No Till Seed Drill

[Alan L.]

I am NOT a farmer, and have no knowledge or experience in this area. However, before putting out ryegrass I read extensively about it on the internet and learned that ryegrass seed is one that does very well when simply broadcasted on the ground, that is, it does not have to be "planted", as long as it gets down to the ground and gets in contact with the ground. This applies whether planting new ground or overseeding.

I sure hope this is true because I just broadcasted 500# on about 3 or 4 acres, and now I'm waiting for rain. This was mostly bare ground that I went over with a tandem disk before broadcasting the seed. I also overseeded some of the other pasture.

Alan L., TX

 

[cowboydoc]

Alan,
It will really help if you can lightly harrow it as well. Yes broadcasting like you did will work but you are probably only going to get around 25-30% germination rate. Compared to about 80% or better with seeding with a drill. This study was done at Boise State University for the BLM. They used to just broadcast seed with airplanes and weren't getting the results they wanted. BSU came in and did this study for them and that's when they started using drills instead of broadcasting it.

 

[jdkid]

Hi ya's
sorry i have not got back to ya sooner but have been drilling the last few days .. now few steps to follow 1 soil test and fix any probs before ya start..2 graze/mow to get as much green as pos as spray don't kill dead grass!!!!!.....3 get good info on chem's and seed for your area ....4 spray aim for a good kill some even 2X spray leaveing 60-100 days between sprayings to clean up hard to kill grasses and prob weeds.....5 drill now this is the make or brake don't buy a crop drill 7+ inch spaceings ya want 6 inch or smaller ,or cross drill (N-S and E-W drilling in same padock) tines are cheaper and cheeper runing costs discs are ok in trash but lots of bearings to fix.now oversowing is no spray ie graze to the ground and drill in new grasses works ok but can stuff up big time ,target spraying (leaving grass) is good but some sprays can hurt new clover so ask if any resadue(?) some will hang around for up to 6 months!!!!! full kill is best .now i also saw about endo in fescue ya can get low endo i think i don't know bout horses but high endo lowers wieght gains in sheep it's only use is for the plant on some pests if the pests are not a prob in your area then use low endo-endo free grasses ..ya have to get rid of all the old grasses so 2 or 3 years brake or non endo carriers should be grown oats ,clovers,greenfeed crops,nitro alfalfa (1 year)to help clean ya ground before drilling new grasses also gives ya a bit of time to fix ant fert probs...ok what other things oh yea broadcasting V's drilling seed has to touch soil to grow so harrow seed after broadcasting will help there has been stuff done in NZ on sprayed ground with good rates of plants liveing done wrong only 20% strike with only 5%lasting to year 2 ..drilling up to 90%+ is pos
catch ya
JD Kid

 

[cowboydoc]

Excellent point on the soil testing jdkid! I forgot that one.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Yes you can buy endophyte free fescue but...it is much more difficult to establish and will not stand up to abuse as will the infected variety. The endophyte helps the fescue maintain its vigor, resistance to insects, low moisture and overgrazing. There is a new fescue on the market that while still containing beneficial endophytes, does not contain the ones responsable for problems in wildlife and livestock. I don't remember the company but a search on the net would probable show it. You are right that most animals, including rabbits deer, horses, cattle etc. , have some problems when only fed infected fescue. Low conception rates, rough coat and general unthriftiness are some of the usual symptoms. Overseeding with a legume such as clover seems to dilute the endophyte's bad issues. Your best bet may be to spray at least 2 times 4 weeks apart with roundup per the label then overseed your intended product in accordance with the products labeling.
Sorry for the long post.
Hope this helps
Greg H