Need advice on overseeding pasture

[canoetrpr]

I raise Scottish Galloway cattle in southern Ontario. I have one field that can be rather wet until the middle of the summer and another dry one that I rent from a neighbour.

I'd like to do some over-seeding to increase the density of the grasses. I'd like some advice on the best time to do this and the best way to do this while keeping my cattle off the pasture for minimal time.

I will be using a broadcast seeder; that is all I unfortunately have access to.

Unfortunately due to work, the earliest I can do it is around the third week of May. I think this might be fine for my wet pasture which will start to dry up around then. It has been suggested to me that on my dry pasture that I hold off till late August or early September as the seedlings will have too much competition in May.

I'd like to push off seeding in the fall to as late as possible so that my cattle can stay on pasture. Am I right in assuming that if I seed in Sept, that pasture is done for this year?

In the past people have suggested that fall is a good time to seed but I have never understood it. Always figured that the seed will be taken away when the snow melts or something or the cold will kill the seedlings. Sounds silly. Please help me sort this out and let me know if October or so seeding can work for me.

I plan to scratch up the grass with a harrow before broadcasting the seed.

 

[3MileRanch]

What are you going to plant? Overseeding pasture in the fall is usually done so that the seeds you want will push out the weeds.

Also, I let cattle on an overseeded pasture. I use a drill though. Its never been a problem. If you want the seed to head out though at some point you will need to take them off so they can . When that is depends on the seed. With grains like wheat you need to look for the first hollow stem.

 

[gonzo]

:cowboy: I seed in fall the snow is like white mulch . All I have is a broadcast spreader I use that for the bulk ofit then I hit all campsites and such by hand. Any place you can make contact with the dirt hit it again./ :cboy:

 

[snake67]

I raise Scottish Galloway cattle in southern Ontario. I have one field that can be rather wet until the middle of the summer and another dry one that I rent from a neighbour.

I'd like to do some over-seeding to increase the density of the grasses. I'd like some advice on the best time to do this and the best way to do this while keeping my cattle off the pasture for minimal time.

I will be using a broadcast seeder; that is all I unfortunately have access to.

Unfortunately due to work, the earliest I can do it is around the third week of May. I think this might be fine for my wet pasture which will start to dry up around then. It has been suggested to me that on my dry pasture that I hold off till late August or early September as the seedlings will have too much competition in May.

I'd like to push off seeding in the fall to as late as possible so that my cattle can stay on pasture. Am I right in assuming that if I seed in Sept, that pasture is done for this year?

In the past people have suggested that fall is a good time to seed but I have never understood it. Always figured that the seed will be taken away when the snow melts or something or the cold will kill the seedlings. Sounds silly. Please help me sort this out and let me know if October or so seeding can work for me.

I plan to scratch up the grass with a harrow before broadcasting the seed.

I figure you live just south of Barrie and west of Peterborough - I am about 500 klicks east of you.

You have a few choices.

1. Your first choice - in my opinion would be to fertilize the place in the fall and put the seed in the fertilizer. Snow will push the seed down and fertilizer will give it the boost it needs in the Spring.

2. Second choice do the same thing in the Spring if able.

3. Straight seed broadcast in the Spring as soon as you see about 60% of the field is bare of snow - this is called frost seeding and the cold nights plus warm days will put the seed down to the ground.

4. Wait until June and get someone with a no-till drill to drill in the seed - be sure to put in some fertilizer as well. Cow schitte is not enough in your area to be a single fertilizer as the water leaches a lot of it out of the soil. You need to add to this.

So ......

Talk with your local seed company about the types of pasture you have and his recommended seed types. In fact have him come out to the place and take some soil samples while you are at it. This will give you AND him a far better idea as to what is really happening on your fields.

Remember - unless you have all the facts, over seeding by itself is a crap shoot. If the land is not capable of growing more grass than it already does grow - then you are simply throwing money away - hence my recommendation you get someone in to have a look first.

You might also consider tile draining the land that you own. It will quadruple the value of your property over night. Plan on about 500 - 900 bucks an acre depending upon the conditions you have in your area. If we are talking about a very small acreage then it would not be cost efficient to do this.

Tile draining will also give you far better control over your pastures and some day when you are old and grey like me, someone will want to rent it for a couple hundred bucks an acre to grow corn and soy beans on it.

We do ALL of the above with great success on out place. I cannot stress the importance of developing a relationship with your feed, seed and fertilizer company - they will give you the local expertise that everyone needs in your position.

My best

Bez