Forage Recomendation

[KevinN]

I'm in NJ and I have a ridge that has very poor soil. We have a lot of shale. It's on a gentle hillside so there is never any standing water. I have a drill that works well in that area. This is in a larger paddock of orchard grass and tall fescue, none of which wants to grow on that site.

I'm looking for recommendations for a forage that might do well there. All ideas are welcome, thanks,
Kevin

 

[chaded]

Would it be feasible to get a soil sample and make amendments? I have some poor soil but have never had an issue getting fescue to grow.

 

[KevinN]

Yes I did that 2 years ago...but I should do it again

 

[1982vett]

Yes I did that 2 years ago...but I should do it again

Yeah....if nothing more than to compare. Say it has lost all of the amendments you put into it. You can then make a decision if it is economical or worth your effort and expense to "improve".

 

[StrojanHerefords]

How deep is the soil? If the soil is shallow, it might make sense to rip a couple of feet to open up the root zone.

At this point, I won't plant perennials until after we have success growing annual cover crops. Green cover has a high diversity mix with dozens of different varieties. Look at what grows where and try to figure out why things grow where they do.