What to plant - Texas Tough or Common Bermuda??

[Farmgirl]

We are getting ready to plant a small plot of about 4 acres. Undecided of what to plant. Sprigging is not feasible for this amount of acreage. Talked to the NRCS rep and the county agent. Have heard the discussion about Tough reverting back to common. We need to get a quick stand of grass. Don't know if the Tough is worth the extra money. We will be grazing it and possibly cutting for hay if and when it is established.

We have taken the soil sample and will be fertilizing according to recommendations regardless of what we plant.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[houstoncutter]

Planted some about 3 years ago, and it seems to have converted to common. If you want this for hay, how about pearl millet

 

[Farmgirl]

hc,

Pearl millet is an annual, right? Want a warm season perennial.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[houstoncutter]

If you have a spray rig, plant Tifton 85 or Jiggs. Otherwise Tifton9 Bahai or Argentine Bahai

 

[Proverbs 12:10]

Texas Tough is 2/3rds common and 1/3rd Giant and the common will overtake the Giant over time.

 

[Farmgirl]

Actually, the latest variety of Texas Tough is a mixture of Giant, Common, and Majestic Bermuda. I don't remember the exact mix they told me. Got that from East Texas Seed. Also, they are calling it Texas Tough+. Not sure what the Majestic brings to the mix. I looked it up once and found it is a turf variety of bermuda.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[novatech]

We are getting ready to plant a small plot of about 4 acres. Undecided of what to plant. Sprigging is not feasible for this amount of acreage. Talked to the NRCS rep and the county agent. Have heard the discussion about Tough reverting back to common. We need to get a quick stand of grass. Don't know if the Tough is worth the extra money. We will be grazing it and possibly cutting for hay if and when it is established.

We have taken the soil sample and will be fertilizing according to recommendations regardless of what we plant.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

I don,t understand why sprigging is not feasible. On 4 acres it seems like one could do it by hand . I had a neighbor put in the same ammount last week. He bought greenhouse spriggs out of a place in Columbus at $.18 each. The spriggs are in there own media like tomatoes. They set at 5' c to c. This was tif 85. I have been watching it and the spriggs have taken off like crazy.
It is worth the extra effort as the pasture will be permanent. All the dirt work costs the same. Getting the best only cost a little more.

I have cut tops and shoved them in the ground with a hoe handle. (That's plowed ground after a rain.)

You can buy tops and disc them in.(Make sure it is going to rain and pack them good.)

If your not going to sprigg I would plow fertilize pack and see what nature provides. After all has germinated hit with some herbicide to kill off broad leaf. You will be amazed at what good grass seed is already there. In your area you will probable get bremuda, bahia, and bluestem, none of which are bad and a darn good mix for pasture.

 

[Dusty Britches]

You ain't lying, Novatec.

I had the Co-op's field rep come out on Friday to look at my pasture, tell me what I have, what I need to do and when. It is a free service for members.

He siad - do not spray broadleaf weeds now - they are all winter varieties and the spring/ summer ones will be up in a few weeks. He also recommended 1.5 pts of Grazon tank mixed with 4/10 oz of Cimmeron. After we spray, fertilize in May and soon we will only have bermuda grass growing. He said it would take a couple or 3 years to get these pastures in beautiful shape.

So, I found out I've been spraying and fertilizing too soon. And, more importantly, we have several varities of clovers and ryegrass growing everywhere on the south side 1/2 of our property. The north side has virtually no clover.

Sometimes it is good to step back and take a look around (or down as this case is) to figure out where to go. We were on the verge of discing and sprigging bermuda. That man coming out on Friday probably saved us several thousand dollars.

 

[Farmgirl]

The reason why we are planting pasture grass is to choke out smut grass. County Agent advised us to turn smut grass under in the fall, which we did. We are turning cool-season grass under now to plant warm-season grass. One reason we need to establish grass quickly is to prevent smut grass from coming back.

Tifton and Jiggs are great grasses but when you look at the cost and maintenance it is not something we want to commit to.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[novatech]

The reason why we are planting pasture grass is to choke out smut grass. County Agent advised us to turn smut grass under in the fall, which we did. We are turning cool-season grass under now to plant warm-season grass. One reason we need to establish grass quickly is to prevent smut grass from coming back.

Tifton and Jiggs are great grasses but when you look at the cost and maintenance it is not something we want to commit to.

Thanks,
Farmgirl[/quote

The mainenance on common and/or gaint is the same as for jiggs or tif.
Bremuda will eventually choke out other grasses and do a pretty good job of controling weeds if maintained properly.
If you want low maintenance go with bahia, common bremuda will come up on its own in between. I like bahia as you can plant winter forage ( rye, oats,clover) in with it without hurting it. When you plant oats, rye, or clover with bremuda it can set the bremuda back in the spring.

I talked to the guy about the spriggs I mentioned earlier. His cost on 4 acres was $800 on the spriggs and $50 on the planter. I looked at the field and it was a 100% take on the spriggs. Although it might cost a little more there will be a faster payback on his investment.

 

[Farmgirl]

The mainenance on common and/or gaint is the same as for jiggs or tif.

Yes, but it doesn't grow quite as fast and have to be cut as often. Doesn't cost as much to put down either.



Farmgirl

 

[HRPartnersLLC]

Here's something FarmGirl.

I wouldn't recommend Tif. 85 unless you can get adequate water to it. It takes more water than Coastal. Sprigg either Coastal or Jiggs. With the same amount of inputs the Jiggs will yield approx. 40% more than Coastal. You can easily get by doing it yourself with that amount of acres. Buy Jiggs square bales that have been baled right after being cut. Disc the ground, get it prepped. Then throw out about 3-4 square bales/acre, then lightly disc over the top of it. Fertilize accordingly to soil tests, and N depending on yield you want. I've done this same thing with coastal on about 20 acres, cause even 20 acres I couldn't justify bringing in a sprigger. The Coastal and Jiggs have nodules on the stems, and roots that's why you're able to replant this way, either tops, or spriggs(roots). Tif. 85 does not produce nodules on the stems, thiers are in the roots only. I got about 80-85% ground cover 3-4 months after planting by this method. Need any more info let me know!

 

[HRPartnersLLC]

One more thing, cost and maintenance is only as expensive as you want it to be. No fertilizing, or weed control, expect about 2000#/acre. You can increase that, and control it by the rates of actual N you put down. I know for my operation, it's different cause my customers want quality hay. So I literally pour money into it, and don't cut corners on anything. I just got done spraying the fields with 200# actual N. It was really expensive, but it's gonna pay for itself about 3xs. If you want quality, you better get a sharp pencil and start your fertilizer calculations. If you want quantity just put out about 350# actual N and let it grow till it can't anymore If you want just some ground cover then, plant it and it'll do the rest cause you're not needing it for grazing or haying.

 

[littleboss]

One more thing, cost and maintenance is only as expensive as you want it to be. No fertilizing, or weed control, expect about 2000#/acre. You can increase that, and control it by the rates of actual N you put down. I know for my operation, it's different cause my customers want quality hay. So I literally pour money into it, and don't cut corners on anything. I just got done spraying the fields with 200# actual N. It was really expensive, but it's gonna pay for itself about 3xs. If you want quality, you better get a sharp pencil and start your fertilizer calculations. If you want quantity just put out about 350# actual N and let it grow till it can't anymore If you want just some ground cover then, plant it and it'll do the rest cause you're not needing it for grazing or haying.

I haven't heard of anyone putting out 200 lbs of actual N per cutting of coastal much less 350# of actual N. Most good producers looking for quality would go with 100lbs of actual N.

What exactly did you apply? What protein do you typically get? At what stage do you cut the grass?

 

[HRPartnersLLC]

I applied 42-0-0 at 200# actual N/acre. Which is giving me about 7750-8500# of hay/acre/cutting. Putting that amount out gives me both quality and quantity. I cut it before it heads out pre-boot stage, about 21 days of growth(no more than 28) Which is a bit taller than your knee. If I were to put 100# actual N down I would be getting less yield, approx. 4500-5000# of hay/acre/cutting. One other reason I put down 200# is the deminishing return curve is right at that output. In other words the cost of fertilizing that much and the yield pays, anything above that it seems like it doesn't pay for the amount you're putting out.

 

[HRPartnersLLC]

Typo on above, sorry. Liquid Urea at 32-0-0, that's what I use for this. 42-0-0 I use on something else.

 

[littleboss]

I applied 42-0-0 at 200# actual N/acre. Which is giving me about 7750-8500# of hay/acre/cutting. Putting that amount out gives me both quality and quantity. I cut it before it heads out pre-boot stage, about 21 days of growth(no more than 28) Which is a bit taller than your knee. If I were to put 100# actual N down I would be getting less yield, approx. 4500-5000# of hay/acre/cutting. One other reason I put down 200# is the deminishing return curve is right at that output. In other words the cost of fertilizing that much and the yield pays, anything above that it seems like it doesn't pay for the amount you're putting out.

Do you irrigate? I try to cut every 4 weeks but over the last 20 years average more like 5 -6 weeks. If it doesn't rain after each fertilizer application I can't cut that often. I average around 14% protein at this age.

 

[HRPartnersLLC]

The places I have currently are not irrigated. I am looking into buying another place to irrigate for hay and run stockers on. The past 4 years I've been successful with maintianing the growth at 21 days. Never let it go over 28 days. One of the things that helps is having all the equipment to spray and store the fertilizer myself. I am out there as soon as the rain starts, day or night. I have enough to store 2 semis of fertilizer and a 1500 gallon spray rig with a 60' boom. It also takes a bit less moisture for the liquid fertilizer to activate and take over than the dry, cause the dry has to break down then absorb. The liquid it directly on the leaf and stem and is absorbed that way. I maintain a 16-17% CP on the hay. There have been a afew times where I've had to actually use a water truck to get a cutting or 2, but again that's even paid for itself. It's a bit more expensive, but it's better to breakeven and get everything paid for than not get any inventory and in debt. And there's been years where I've only got about 2 cuttings, but that's how it goes. 2004 was the only really good year I've had, actually it was hard to find a window to cut the hay it was raining that much. I'm praying this year will be a good year, we're due for one

 

[farmerjohn]

The places I have currently are not irrigated. I am looking into buying another place to irrigate for hay and run stockers on. The past 4 years I've been successful with maintianing the growth at 21 days. Never let it go over 28 days. One of the things that helps is having all the equipment to spray and store the fertilizer myself. I am out there as soon as the rain starts, day or night. I have enough to store 2 semis of fertilizer and a 1500 gallon spray rig with a 60' boom. It also takes a bit less moisture for the liquid fertilizer to activate and take over than the dry, cause the dry has to break down then absorb. The liquid it directly on the leaf and stem and is absorbed that way. I maintain a 16-17% CP on the hay. There have been a afew times where I've had to actually use a water truck to get a cutting or 2, but again that's even paid for itself. It's a bit more expensive, but it's better to breakeven and get everything paid for than not get any inventory and in debt. And there's been years where I've only got about 2 cuttings, but that's how it goes. 2004 was the only really good year I've had, actually it was hard to find a window to cut the hay it was raining that much. I'm praying this year will be a good year, we're due for one

Kid,

I think that you are full of crap. Why don't you show us pix of your semi's full of liquid fertilizer and scan in some copies of your hay analysis. Also a pix of your 1500 gallon tank and 60' boom.
You contradict yourself, First you say for the last 4 years, you have been able to cut every 21 days. BS. The last two years have been some of the driest on record. Then you say that some years you only get two cuttings.

Let see, you have also said that you are a 20 year old kid. So have you been cutting hay since you were 10?

What a joke....... Go back to school and read some more.

P. S. I would like to see you irrigate a hay field with a tank truck. Even if you could put out a 1/10" to get the fertilizer working, without rain, you are not going to grow 4 tons per acre.

Also, using liquid after about May 1 is a no-no because you will burn the coastal

You didn't learn much if you went to TCU, maybe you should consider flipping burgers........

 

[HRPartnersLLC]

I PM'd you regarding this. You didn't even have the decency to come to me privately regarding this, especially cause your claims are so irrelevant and have no substance. I'm not thrilled about it at all. But I have nothing to worry about, cause every word what I said was true. I have what I need to back it up also. So stop getting all over me unless you've got proof to! That comment at the end was so uncalled for, and immature....so just stop it right now!!!