Native to the wet meadows of the North American Great Lakes and introduced to Europe in the XVIII\u1d49 century, silphia (Silphium perfoliatum) is now cultivated as a perennial energy crop: after the second year, it routinely produces 13-18 t DM\/ha, or 6,000-8,000 Nm\u00b3 of methane \/ ha, while remaining in place for over fifteen years; its prolonged summer flowering provides up to 150 kg of honey \/ ha and offers a sustainable cover favorable to biodiversity. In the garden, it also offers attractive green foliage and distinctive yellow flowers in summer, reminiscent of rapeseed or sunflower fields. <\/p>\n
To plant Silphia in good conditions, the soil must be prepared: <\/b><\/p>\n
– Ploughing or light decompacting
– incorporate one shovelful of compost per plant<\/p>\n
Planting<\/strong> Maintenance<\/strong> Irrigation<\/strong> Lifespan<\/strong> Uses:<\/strong><\/p>\n Forage<\/strong> – 5-15% crude protein depending on stage; keeps well in silage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" – One-year-old plant, height 15-30 cm.
– Place the collar flush with the soil, tamping moderately.
– Water 10-15 L\/plant immediately afterwards.
– Immediately apply 5 cm of miscanthus mulch (\u2248 3 L per plant): -90% weed emergence and better water retention.<\/p>\n
– Hoeing or mechanical weeding
– Slug control first fortnight.
– No tillage in subsequent years: perennial crop.<\/p>\n
– Maintain regular watering in the first year, as silphia becomes drought-tolerant in year 2.<\/p>\n
– 15-20 years before stand depletion; reinsure if < 80% cover.<\/p>\n
– 2 L pot, substrate well colonized by roots.
– Miscanthus mulch included: 90% less weeds, -30% less evaporation.
– Perennial meliferous plant, useful entomofauna refuge.
– Hardiness -30 \u00b0C.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4130,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[108],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4702","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-biomass-energy","7":"desktop-align-left","8":"tablet-align-left","9":"mobile-align-left","10":"ast-product-gallery-layout-horizontal-slider","11":"ast-product-tabs-layout-horizontal","12":"ast-qv-on-image","14":"first","15":"instock","16":"taxable","17":"shipping-taxable","18":"purchasable","19":"product-type-simple"},"yoast_head":"\n