Seed mix
A seed mix is a mix of different seeds that are sown together on one area. Seed mixtures are mainly used for green fodder crops for meadows and pastures or for lawns and flower meadows.
The term mixed seed is also used, especially in agriculture .
background
In principle, seed mixtures are sown because one species / variety cannot meet the desired requirements. A flower meadow only achieves its splendor of color through many species, the lawn must be beautifully colored, step-resistant and form a dense scar , and forage grass crops must be productive in terms of quality and quantity. All of this can only be achieved if every required feature that is not met by a component that has already been used is introduced by another component.
Agricultural mixes
The area of agricultural mixtures for forage cultivation, meadows, pastures and fallow land is the most extensive area for seed mixtures. The following factors are important here:
Quality (plant community) ↔ quantity (yield)
Some grasses tend more towards quality, i. That is, they are very tasty (high feed value ), others in terms of quantity (dense scarring, high crush resistance).
Legumes make up an important part of feed mixes . These can bind atmospheric nitrogen with the help of nodule bacteria in the soil. This is then available to the nitrogen-consuming grasses. It is a natural fertilization process . Legumes also provide valuable feed protein.
However, these basic requirements are influenced by other factors, especially the climate (drought, winter hardiness) and the soil conditions (sandy soils, waterlogging). Therefore, a mixture for different regions must be composed differently despite the same requirements in order to achieve the desired result.
In practice, this leads to a large number of different mixtures. These in turn differ again in different quality levels, since the performance of individual varieties can vary greatly within a species. This is also noticeable in the price. The increased effort only has a minimal effect on the costs due to the multi-year use and the higher yields.
The ideal composition is as follows: grasses 70–80 percent, herbs 10–15 percent, legumes 10–15 percent. 3–10 components are required for this.
In addition to the properties listed, a mixture makes the yield more reliable than with individual seeds. If one component fails, the others take its place, the loss is minimized or even compensated for.
Lawn mixes
The "grass seed" is actually a mixture. The different seeds can only be seen on closer inspection. Here the components are responsible for firmness, tight scars and a beautiful color. In contrast to agricultural mixtures, a high yield (rapid growth) is absolutely undesirable for lawns in order to obtain as little cutting waste as possible. For this purpose, special varieties are bred that meet these criteria. However, these are very expensive and are therefore only used in high-quality mixtures such as RSM mixtures . However , the mixtures reach their limits, especially when it comes to lawns . It is not possible to play football on a beautiful carpet of grass without causing major damage. Therefore, every garden owner has to choose between an ornamental lawn and a lawn for use (e.g. play and sport, Berlin zoo). The higher the quality of the mix, the more likely a lawn mix will meet both criteria.
Flower meadow / biotopes
A colorful sea of flowers and a species-rich biotope can only be achieved with many components. Often there are 20 species and more in a mix. The prices for such mixtures are very high because the seed production is very complex.