Planting grass seed

[sixdogs]

The reason your seed did not germinate is more likely poor soil-to-seed contact than lack of rainfall. If the ground is hard packed, the seed will lay on the surface and not be able to form roots as it germinates. It would be best if you could find some way to break the ground. A simple 8' set of old Dearborn or Pittsburgh cultivators with pointed teeth will do a great job. Break the ground up and broadcast the seed and don't worry if it isn't real smooth. Rainfall will take care of that and the first rain will bury the seed enough for germination purposes. I have done many acres like this.

Something else to consider would be the addition of a "nurse" crop such as oats (an annual) that is broadcast at the same time as your seed and provides shelter for your emerging seed. That works here but ask your extension agent. Also, you should add some fertilizer to help the roots form. Any equal number "balanced" fertilizer like 19-19-19 would be perfect and I'm thinking 250-300lbs per acre put down just before or just after cultivating.

There could be some fine tuning of this based on nuances of your area and who is telling the tale but this is the low-buck way that works for me. I do a lot of fancy work as well as a fair amount of low-buck work like this and it's not hard once people grasp the need for good soil to seed contact. Rainfall will take care of itself. Failure to understand seed to soil and grass will never happen.

 

[Clay45]

You may be able to get by dragging a chain harrow behind that ATV after you broadcast your seed. It worked for me but I tried using my landscape rake and it did almost as well. Of course, the best would be to spread a small layer of wheat straw hay over the seed immediately after broadcasting and watering it in good.

 

[Old Guy in Tenn]

Well, we planted the Tall Fescue and White Clover in early April. The Ag extension suggested the seed ratio which we followed. Most of the soil was still relatively loose from being worked in October, so we crossed our fingers and did no prep before seeding. The co-op had no equipment to loan or rent. We waited until the weatherman said "rain tomorrow" and spread the seed. 12 miles on the ATV with an electric spreader. Did full field in N-S passes, then again in E-W passes. Rain came as promised. 1/2" inch in each of the next 2 days (deja-vu) then a mix of heavy and light rain for the next week. The light rains worked the seed into the top of the soil, so the heavy rains did not wash it away. The neighbor who did the spreading sent me this picture last night. Picture is from the south. Future barn site is at far end of the field to the north. He used less seed at the build site, as it will be destroyed as we work.



It looks great, but I know there is MUCH to do. Leftover roots and rocks abound, and are becoming visible as the worked soil subsides. I will be there in June, and expect to spend a day hauling that stuff out of the field. We are really pleased that the cover took so well.

Thank you for your help.

 

[muddstopper]

Looks like the second attempt was a success. I would suggest that if you havent already, to apply some fertilizer now. Fescues need 50% of all fertilizer applications during the fall and early spring. When it turns hot and dry in the summer months, the fescue will go dormant and any fertilizer app's at that time will just fertilize the weeds.

For a little more info. Grass seed that is simply broadcasted will have a 50% or less germination rate, add that to the 85% advertised germination rate usually found on a seed bag, and chances of seed establishing is pretty poor. Broadcasting and then cultipacking will improve germination rates a lot. Seed to soil contact is more important than a heavy seed rate. With fescue, there is appox 220,000 seeds per lb of seed. There is enough seed in a 50lb bag of fescue seed to put one seed in every sq inch of a acre of soil. Suggested seeding rates are 150-200lbs per acre, 3 to 4 times the amount of seed actually needed to establish grass. Now you know why. Making sure that seed gets good soil contact is the key to getting that seed to grow. Another thing deals with fertilizer applications when seeding. Most all of the co-op type fertilizers use Urea as a nitrogen source. There is tons of data that suggests that applying fertilizer at the same time as applying the seed will result in a seed kill rate of about 50%. Urea will convert to ammonia gas which will kill the seed before it can germinate. Ask any corn farmer and they will tell you they band the fertilizer beside the rows to prevent the fertilizer from being in direct contact with the seed. Seed has all the nutrients inside it that it needs to germinate, all it needs is moisture. Adding fertilizer when seeding doesnt help and the seed cant use it anyways. Fertilizing after seed establishment will give better results using less materials.

 

[FTG-05]

We have 73 acres in NE Tennessee, mostly woods with about 7 acres cleared at the top of the hill. Last October we had our previously clear-cut field cleaned of stumps and assorted vegetation. It is looking good, and we want to avoid it growing back wild as it had done after originally being cleared. The weather report the day after the clean-up was for 1/2" of rain in each of the next 2 days. It had been a dry summer so, excited about the coming rain, we hurried to the co-op and purchased 300 lbs of grass and clover seed, as well as a powered spreader to mount on the neighbors ATV.

We headed home to Michigan, and the neighbor mixed and spread the seed that afternoon. The rain never came. You may recall that NE Tennessee caught fire a few weeks later, killing 14 people as it ravaged hundreds of bone-dry acres. The fire was put out by the downpour that finally arrived, over 6" in one day.

Anyway, our seeding was a failure. Very little sprouted because of the drought, then whatever was left washed away in the downpour. Bummer.

We will be seeding again soon, and want to do it right, so here I am asking for help. The ground has been bare over the winter, but is still fairly loose. It will be somewhat moist from the winter precipitation, and the spring rains should continue for many weeks after we seed. We would like to have the neighbor spread seed again, but would like it to grow this time. Will scattered seed be ok under those conditions? Does it need to be covered after spreading? How to cover it using the ATV?

Our tractor buy will be late this year or early next, so the neighbor is my only convenient option right now.

Thank you for your help.

- John

What powered ATV spreader did you get, did it work good with seed, and are you happy with it? Also $$$?

Thanks.

FWIW, I know I'm too late, but I would have never planted Tall Fescue. I've got whole fields of it and I'm going to have to either burn it or Roundup it all so I can plant Native Warm Season Grasses, something our Conservation agent (NCRS) especially for deer and turkey.

Thanks,

 

[Old Guy in Tenn]

What powered ATV spreader did you get, did it work good with seed, and are you happy with it? Also $$$?

Thanks,

I will try to find info on spreader. Bought it last fall and have not seen it since. It is with neighbor in Tennessee who planted the seed, and I am in Michigan. He said he needed to repair some planned obsolescence in order to use it this spring, so I will try to get info on that.

The Ag Extension recommended the fescue, along with the white clover. I needed something growing now, to both hold the soil and inhibit some of the jungle growth we had removed last fall. When we finally move (retiring within a year) there we will adjust the cover as we determine our usage.

Really excited for now just to see something growing well. Planning to have a barn grow at the north end this summer.

We may spread fertilizer when there this summer.