VELVET
BEANS
Medicinal Testimonial
Leguminosae Mucuna deeringiana (Bort.) Merr.
Source: Magness et al. 1971
aka: "Mucuna Pruriens"
This is a strong-growing annual plant native to the tropics. Most of the several varieties grown in the United States are M. deeringiana although some kinds are of other Mucuna species or interspecies hybrids. The slender stems may grow to 30 feet in some kinds. They are mainly grown with a support crop, usually corn, on which they climb and are partially supported. The leaves are trifoliate, with large ovate leaflets. Pods are pubescent, up to 6 inches long, with 3 to 6 seeds per pod. Velvet beans are well adapted to sandy soils and require a long growing season to produce much pasturage. They are grown mainly in the Southeastern Coastal Plain for late summer pasturage and soil improvement. All parts of the plant are nutritious and palatable to livestock.
Upon further investigation you will find that they are grown in third world countries where the farmer cannot afford the equipment to plow his field. He will use this plant to strangle weeds in fields, add much-needed nutrients and organic matter to the soil, and control soil erosion. (Maybe that is why it is sometimes described as "controllable Kudzu.") You will also find out that the people eat the beans (although they have been reported to be POISONOUS) when the growing season was too dry for other crops to produce enough food. Do the research before eating the beans!
What does this mean to you?
This is the plant you were looking for to add to the rotation crops you already plant in you food plots. A plant that will choke out the weeds and produce a viable food crop even in the driest of seasons, while improving the plot's soil so your plots will draw more deer than o' Joe's plots. All the while you will be using less fertilizer, fewer chemicals and most of all less LABOR.
Get
them now
for next year's planting.
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Telephone 850-859-2141Shipping Charges are the Responsibility of the Buyer
When Requesting Pricing Please Include Zip Code for Shipping Cost
Pick-ups other than UPS must be scheduled
E-mail John Wilkerson
Snail Mail 297 Railroad Avenue
DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433
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Last modified: 14.July.2008