I need to drill some cool season grasses in my pasture which is currently mostly crabgrass. My question is how tall of grass will the drill work in ? Some is 4-5 inches tall but where the cows have fertilized its more like 10-12 inches. Should I just go ahead and bush hog it again then drill it or can I get by with just drilling it ? Is 20 pounds to the acre enough or should I go 25 pounds ? Also should I fertilize it this fall with mostly P and K then fertilize again in the spring with mostly Nitrogen ?
No till drilling fescue orchard grass mix ?
- Thread starter jd720
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kenny thomas
Well-known member
Yes, yes, and Yes
Just did 25 acres this way with fescue and red clover on Monday. Clipped pasture down with Bush hog. Drilled in 25# acre on the higher(sandy) ground and caught almost an inch of rain today. Pretty happy. Will dress with some fertilizer soon.
ValleyView
Well-known member
jd720 said:
I haven't ever drilled this mix so I don't have much to offer, but If seed is cheap, I'd send it! Keep us posted, hope it works out well for you and would love to see some pics of the progress!
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
bball said:
What is the current forage in this pasture?
What kind of success do you see with spring vs. fall NT interseeding?
Some existing fescue and crabgrass. Really needed the clover addition.Stocker Steve said:
Have tried frost seeding clover into existing pasture with marginal success.
Spring NT interseeding- purely anecdotal, but seems like significant more weed competition. Fall NT- less competition, but risky for rain and beating killing frost. I prefer fall(late Aug) if we have the moisture.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
Even experienced frost seeders admit it is hit or miss. Maybe a catch every other year, unless your stands are crappy and open.
I have not had success with spring inter seeding unless it is a thin new stand. Will have to consider fall. OC and clover catches best here.
I have not had success with spring inter seeding unless it is a thin new stand. Will have to consider fall. OC and clover catches best here.
7 days post drilling and the red clover has germinated beautifully. Coming on really well. We had rain day after i planted and caught 2 or 3 tenths on day 5 post planting. Wont know about the fescue for another 4 to 7 days. Havent fertilized at this point either
Will add, a lot of this acreage is a sandy soil variety. Higher ground that burns up during the summer slump; hence the fescue, because that is the only thing that will establish and hold up to grazing on the sandier soil varieties here. Have planted OG, p. Rye, timothy with no real success. Will establish and die off during the dog days. Alfalfa established somewhat, but did not withstand the grazing well. Im hoping the fescue will hang on in the high ground(do not expect clover to last there) and the clover to hold on to the lower slopes and lower, heavier ground.
Well I drilled 25# per acre of just fescue last weekend. It`s really dry here right now we got a few drops to settle the dust last night but I`m hoping for some rain soon. I guess the seed is in the ground so the birds can`t eat it and will come up whenever we do get a good rain.
