Sunn hemp is a tropical legume whose claim to fame is that, 60 days from planting, it is typically over six feet tall, adds 120 pounds of Nitrogen to the soil, 10 pounds of residual Phosphorus and 80 pounds of residual Potash transfers from the subsoil to the topsoil, supplies four tons of organic matter, is a great soil builder, as well as increasing drought tolerance and yield and cash value of the next crop. During its first 60 days, sunn hemp mines 38 lbs. of Calcium, 20 lbs. of Sulfur, and 40 lbs. of Magnesium to the surface soil. It also brings up trace nutrients that are necessary for plant growth. 

Sunn hemp has an outstanding mychorizae that all other plants can utilize and benefit from. This is what brings unbelievable health, in part, to plants such as cotton or strawberries, and all other plants seeded after it. 

All livestock and wildlife thrive on sunn hemp. The leaves of sunn hemp are 30 percent protein. We have not found yet anything that eats vegetation that does not thrive on sunn hemp.

Sunn hemp is not an invasive weed. In fact, it smothers out 99.9 % of all weeds and is allelopathic to Palmer Amaranth. The sunn hemp will not flower and go to seed until the days start getting shorter (mid September in Alabama). There is not enough time for those seeds to mature in our area after flowering.

Sunn hemp is resistant to root-knot and Reniform nematodes. Root-knot and reniform nematodes are a major pest in South Alabama agriculture, and root-knot nematodes are a pest in almost every home garden in South Alabama. Gardeners could plant their spring crop and then in June, July, or August plant the sunn hemp.