a thread with the Spec Instructions in them. We all then try to keep the thread 'bumped' up on page one. Special Instructions for the Exchanges When you get ready for your next seed exchange advertisment let me know. I'm curious how the whole process works. Well, my 'advertisement' posts as you call them were actually offering up seeds for BEAP, bubble envelope and postage, and the amount was determined by how well the member was set up for the Seed Exchange. Here is a link with instructions on how to get set up.addressing newbie and newer member issues-first draft. You aren't set up very well... No member page email link. and email link is not set to be shown to members. You have nothing on your Seeds Wanted list. No member page blurb...Come back here and holler if you have any trouble getting set up. I think you are just joshing me though. Sue...resident busy body
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I'm in a similar situation. Ours was hard-packed clay that had been under concrete for 50 years. I bought a rototiller from Lowe's for $180, which was cheaper than renting for 4 days. It only goes down about 3 or 4", but that's enough to loosen the top crust. Then I had several cubic yards of compost trucked in from a bulk garden supply place and mixed it in loosely. Then I planted a buckwheat/cowpea cover crop by just sprinkling the seeds and raking them in. Good enough. They sprouted with a little water, and I'm glad to see that they are extremely drought tolerant and fast growing. I bought my buckwheat/cowpea mix from Peaceful Valley supply up in Grass Valley, CA. Their shipping charges are significant, though. I'd be careful about buying from your grocery store's bulk bin. Depending on the turnover, the beans might be very very dry and you might not get good germination. It'd be worthwhile to buy a couple handfuls and try germinating them on some wet paper towels inside a ziploc bags to see how viable they are. As for the rest of your garden where you're dumping loads of compost, have you looked into lasagna gardening or sheet mulching? I don't agree with their use of peat, but other mulches are readily available, of course.
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nywoodsman
20 years ago
If you have a limited amont of time and effort,and who doesn't,to expend toward your project,then you may want to consider the least labor intensive methods of achieving your goal.Planting saplings hardly seems an efficient use of time.Most trees are voluntiers and Oak and hickories do better grown from seeds.Collecting and scattering the seeds is a better approch.Sometimes doing nothing works much better.I would stay away from the putnam county thing,Eversince they gave out russian olives for free I havent trusted them
ahughes798
20 years ago
www.prairemoonnursery.com
www.prairienursery.com
www.ionexchange.com
bob64
Original Author
20 years ago
Thanks NYWoodsman and Ahughes.

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