Cotswold Grass Seeds - Game Cover Crops

10.00 kg per acre £28.09 (25 kg/ha £70.23)

2.00 kg white millet
1.00 kg sweet clover
2.00 kg sunflower
2.50 kg game maize
1.50 kg buckwheat
0.25 kg kale
0.25 kg rape
0.50 kg mustard

Ref. MIXGAME
This is our best selling game cover which is a traditional spring sown mixture containing species selected to provide feed and cover. It is of particular interest to pheasants and partridges but is also attractive to other wild birds. It is best sown during April and May into a well worked seedbed. It is worth creating a stale seedbed before sowing in order to reduce the weed population.

The mixture should be sown at 20mm and at 25 kg per hectare.

General Purpose Game Cover Mixture

3.00 kg per acre £25.59 (7.5 kg/ha £63.98)

1.50 kg quinoa
1.50 kg kale

Ref. MIXQUI
This simple combination provides the two key requirements of game birds - cover and feed. The kale provides excellent winter cover and supports the quinoa plants. Quinoa is used as a grain crop in South America and in the UK it can provide1-2 tonnes per acre of high protein feed from late Autumn. To establish a good crop sow between April and May into a well worked seedbed which is free of weeds.

Quinoa/Kale Mixture

6.00 kg per acre £13.90 (15 kg/ha £34.75)

1.00 kg rape
5.00 kg mustard

Ref. MIXRET
For a summer sowing after a failed spring crop nothing beats rape and mustard. It's quick, cheap and it works.

Retrieve Mixture

8.00 kg per acre £28.96 (20 kg/ha £72.40)

An annual crop with similar properties to maize. Sow in May or June. One acre packs.

Dwarf Sorghum

11.00 kg per acre* £26.50 (27.5 kg/ha £66.25)

Maize is one of the most useful game crops providing a source of winter feed. The open bottom of a maize crop draws pheasants and partridges alike. It is best sown during late April. One acre packs. *Sowing rate approx.

Game Maize

10.00 kg per acre £19.80 (25 kg/ha £49.50)

Highly recommended for its feed attributes. Millet is seldom sown on its own, however sown with maize or kale the results can be excellent. One method is to plant maize with its usual wide rows and then drill or broadcast millet in blocks at right angles to the maize. This will ensure a steady release of birds. Sow during April and May.

Millet

Use
A great amount of time and money is invested in creating a successful shoot. Providing good game cover crops that provide habitats for holding, feeding and nesting birds is an essential part of the modern shoot.

No single seeds mixture covers all situations. In-fact the possible combinations of game crops are almost endless. We list on this page the most popular mixtures used, along with the individual species that are used on shoot across the country.

3.00 kg per acre £35.70 (7.5 kg/ha £89.25)

This perennial grass is drilled in wide rows (60-90cm) and takes a year or so to become established. From the second year the seed heads will reach 2 metres and the crop can usually be relied upon for 10 years. Sow in the May.

Canary Grass

3.00 kg per acre £26.64 (7.5 kg/ha £66.60)

A pure stand of kale provides cover. it has a good top cover and an open floor and is an ideal habitat for pheasants. Sow from late April through May.

Kale - OUT OF STOCK

4.00 kg per acre £8.76 (10 kg/ha £21.90)

Rape, like mustard, is a fast growing cover.. it is more winter hardy than mustard but not as good as kale. It can also be used as a rescue crop where a longer term game crop has failed. sow between April and August.

Rape