Sand in the planter/broadcaster

[rgood]

Guys, I'm going to be planting Tifton 9 shortly (depending on the rain/weather). Tifton 9 is a real small grass seed - The guy I bought my PTO spreader said that the seed is so small, you may want to mix the seed with something else so that all the seed doesn't go out on the 1st round.

The guy at the Coop, that I bought the seed from said he thought you could use "Sand". Has anyone heard of that ???

I've heard you can mix the seed with fertilizer, but for this seed they don't recommend fertilizing til it comes out of the ground.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[cowpen]

Tifton 9 bahiagrass seed isn't really any smaller in size than Pensacola or Argentine. But your feed rate will really depend on the spreader and whether you can close the feed ring enough to adequately control the flow. I'd strongly suggest calibrating the new spreader with a small quantity of the seed you'll be planting. There's some good extension pubs online that show how.

One thing about T9 is that it's VERY slow to establish. Bahiagrass seedling vigor is weak, and T9 especially - so the advice to leave out the fertilizer is right on. The weeds and unwanted grasses will quickly overwhelm it if you feed them.

I used to tell producers planting T9 to plant it and don't worry if you don't see much the first year. If weeds get high, mow them off so they don't shade too much. The following spring (May/June) will give you a better idea about whether you got a good stand or not. If you did, you'll have worlds of grass compared to Pensacola.

 

[rgood]

Calibrating the spreader - Is this proper info ?

To calibrate a spreader

1. Set your spreader at about 1/3 open. (Example: if the spreader has settings from #1 to #9, set it at the #3.)

2. Put two to three pounds of clean sand in the spreader; walk forward and let it dispense for ten to twenty feet. Visually note the width of the swath of sand applied by the spreader. Stop and measure the width of the swath. Remove remaining sand.

Swath width:________feet

NOTE: 'Drop' spreaders are easy; the swath width is the width of the spreader body.

3. Divide the swath width into 1000.

1000 square feet =_______feet width from step #2

4. Put ten pounds of the product you wish to apply in the spreader. Walk forward and operate the spreader for the number of feet determined in step #3.

5. Stop. Remove product from spreader and weigh it. Subtract this weight from ten pounds. The result is the number of pounds of the product applied at that spreader setting per 1000 square feet.

Ten pounds minus what is left =________ (amount of product applied per 1000 square feet)

6. Adjust the spreader opening up or down to achieve the application rate you wish for that product. (Repeating steps #4 - #5.) Use a felt tip marker to write on the spreader and indicate the proper setting.