> Is it true I can start a coastal
> pasture by the coastal hay (round
> bales) I feed and plowing the
> leftovers in?
> Or is there some other way to
> start a coastal patch from hay?
I have noticed an abundance of bermuda that is new to my "sacrifice" fields during the summer following winter feeding of Coastal (actually Jiggs) bermuda round bales. HOWEVER, I don't think is like true Coastal --- it looks and performs more like "common" bermuda. If you look at true Coastal hay meadows that have gone a fair amount of time without being cut you will notice many seedheads. I think what is happening is that the seeds then sprout following winter feeding of that hay, but revert to something akin to common bermuda. Sort of like you can't save seed from hybrid plants (corn, flowers, etc.) and plant the seed and expect the resulting plant to be like the hybridized parent.
Historically, the most common way to eatablish Coastal was by sprigging. In my part of Texas the Jiggs variety of bermuda is very popular and it is most commonly established by planting the green runners (tops) during spring, summer or fall as opposed to the more traditional method of sprigging bare roots. It will send out roots quite readily from the nodes as long as it has some moisture when planted.
