Native grasses?
- Thread starter tom4018
- Start date
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We used Journey (sp) because that was what was recommended. Killed everything but also inhibited the WSG seed the next year. We had to reseed the following year and got a good stand. Nothing like fescue, but the WSGs are bunch grasses and take a long time to fill in between the bunches. Our local NRCS office no longer recommends Journey if planting WSG is planned for the next year. It's purely anecdotal, but every field that they used Journey on had a failure of the WSG the next year.
luke strawwalker
Active member
Depends on what your goals are...
Natives will produce without fertilizer, or with very little, that much is true. They also won't produce anywhere near as much as improved grasses that are heavily fertilized. They won't do the same thing that a heavily fertilized bermudagrass field will do, so don't expect that or you'll be sorely disappointed. Now that said they don't COST what a highly fertilized bermuda field will EITHER, and that's something there...
Seed is pretty high, establishment is kinda slow, and you CANNOT OVERGRAZE or you'll wipe them out. You pretty much have to rotational graze to keep the stand from being overrun by more aggressive improved grasses or weeds. The grazing intervals are usually longer too. They usually need more rest than similar improved varieties.
BUT, you can manage for this, using longer grazing cycles, generally lower carrying capacity, and not expecting too much. Like I said if you go into it with the wrong mindset of thinking you'll get the same as high yielding bermudas or something without the fertilizer costs, you'll be VERY disappointed. If you go into it expecting to not be able to graze as many head, rotate graze, and put up with a longer establishment time, you can experience the joy of not having to write those big fertilizer checks....
Oh, and BTW... buyer beware if you're talking about an NRCS program... I checked on those for crossfencing and water systems, and what they have you do will cost at least 3 times what it would cost you to 'poor boy it' (which is what we do; although some folks don't cotton to that approach) which basically defeats the cost share 50% they pay since you're share would be more than you planned to spend anyway, and then you get the fun of having Uncle Sam looking over your shoulder for the next 20 years... Thanks but no thanks... as far as I'm concerned, they can keep the money and I'll keep the say about what I do on my own place and how I do it...
OF course if it works for you... go for it! OL JR
Natives will produce without fertilizer, or with very little, that much is true. They also won't produce anywhere near as much as improved grasses that are heavily fertilized. They won't do the same thing that a heavily fertilized bermudagrass field will do, so don't expect that or you'll be sorely disappointed. Now that said they don't COST what a highly fertilized bermuda field will EITHER, and that's something there...
Seed is pretty high, establishment is kinda slow, and you CANNOT OVERGRAZE or you'll wipe them out. You pretty much have to rotational graze to keep the stand from being overrun by more aggressive improved grasses or weeds. The grazing intervals are usually longer too. They usually need more rest than similar improved varieties.
BUT, you can manage for this, using longer grazing cycles, generally lower carrying capacity, and not expecting too much. Like I said if you go into it with the wrong mindset of thinking you'll get the same as high yielding bermudas or something without the fertilizer costs, you'll be VERY disappointed. If you go into it expecting to not be able to graze as many head, rotate graze, and put up with a longer establishment time, you can experience the joy of not having to write those big fertilizer checks....
Oh, and BTW... buyer beware if you're talking about an NRCS program... I checked on those for crossfencing and water systems, and what they have you do will cost at least 3 times what it would cost you to 'poor boy it' (which is what we do; although some folks don't cotton to that approach) which basically defeats the cost share 50% they pay since you're share would be more than you planned to spend anyway, and then you get the fun of having Uncle Sam looking over your shoulder for the next 20 years... Thanks but no thanks... as far as I'm concerned, they can keep the money and I'll keep the say about what I do on my own place and how I do it...
OF course if it works for you... go for it! OL JR
