Broadcast seed onto bare field?

[petebert]

Converting former crop field to hay. We have a seed drill available but what do you think about discing the field, broadcast spreading the seed and then running a cultipacker over it? Why? I don't know, my neighbor with a dairy farm will be doing most of the work and he mentioned doing it this way instead of using the drill. The field does get a lot of rocks so this method wouldn't beat up the drill.

 

[joeu235]

should work if its a crop with real small seeds.

 

[oldnslo]

If you can broad cast the seed even enough. Alfalfa seed is awful light so potentially any wind could blow it around while trying to spread it. Pick the rock before planting. It will help prevent destroying your mower, baler etc.

 

[jeff9366]

I do not do hay, but I do plant Bahia and game food plots often.

Adjust the Disc Harrow for shallow penetration = smooth seed bed behind the implement.

Cultipacker firmed seed should germinate fine, especially small to medium size seed.


LINK: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ing-three-point-hitch-mounted.html?highlight=

 

[petebert]

I've been working on getting the rocks out, whenever I drive through I pick up any of the big ones I see. It's a 10 acre field and there's a lot of rocks in it. The front 3 acres of this field was converted to pasture 2 years ago and that's made a huge difference with the rocks. There's barely any on the surface up there now.

 

[jeff9366]

Nice rocks.

Here in sandy Florida we pay seven cents a pounds for similar to construct rain gardens. At seven cents a pound we have to haul them from the rockery. Rocks are sourced in Tennessee.

 

[M5farms]

Nice rocks.

Here in sandy Florida we pay seven cents a pounds for similar to construct rain gardens. At seven cents a pound we have to haul them from the rockery. Rocks are sourced in Tennessee.

there are plenty of rocks in Florida.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I personally would spray all vegetation on the fields then work the ground before planting grass seed, the grass in my yard grows about half as fast as the tilled garden that was done this spring that I ended up not planting in so now it gets mowed.

I would chisel plough it, disk it smooth, pick up rocks and drill it with a mixture of grasses that grow good in your area.

Around here a guy down the road from me planted his field in a mixture of Timothy, Orchard, Oats and Alfalfa, that hay was off the hook, I was given a round bale because the oats were too wet when he went to bale and my cattle tore that bale up like nothing I ever fed them before.


Just my 2 cents

 

[TheMan419]

Im in the process of converting a former corn field to pasture for the horses. Spraying with roundup first. Then let it all die for 7-10 days. Then will till under. Then will likely harrow to get a good seed bed. As for planting seed I am planning on broadcast spreading.

I did the above method on a 25 foot swath around the barn because I wanted a test plot and wanted it to look nice around the barn. Planting was 8 days ago and I have a nice mixture of grasses growing. That being said this is NOT the right time to plant grass in Northern Indiana. About another month or so and we are in the good times.

 

[petebert]

Did you go back over it with anything after broadcast seeding?

 

[TheMan419]

Did you go back over it with anything after broadcast seeding?

No. When I do the 12 acres I am likely going to also fertilize and possibly flip the drag harrow over so the scarifiers are pointing up and drag again to cover the seed.

I may also call the local ag extension and see if they have a cultipacker I can rent.

 

[holeycow]

I have done several fields broadcasting grass. It works fine. I set it a little light and travel it twice at 90 degrees to each other. I pull harrows at the same time (usually).

Oats works well with a broadcaster too (as long as the moisture is near the surface.

I find no need to pack or drag harrows upside-down.

I have done this in clayey sand and sandy clay with good results. A little rain after seeding is always welcome..

 

[holeycow]

Ps, no need for chemical killers in a hay field. Under normal conditions and a couple of cuttings the desireable species will prevail.

 

[smstonypoint]

Ps, no need for chemical killers in a hay field. Under normal conditions and a couple of cuttings the desireable species will prevail.

Prima facie evidence that Johnsongrass doesn't grow in northern Alberta.

Steve

 

[holeycow]

Apparently not, as I have never heard of johnsongrass.

I will google it. Ha. Fricken google is amazing when you sift thru the b.s.

 

[holeycow]

Looks like food to me, as long as there's only a little of it. Apparently cutting it weakens it. As cutting does with most of the undesireables.

Hay is supposed to be a mixed salad, not a monocrop. IMO.

I have a book on poisonous plants for horses. It is a little ridiculous. As it turns out, everything when ingested solely is poisonous to horses. Variety is health.

We worry about alsike clover, too much alfalfa, and various other plants when it comes to horses.

This year is a bad year for alsike clover for us...

 

[TheMan419]

Looks like food to me, as long as there's only a little of it. Apparently cutting it weakens it. As cutting does with most of the undesireables.

Hay is supposed to be a mixed salad, not a monocrop. IMO.

I have a book on poisonous plants for horses. It is a little ridiculous. As it turns out, everything when ingested solely is poisonous to horses. Variety is health.

We worry about alsike clover, too much alfalfa, and various other plants when it comes to horses.

This year is a bad year for alsike clover for us...

Yeah we had a mono crop of some yellow flowering weed. Forget what it is. Send that to our vet. He had it looked at by Purdue. They said toxic in large quantities. So we tilled under the initial sacrifice paddocks we built. Various grasses have grown back. Now we are working on the larger 12-18 acres we are going to keep them on. So we want to start it out well. Roundup is not that expensive. It will end up costing me about $250 in roundup to do the whole area.

Then you need to plant a good mix of various grasses and legumes. The mix you want for pasture is different than if you are going to bale hay from it. Also differs depending on your region as to what grows well of course.

 

[petebert]

What do you guys think about this hay mix and the percentages? Feel free to adjust the numbers or let me know of anything else to add. I like my hay to be leafy, low on stems and to have variety. This will be in southern Michigan for sheep and cows. I was thinking orchard grass, timothy, perennial rye, alfalfa a little bit of clover. Will the rye live through the winters here? Should I add any bluegrass? I see it in the pasture mixes but don't see it in any hay mixes.

30% orchard grass
30% timothy
25% alfalfa
10% rye
5% Clover

and is this math correct? Lets say it calls for 20lbs of alfalfa per acre. If I'm doing it at 25% it would only be 4lbs per acre and then 40lbs for all 10 acres?

 

[holeycow]

In this part of the world we seed alfalfa at 12lbs+/acre. I usually put in some smooth brome and maybe a little timothy. As the field matures over a few years the grasses find their place and then the weather determines what grows where and when. For example, usually my hayfields are predominantly alfalfa in the lower areas. This year, due to good spring moisture and then no rain, the low areas were too wet for alfalfa, so for the first time in years the low areas are dominated by clover and the high ground is alfalfa. It changes every year and sometimes dramatically. If you want legumes, then seed the alfalfa at full rate for an alfalfa crop. Throw in some other grass seed as an addition to the mix; don't reduce the alfalfa by a proportionate amount. At least that's how it works around here...

We usually put in a cover crop of oats or rye or something to provide shade for the alfalfa. If we put in rye here it only exists the first year (annual rye).

Anyway, the experienced locals in your area will know what to do.

If you want a longlasting field then use old varieties. If you plan on redoing it every few years, then find the highest yielding new varieties.

 

[smstonypoint]

and is this math correct? Lets say it calls for 20lbs of alfalfa per acre. If I'm doing it at 25% it would only be 4lbs per acre

No -- .25*20 = 5.

Steve