redlevel
Member
Actually, they were old lessons I had learned long ago.
I knew better.
I usually plant some straight ryegrass acreage, about ten acres, and about that much in rye or wheat. I did that this year. My brother called me and said he had found a great deal on rye seed. It was last year's seed, but germination was supposed to still be good.
You guessed it. Even though I increased my seeding rate to 150 lbs per acre, I still wound up with about 30% of a stand in the pure rye plantings.
Lesson number one: bargain seed just ain't worth the risk. I lucked out, because on a whim, I mixed 50 lbs of ryegrass with the rye on the last three acres.
Lesson number two. Even with good seed, to get a good stand, you have to use enough seed. I generally try to get about 25 lbs of ryegrass seed per acre down in pure ryegrass plantings. I mix the seed in a cone type spreader with the fertilizer. I have had great results in the past, and for the most part, I did this year. However, I have more areas with a skimpy stand this year. I know this, because I tried to stretch the mix out in a few places. Again, I knew better. Next year, I plan to shoot for 50lbs of ryegrass per acre. Hard to get too thick a stand for grazing.
It ain't like I've never done this before. I'll be 71 next week, and have farmed my whole life. I guess as they say, live and learn, then die and forget it all.
I knew better.
I usually plant some straight ryegrass acreage, about ten acres, and about that much in rye or wheat. I did that this year. My brother called me and said he had found a great deal on rye seed. It was last year's seed, but germination was supposed to still be good.
You guessed it. Even though I increased my seeding rate to 150 lbs per acre, I still wound up with about 30% of a stand in the pure rye plantings.
Lesson number one: bargain seed just ain't worth the risk. I lucked out, because on a whim, I mixed 50 lbs of ryegrass with the rye on the last three acres.
Lesson number two. Even with good seed, to get a good stand, you have to use enough seed. I generally try to get about 25 lbs of ryegrass seed per acre down in pure ryegrass plantings. I mix the seed in a cone type spreader with the fertilizer. I have had great results in the past, and for the most part, I did this year. However, I have more areas with a skimpy stand this year. I know this, because I tried to stretch the mix out in a few places. Again, I knew better. Next year, I plan to shoot for 50lbs of ryegrass per acre. Hard to get too thick a stand for grazing.
It ain't like I've never done this before. I'll be 71 next week, and have farmed my whole life. I guess as they say, live and learn, then die and forget it all.
