Yander
Elite Member
I think you will want to till it in directly after spreading or the nitrogen will dissipate in the open air. Anyone know if this would happen with 18/18/18? I know it does with Urea, I've had it happen.
How long to let a very over grazed pasture sit?
- Thread starter paulsharvey
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Local advice may vary, but here we just time application before a rain forecast, and hope it's not a monsoon that's going to wash everything away. We can get rain rates above 6 inches per hour, but being a lot farther north than Florida, that kind of stuff definitely happens with less frequency up here. So, usually not a huge problem.
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paulsharvey
Super Member
Any thoughts on a spring loaded cultivator instead of a disc for field prep? It looks a bit like a cross between a light chisel plow and a cultivator from the picks, but price is right
Rockbadchild
Elite Member
for your soil (fluffy sand) anything would work but I would look at what will be your future used for it.
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paulsharvey
Super Member
Well, the dang price of 5 and 6 ft disc harrows is insane locally... $975 for a rusty used 6 ft disc? I found one about 2h30m away for $75, but "every disc will need replaced" which is fine; but if you need bearings, spacer, ecr; the cost to rebuild would be atleast $600.
Future use.... maybe some deer/turkey food plots, but mostly pasture and future pasture.
I'm also on the hunt for a cheap used fertilizer spreader, for palletized lime, fertilizer and seed; but same story, almost new prices; or destroyed gear box, missing shaft, and no spreader dics...
Rockbadchild
Elite Member
yes it will happen tilling would reduce that or a light rain.
Rockbadchild
Elite Member
I would put the rebuild price double that... I used a 3 point PTO rotary spreader for fertilizing and seeding, not as efficient but a lot cheaper... to be honest with the area you have (a few acres) go buy a walk behind or a pull behind a ATV if a walk behind Jimmy rig a hand drill on it and mount it on a quad.
just something to consider.
or these
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paulsharvey
Super Member
Yeah, I actually have one already, and have considered that; I have also considered the $199 Vevor towable, 100# capacity, drop spreader, that has the rotating teeth on the front; and the putting a piece of chain or something behind (or fabri cobbling a rear roller).
Rockbadchild
Elite Member
yes you want to roll it after seeding you want a good soil to seed contact for them to sprout ... if you walk and your boot sink in a inch its too soft.
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paulsharvey
Super Member
I did start a new thread in an attempt to ID what I just bought. It is missing 2 springs on the far right side ripper; and it's rusty, and the bolt on tips are loose; but appear reversible
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paulsharvey
Super Member
I've seen a couple of this guys videos, and I do think this one was a very well thought out, balanced, video on the topic of cost of grass feed beef, and the fact that pasture has an actual measurable cost.
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jyoutz
Super Star Member
A good estimate of time would be to allow rest for one complete growing season, if the grasses respond well to rejuvenation treatments.
Rockbadchild
Elite Member
I rather not calculate it lol, like I get his point he his calculating the hidden fee to prove it is not free but realistically these are a drop in the ocean. Pasture ready land are expensive, pasture potential land are cheaper but they need lots of work and a solid up front investment. My pasture was overgrown (it was a field 40/50 years ago) so I had removed the old fence, rip the new growth, plow, disk, seed, fertilize, roll it, wait for it to grow (in my case I left it alone 2 years), then fence it in.... I did like 600 hours on my tractor in the first summer and I didn't even disk it yet at that point. I rather calculate what I save by doing it, and that's one square bale per head per day, that adds up quick and it can justify a lot. yes ok a round bail is a lot cheaper at a bale per month per head.
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paulsharvey
Super Member
I got everything pretty well ripped up with the field cultivator/all purpose plow, took out some of the trees. Picked up 50# of winter rye, and spread most of it with a small push spreader. Was a pain to push in the loose dirt. Then set the chisel, just maybe 1" deep and made a few passes around to try to get some soil coverage. We expect rain Wednesday.
I want to get some green growing, and will ammend soil in Feb or so.
I did burn most of the debris, but with the number of trees, you still pull finger roots on every pass. I buried the partially burn stumps.
Pulled an 18" semi rotted pine stump-tap root with the Ck2610 today, look probably 2 hours of ramping down with loader, wiggle, ramp down more, wiggle again, ect.
I want to get some green growing, and will ammend soil in Feb or so.
I did burn most of the debris, but with the number of trees, you still pull finger roots on every pass. I buried the partially burn stumps.
Pulled an 18" semi rotted pine stump-tap root with the Ck2610 today, look probably 2 hours of ramping down with loader, wiggle, ramp down more, wiggle again, ect.
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Nice! Your soil looks like sand, to this northeasterner. Ours looks like dark roasted coffee grounds, by comparison.
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paulsharvey
Super Member
Well, we went from 80% to 60% to 40% and now we are down to 19% chance for rain today, and low single digits for the next 5 days...
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paulsharvey
Super Member
Update pictures. The rye grass has started going. We went like 30 days without rain, then got a couple 1/4" and 1/2", slow, hours long kinda rain. I also won a 3 point fertilizer spreader at the local auction for $10, so I need to go get that picked up. The small push seeder was a pain the butt to push through loose sand.
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paulsharvey
Super Member
Winter Rye came up pretty well. I do have some bare spots, but I used a push seeder. I'm looking at an early-mid March broadcast seeding for Bahia grass, before the spring dry season starts. I'm thinking a Tifton-9 seed. I also just ordered new impeller blades for my fertilizer spreader. Plan on doing lime in mid-late February.
So, over seeding bahia into a rye that won't have died back yet? Cut it, and broadcast, right? Should I skip cutting the rye, as it's not dense? Should I cut it low, or like 4.5"+? I know lime would have been better back in Nov or so, but I didn't have the spreader at the time.
Those pictures are about a 20 days old or so now, and it's thickened up since then with the rain.
So, over seeding bahia into a rye that won't have died back yet? Cut it, and broadcast, right? Should I skip cutting the rye, as it's not dense? Should I cut it low, or like 4.5"+? I know lime would have been better back in Nov or so, but I didn't have the spreader at the time.
Those pictures are about a 20 days old or so now, and it's thickened up since then with the rain.
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RayIN
Veteran Member
FYI; here in S. Indiana we generally have very good pasture land, but it still takes 3 acres for 1 cow, without ruining the grasses by the next winter. IMO 1 cow per acre is not adequate.
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Take the advice of someone local over me, but up here, any grass put down in spring will germinate but they usually die in our typical hot and dry spell lasting July into early August. Again, seek local knowledge, but I won't be surprised if they tell you it's better to just deal with crappy rye thru next summer, and delay the cost of putting down Bahia until September. That is... unless they're selling seed, and have some interest in seeing you have to buy expensive seed twice!
When doing a new lawn without irrigation around here, we usually put down something cheap to get us thru the first summer (e.g. rye blends), and save the expensive tall fescue for late August or early September. If you have irrigation, then of course you don't need to mind the dry weather.
When doing a new lawn without irrigation around here, we usually put down something cheap to get us thru the first summer (e.g. rye blends), and save the expensive tall fescue for late August or early September. If you have irrigation, then of course you don't need to mind the dry weather.
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