Who doesn't fertilize?

[Bigfoot]

There are a few guys on here that grow tobacco/or used to like myself. We always grew our own tobacco plants....first in tobacco beds on the ground then everybody went to float plants .....grown on water beds in Styrofoam trays. You could set that plant at about 5 or 6 inches tall and we would ......until someone smarter than we were came up with the idea of clipping the tobacco plants while they were still in the tobacco bed...before you set them
You see....when that tobacco plant got big enough to set, it was very tender and if it was hot and a little dry it had a hard time surviving. What someone discovered was that if you cut the top 1/3 to 1/2 of the leaves....it would do three things, 1) It would slow them down from growing so fast....in case you didn't have your field prepared yet, but that was only for about 2 or 3 days then they would start growing again.
2) It would let the smaller plants even up with the bigger plants and ......3) most importantly it made that plant tough. Those tender plants would get tough and would put more and more roots down...as long as you didn't cut the bud out of it....too short.
Often we would clip them 2 or 3 times. Some people had a lawn mower on rails to clip with, but most like us just used a weedeater.
You could have clipped then as many times as you wanted but eventually they would get too big to set.
I always think of how clipping magically transformed the tobacco plant when I wander if i'm wasting my time clipping my grass.

I have had the same thought. But, tobacco grows from he top, like a tree. Fescue grows from the bottom. What difference does that make? I don't know.

 

[Banjo]

I have had the same thought. But, tobacco grows from he top, like a tree. Fescue grows from the bottom. What difference does that make? I don't know.

I guess I would recommend clipping a small test plot....say 2 or 3 acres or so. If you have a small section you don't need for pasture right now, just go in and clip the tips of the leaves, then when it matures again or when the leaves begin to droop over...clip it again. Do that all year and see what you see.
You may find you'll have some good stockpiled fescue this winter.
Also, I would take a small section where you are grazing and clip after you move the cows each time.

 

[Clodhopper]

Old timers would take sticks an beat the leaves of cotton tearing them to promote growth it works with okra too.

That's interesting.

I've always heard and read that if you spray soybeans with a product that will put some burn on them, such as Cobra, They will yield 2-3 bushel more than those that are not. The stress makes the plant double down and work harder to produce. It's the same principle as this.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I have had the same thought. But, tobacco grows from he top, like a tree. Fescue grows from the bottom. What difference does that make? I don't know.

I guess I would recommend clipping a small test plot....say 2 or 3 acres or so. If you have a small section you don't need for pasture right now, just go in and clip the tips of the leaves, then when it matures again or when the leaves begin to droop over...clip it again. Do that all year and see what you see.
You may find you'll have some good stockpiled fescue this winter.
Also, I would take a small section where you are grazing and clip after you move the cows each time.

I've seen this work first hand.

 

[snoopdog]

Glad to see all the responses and I think if anything ,it proves there's more than one way to skin a dog. Regional, soil, lay of the land and weather patterns are all real differences on how we go about doing things . I wish I had some before pics, but I don't . When this opportunity fell in my lap, Ijust went in swinging , however I will post some after shots soon.

 

[Tbrake]

I took over a couple hundred acres of some pasture of a neighbors. All fescue. Wow the grass sucks on that place. Full of weeds and briars. Beginning to rethink my decision. Soil samples show extreme p and k deficiency. By the time I get things back the way they should be, will take me 5 years to break even. Sure makes a lot of sense to neglect your pastures! With current prices it will take 80$ an acre of fertalizer to get things headed in the right direction. Made a believer out of me

 

[ClinchValley]

Our pastures have NEVER seen fertilize. And it shows, in places. What bit of pasture i fertilized sure has impressed me. Did not test the soil. Only put about a ton on twenty acres. Has made a world of difference though.

I have been considering putting some on the rest this fall. Anyone fertilize in fall?

 

[Stocker Steve]

REAL grazers don't own equipment, buy fertilizer, or use toilet paper. :nod:

 

[Stocker Steve]

All you need is grass and water.

 

[ddd75]

Our pastures have NEVER seen fertilize. And it shows, in places. What bit of pasture i fertilized sure has impressed me. Did not test the soil. Only put about a ton on twenty acres. Has made a world of difference though.

I have been considering putting some on the rest this fall. Anyone fertilize in fall?

late aug. / early sept around here is the best time.

 

[snoopdog]

All you need is grass and water.

And , no water no grass. That is why we need peak growth at least in my area, and situation ,with limited acreage .It can be fun doing more with less. . Summer stockpiling makes as much sense as winter stockpiling .

 

[kenny thomas]

Our pastures have NEVER seen fertilize. And it shows, in places. What bit of pasture i fertilized sure has impressed me. Did not test the soil. Only put about a ton on twenty acres. Has made a world of difference though.

I have been considering putting some on the rest this fall. Anyone fertilize in fall?

Do your soil tests now and put P and K in the fall. It takes several months for them to break down and work. If you can stockpile the fescue do that by adding N by September 1 and keep the cows off of it till Christmas.

 

[kenny thomas]

I took over a couple hundred acres of some pasture of a neighbors. All fescue. Wow the grass sucks on that place. Full of weeds and briars. Beginning to rethink my decision. Soil samples show extreme p and k deficiency. By the time I get things back the way they should be, will take me 5 years to break even. Sure makes a lot of sense to neglect your pastures! With current prices it will take 80$ an acre of fertalizer to get things headed in the right direction. Made a believer out of me

A farm I bought a few years ago was really bad. I spent $176 an acre fertilizing it to soil test recommendation. It has trippled the number of cattle I can run on it now.
I am a firm believer in soil testing and doing what it recommends. If you can't do it all at once do some each year until you get all the acres finished.

 

[Stocker Steve]

A farm I bought a few years ago was really bad. I spent $176 an acre fertilizing it to soil test recommendation. It has trippled the number of cattle I can run on it now. I am a firm believer in soil testing and doing what it recommends. If you can't do it all at once do some each year until you get all the acres finished.

Some soil testing standards are based on work done after WWII, and are not current with today' row cropping. I think you are on safer ground with forages.
True believers don't buy fertilizer but they do trample a lot of forage. Works fine as long as you are patient, the soil is somewhat fertile to start, and you can get to high stocking density.
I think the end game is getting organic matter up. What does your OM test show?

 

[kenny thomas]

A farm I bought a few years ago was really bad. I spent $176 an acre fertilizing it to soil test recommendation. It has trippled the number of cattle I can run on it now. I am a firm believer in soil testing and doing what it recommends. If you can't do it all at once do some each year until you get all the acres finished.

Some soil testing standards are based on work done after WWII, and are not current with today' row cropping. I think you are on safer ground with forages.
True believers don't buy fertilizer but they do trample a lot of forage. Works fine as long as you are patient, the soil is somewhat fertile to start, and you can get to high stocking density.
I think the end game is getting organic matter up. What does your OM test show?

This was so poor that there was very little forage to trample. I can do as you suggest now and it really works well but had to give it a jump start.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Just starts work. You need a nutrient cycle that is functioning.

I spoke with an organic guy who did not do that, and still have some sad pastures 15 years later.

 

[RanchMan90]

Just starts work. You need a nutrient cycle that is functioning.

I spoke with an organic guy who did not do that, and still have some sad pastures 15 years later.

What to do with these sad pastures (mined out cropland) without commercial fertilizer?

 

[Stocker Steve]

Depends on your patience and your location and your values and your cash flow.
- Easy approach would be sign up for CRP and mine the government.
- Fast approach would be to haul in manure and lime.
- Slow approach would be to haul in cattle and hay.
- Slowest approach would be to haul in cattle and hope something grows. He tried this, but it was not working well on the poorest land.