Planting Kenaf
What I did:
You can till or dig the area where you want to plant the kenaf. I had a 20 feet by 30 feet area, but yours doesn’t have to be as big.
I decided that I would experiment with different spacing between rows and between seeds.
For example I spaced rows 12” apart, some 18” apart, some 2 feet apart. I spaced the seeds in one row very close together, almost side by side. These gave me a very dense stand of kenaf.
When I planted the seeds 12 inches apart I got a very bushy plants that exceeded 10 feet tall. If you plant in April in the South or after frost elsewhere, I think you will have over plants over 18 feet tall.
So to get what you want depends how closely to plant the seeds. Imagine you want to plant along a fence. I would plant the seeds about 12” apart and I would later trim them to be at the desired height - like a hedge.
Plant the seeds about a half-inch deep, cover with soil and water immediately at a gentle, soaking rate that penetrates below the seeds, but does not wash away the soil.
Watch the shoots come up in a few days! Water them regularly for the first few weeks.
If you are using kenaf as a salad ingredient, space the rows every 4 to 6 inches and the seeds 3” apart. I harvested the plant in about ten days when it was 10” tall. I also had a few square buckets and I planted the kenaf for salad in them. Worked great.
If you need more seeds please send a stamped self-addressed envelope and we will send you out some more for free.
If you want a large amount please contact us and we'll figure it out for you.
Later on we’ll give you more ideas on different ways you can handle this annual crop.
Good luck!
Bill Loftus (loftus@environmentalhouse.com)