To establish a successful stand, seed should be broadcast or drilled and covered ½ to 1 inch deep into a well prepared, weed-free seedbed. If broadcasted, seed at a rate of 40 to 60 pounds of live seed per acre. If drilled, the rate should be 30 to 50 pounds per acre in 6-inch rows. The higher rates should be used if the crop will be terminated in less than 60 days or if severe weed competition is expected. Where weed competition is mild, drilled rates as low as 20 pounds of live seed per acre have been satisfactory. Inoculate with the cowpea-type rhizobia bacteria.

Using a winter cover crop/green manure is a conservation practice that provides soil-improving characteristics. A common problem, however, is that the relatively short period between cash crop harvest in the fall and planting the following spring can result in less than optimum biomass production of the cover crop. Sunn hemp, because of its rapid growth and relatively short growing season requirement, can be an excellent alternative. Where conditions are favorable, it can provide the benefits of a winter legume prior to a killing frost in the fall and also in the summer after the winter crop has been harvested.