Hayflower Medicinal Pasture Mix, Organic
$6.10 – $49.00
Zones 2 to 9
Hayflower is a generous mix of the following organically certified grasses, clovers and medicinal herb seeds:
Timothy Grass (Phleum pratense)
Oat (Avena sativa)
Crimson Clover (Trifolium incarnatum)
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
Greek Hay (Fenugreek) (Trigonella feonum-graecum)
Chicory, Wild Form (Cichorium intybus)
Sweet Vernal Grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum)
Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)
Chamomile, German (Matricaria recutita)
Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis)
Plantain (Plantago major)
Avens (Geum urbanum)
Poppy, Flanders (Papaver rhoeas)
Description: At the bottom of the haystack, where the “fines” accumulate, is a substance made from the friable leaves and flowers that shatter from the hay itself. Naturopathic doctors of the early 1900’s called this substance “hayflower.” and used it extensively, making teas, compresses, decoctions and poultices from it. Coupled with hydrotherapy, the results achieved against the common ailments of the day–colds and flu, aches and pains, arthritis, fever, headache, digestive woes, skin complaints, injury, infections, etc. were legendary. Modern-day hay doesn’t make very good hayflower, because it lacks the healthy diversity of medicinal herbs that used to grow in every hayfield. Our Hayflower Medicinal Pasture Seed Mix is designed to bring back the original formula, making it possible for you to grow your own hayflower, perennially, in a colorfully florific and aromatic field that is good for browsers, pollinators, wildlife and . . . herb walks.
Cultivation: Hayflower herbal pasture mix may be planted in the fall or spring. Prepare a fine seed bed and strew the seed evenly on the surface, then rake and tamp. Keep evenly moist until germination, or allow the fall or spring rains to work on the seeds until they germinate. This is a blend of perennials and self-seeding annuals that should be maintained by fertilizing, watering and mowing. Different species will predominate seasonally. Suitable for Zones 2 to 9.
Coverage: The 10 g packet covers a bed 4 feet wide and 10 feet long. The 100 g packet covers a bed 4 feet wide and 100 feet long. The pound covers 2,000 square feet. Sow 10 lbs per acre.
All seeds in Hayflower Mix are certified organically grown
Question
El –
These hayflower medicinal pasture mix safe for livestock like cows, goats and chickens?
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Richo Cech –
hello el, yes, it is safe, it is designed to imitate the original hayfields of europe. richo
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Canl –
Is it safe for equine.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Canl, Our blend is based on timothy, oats and clover, all of which are standard in horse forage mixes. But “hayflower” also contains herbs and poppies which if taken in excess could be harmful to horses. I would say rely on their native intelligence to eat a mixed diet but some horses lack native intelligence. If you’re really concerned get a commercial horse pasture seed mix. Richo
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Question
Jose –
I want to get rid of my front yard grass, can this be a good alternate to front lawns?
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Richo Cech –
Hello Jose, In a way it could be. Its really all in the preparation. The traditional remedy for grass is tillage. Either that or layer with cardboard and bring in weed-seed-free dirt for on top, an expensive proposition. After preparing the seedbed, in order to keep it a bit more tidy, i would suggest roman chamomile which is perennial and mowable. another option would be our clover/poppies mix which people do swear by. hayflower would look pretty unkempt, your neighbors might take issue. r
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Question
kheath8705 –
How long can I store Hayflower seeds?
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Richo Cech –
Hi, hayflower is chosen for haturalization, to mimic the kinds of pastures one would have found in europe in the old days, the seeds are long-lived, the plants robust. 3 years in standard storage. richo
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Cheyenne –
Curious as to why no alfalfa? I guess the clover takes its place. Ditto vetch. Is vetch a pasture plant or a pest? It’s awfully pretty
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Richo Cech –
hi cheyenne, thanks for thinking about this! its a historical/regional blend. alfalfa is native to se asia. vetch is problematical and we don’t promote it much. r
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Diana –
In the cultivation section you suggest maintenance of fertilizing, watering and mowing. How and when would you fertilize? (FYI: I looked for this in your “Collections” listing but didn’t find it there)
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Richo Cech –
hi diana, i just use the on-site search engine, it gets you there fast. in organic growing, the easiest time to compost a section is when making the seedbed. After that, the clovers are going to do the job (n-fixation). Richo
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Question
Kathy Jackman –
I’m in northern NM high desert. I want to plant the Hayflower mix but already put light seeding of a dry land pasture mix, covered lightly with some wood chips. I want to cast the hay flower seeds, then rake in. Perhaps then lightly covered with mulch from where I have been throwing sunflowers and other non-seedy weeds. Does this sound like a good plan? Is there another way that might be better? I can water but ultimately want it to be drought resistant once established. The rains caused the ragweed to flourish. I’m hoping to choke them out.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Kathy,
That sounds fine. Hayflower has enough diversity to cause surprise species on an ongoing basis depending on local conditions and season. Red Clover alone is considered the best overall species for weed suppression and there is 20% red clover in that mix.
Richo
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Maggie Wimberley –
My small organic farm is in zone 4a, and we have a half-acre patch next to the road that’s been left to quack grass because it’s lowland and usually too soggy too long in the spring for planting. Global warming is changing this and it would be great to plant something beautiful in this space that might suppress the quack grass if I get the timing right. Could your hayflower mix work? Should I till the soil before planting or could it be broadcast on top of the grasses? Would this work better as a fall planting or in spring? Thanks so much!
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Richo Cech –
Hi Maggie, thanks for the nice note. broadcasting seeds on top of grasses has never worked for me–some people do report success with clover, which might be a good option for you. Normally I find one gets out of it what one puts into it–seedbed preparation is critical–a fall mowing may help the area dry out faster in spring, and then it could be tilled and planted with Hayflower or with Clover and Poppies mix. richo
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Summer Cantrall –
Hi there, we are hoping to plant pasture for our cows, pigs, goats and eventually horses, would this be okay and good for the pasture?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Summer,
I think so, because a mixed pasture is always good for any domestic stock. However people are really picky about what they feed their horses and I can’t attest to the value of our mix for horse tending. Wild horses do well on anything they can find. Domesticated horses have limited pasture and may eat things like poppies that are not necessarily good for them. My best advice would be to till your ground and plant red clover. Richo
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Forrest –
Question
I am in zone 4\5 at 8K feet elevation, southern Colorado. Lots of Sandy soil, thin organic layer, rocky with glacial rubble mixed in. Native grasses like gramma, needle and thread, foxtail (a problem for animals) do well. Bare areas I want to seed and wonder what I would need to do for Hayflower medicinal pasture seed to do well.
Also wonder if you can recommend something else that would do better with less amendment.
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Richo Cech –
Hello Forrest, I’ve lived (briefly) at elevation in Colorado before so know more or less what you’re talking about. The bare spots are bare because they are lacking nutrients and the sun just burns the humus right out of the soil. If you can rake in some worm castings or other compost just prior to planting, I think you’ll have better results. I would try the annual ryegrass to get you going on a succession that would stay put. Alfalfa is an option, as well as crimson clover. At leadst something in hayflower would take hold–that is one of the advantages of hayflower–it really does have something for every climate. Richo
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Scot –
Can this be broadcast seeded into my existing pasture? It’s about 1/3-3/4 acre. Right now filled with broomsedge. Hoping this seeding will help restore the soil and, in time, choke out the sedge. Thoughts? I’ll brush hog the dormant sedge straw before seeding.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Scot, Although I generally recommend preparing a seedbed, raking in the seed and tamping, in a way Hayflower may be a reasonable choice for no-till. At least it has enough diversity, herbs that vary in emergence times and light requirement, that you would probably end up with something anyway. The clover in Hayflower is fairly good at forcing out weeds. You might broadcast first and THEN hit it with the brushhog, so the debris buries the seeds. Just a thought. richo
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Tyarn Miller (verified owner) –
I had a bare plot of soil that desperately needed something. I seeded them in February, and everything came up beautifully. Absolutely lovely to see.
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Richo Cech –
Hello Tyarn, It is very nice of you to offer this positive review, thank you for that! I grew hayflower last year and what I noticed was that when I planted it very densely it gave no room for the more interesting species to manifest, but when i spread it out, I had a much more diverse result. richo
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Joanne –
Would this survive competition in a hellacious field of Kochia?
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Richo Cech –
Hello Joanne,
Hayflower would be a good choice as long as the field was mowed and tilled prior to planting the seeds.
Richo
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Lauren –
Would chickens like to graze on this?
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Richo Cech –
hi lauren, i think you’d get by cheaper by buying a bulk bag of forage chicory seeds. r
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Question
Liz Schlinsog –
Have you made a tea from the “fines”? Would this be something of import today or are there better teas now? Or is this now geared more towards animals?
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Admin Richo Cech –
Hi Liz,
This is not geared toward animals and you can make tea from the fines, it is a nontoxic blend. Mainly hayflower was used externally in soaks, compresses, poultices. r
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Question
Sue Singler –
Would this be ok for goats to browse?
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Diana –
yes, it is fine for goats. However if you really want to bulk up your goats plant the FORAGE CHICORY.
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Carol –
Hi; I’d like to grow my own “hay” to use as mulch for my vegetable gardens, as well as to plant potatoes in. Would this mix be good for that, or do you have a better suggestion? Also to use in my compost pile, if I were to get enough growth. I am in the suburbs, and have a “hidden” backyard that I have turned into a hybrid garden of eden / food forest type garden. I am converting all plants on the property into either medicinal or food plants, while making it look like simple landscaping.
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Admin Richo Cech –
I think you could just use winter rye in the fall and oats in the spring. That would give you something more like hay, that would not tend to have seeds in it, unless you left it too long.
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