Over grazed pastures--- how best to reseed

[MarkV]

So foreman Etexas the drill is new to me also. I've seen some recently planted pasture that looks like the tractor was pulling something about eight feet wide. My question is why use drill when a spreader can cast a much wider berth? Of course the only thing I've seeded so far is ryegrass.

The main reason is better germination. If you just broadcast seed on existing pasture the seed isn't going to be covered and germination rates are low. The no till seeder is set to put seed at the proper depth and then covers it giving much better yield.

One other note. You do need to find a seed drill that is for grass type of seed. The seed drills most farms us do not handle grass seed well.

MarkV

 

[foreman Etexas]

The main reason is better germination. If you just broadcast seed on existing pasture the seed isn't going to be covered and germination rates are low. The no till seeder is set to put seed at the proper depth and then covers it giving much better yield.

One other note. You do need to find a seed drill that is for grass type of seed. The seed drills most farms us do not handle grass seed well.

MarkV

Yeah it is a lot better than just throwing seed out to pasture,rye grass don't matter to much stuff grows anywhere.A drill will need the small seed box more than likely with grass seeds.

 

[Ted Summey]

The keys to good seed germination are proper depth and good soil seed contact. Over seeding doesn't provide as effective seed to soil contact as the no till drill. Our soil Conservation Office has a no till drill that they rent at a very affordable rate. As advised, check with the extension service, soil conservation office etc. or at you local farm supply for rental. No till drills are heavy units and usually require a hydraulic remote as the machine lifts to transport via hydraulics. No till also decreases the amount of seed loss to birds and other seed eaters.

An alternative is to mow the pasture short then disc lightly, follow with over seeding then use a cultipacker to firm the soil. The discing should just rough up the surface there is no need to deep plow or create a vegetation free seed bed for most grasses. Most grasses need only a slight fluff on the surface to get started. there is some value in maintaining some of the original grass (dead or alive) on the surface to prevent erosion. The cultipacker mashes the seed to the soil for the seed soil contact. Then follow the fertilizer recommendations based on a set of soil tests that your Ag Extension Service can advise on how to complete. It will take some time to get the results but will save you some money on fertilizer because you will apply only what the grasses need.

Hard pan will take more work to break the surface up and a previous poster suggested subsoiling, whatever works to break the hard pan down to a few inches deep. Overseed, cultipack and fertilize.

We have about 100 acres of grass for cattle here in NC. The above is based on my 25+ years of working with grasses and other crops for cattle feed and grasses for lawns. Your results may vary based on geography and other factors. The no till drill will allow one or two passes over dependent on starting grass height and if the drill allows application of fertilizer. The alternative method above has multiple passes - mowing, discing, seeding, cultipacking and fertilizing-so fuel and time costs need to be factored in. We used the no till method this fall on pasture and on my lawn - it worked great.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

My horse pasture has a 4" compacted layer on the top and they are very much overgrazed. I'm going to rotate them off this spring to try and get some grass to grow again! I'm certainly going to need to run the disc across them to loosen the soil up. I already have a disc and culti-packer on location so thats the route i'm taking. The conservation district was very helpful with the soil samples as well. They take your soil sample and let you know exactly what the soil needs. I vaguely remember mine from last year and I needed a significant amount of lime added. Something like 6 tons per acre. They also told me not to apply more than 2 or 3 ton/acre at a time IIRC?

The soil sample was very easy to do and I think it was about $7.

 

[Western]

Just curious, what state are you in and what type grass are you considering? If you are where you can grow Bermuda, then sprigging is the way to go.

1000% agree on having the AG agent come out to your place, best free information you will ever get for your property. Soil sample is a must IMO. Very cheap in regards to the cost of planting seed and having it grow well.

I would be plowing then disking it no matter what, but that is just me. Your going to have to deal with weeds anyway so might as well gave a good seed/sprig bed. just my 2 cents