Is it to late to stockpile?

[tom4018]

Would you think it is too late to put some nitrogen on fescue? Been so dry was afraid to do it, got a little rain last week with a 40% chance Tuesday. What would put to the acre this late?

 

[dun]

You might not get the full affect, but 40 lbs an acre right now will still work wonders.

 

[Chris H]

Southern Ohio advisors are saying if we get rain, to apply 40 lbs N clear up to mid October. May not get much growth for grazing this fall but it will be a stronger stand next spring.

 

[MissouriExile]

You might not get the full affect, but 40 lbs an acre right now will still work wonders.

If you folks can forgive my extreme ignorance... How is Nitrogen applied? Is it purchased in powder, granular, liquid form?

Jon

 

[millstreaminn]

Mainly granular and to a lesser extent liquid... on corn anyways.

 

[MikeC]

Southern Ohio advisors are saying if we get rain, to apply 40 lbs N clear up to mid October. May not get much growth for grazing this fall but it will be a stronger stand next spring.

There are conflicting opinions on applying nitrogen in the Fall.

Some say that top growth is always at the expense of the roots and roots need plenty of reserves going into winter to sustain itself til spring.

 

[Chris H]

Southern Ohio advisors are saying if we get rain, to apply 40 lbs N clear up to mid October. May not get much growth for grazing this fall but it will be a stronger stand next spring.

There are conflicting opinions on applying nitrogen in the Fall.

Some say that top growth is always at the expense of the roots and roots need plenty of reserves going into winter to sustain itself til spring.

I worked a few years at a greenhouse & garden store. Our recommendations were to NOT put N on grass in the fall past early September in southern Ohio. The reasoning was it kept the grass in an actively growing state instead of hardening off for the winter, like you said, storing reserves.
So I was surprised to see this article http://fairfield.osu.edu/ag/beef/beefAgst29.html where Jeff McCutcheon(Ohio ST U. Extension) says

Nitrogen can be applied in fall. Late fall applications of nitrogen, from October through November, will increase grass tillering, root growth, and energy storage. This will help with spring green-up and improve competition against weeds. Apply after grass growth has slowed, but before the plant has gone dormant. Use a low rate of 30 to 40 lbs. of N per acre.

We chose to apply 50 lbs N the first week of Sept when we got 2 inches of rain. That's the last rain we got but if we get some next week we will apply 40 the the remaining acres that didn't get it. In a normal year, fescue will continue to grow into November here. We feel safe applying N up to about 4 weeks before it would normally go dormant.

 

[john250]

IF you get rain, I'd put 30 or 40 lbs actual N. Fescue will grow a lot yet this Fall in Ky. Unless winter comes way early. Hey, it's a crapshoot.

 

[Nowland Farms]

Here in NE Alabama, I hit the fescue with 60 units of nitrogen around the 1st of October. hold the cows off it until the frost kills the bremuda which is usually aroun the 1st week in December (give or take a couple of weeks). This allows the fescue to get a good start. Cows eat green grass all winter long.