re-seeding information wanted

   / re-seeding information wanted #21  
By the way, didn't mention I do aerate my hayfield, and pasture every Spring. Usually in April when the soil is semi-dry, but damp enough for the aerator spoons to penetrate the soil. If you look closely, you'll see where they are going in 3"-4". Those are solid concrete blocks for ballast. IIRC, they weigh approx. 60 lbs. ea. giving around 480 lbs. of ballast. It seems to help at least part of the surface compaction. I'll run 2 directions, first this direction, then cross ways to it. You can still see divots in the dirt after making first cutting. I fertilize after first cutting, so it should help fertilizer get down into the root zone. Definitely saw an improvement after I started doing this.


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   / re-seeding information wanted #22  
I have 30+ acres of grass that has been used for pasture and hay. The past 10 years mostly mowed for hay, by a neighbor. It has been fertilized and limed but the amount of round baled hay gotten in is falling each year. Two years ago I hand-reseeded, then culti-packed, a few areas where some excavation work was done. I harrowed first. My hay man(who works full-time as an electrician) noticed the difference in the amount of grass that came up in the newly seeded areas, and was thinking of drilling some fescue last fall in the remaining acreage. He did not tho. I agreed to purchase the seed if he did the work. Any suggestions about this project? I just spoke w/the county agent, he said September may be the best time to plant but March could work if there was not a late freeze. I want to keep my hay man happy, as he not only mows the fields but a few hard-to-get places that would be time-consuming for me to mow by hand. All input is appreciated.
Your best advice will come from your cooperative extension service, agricultural agent. They can test your soil, recommend species, timing, application and management techniques. All for free.
 
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   / re-seeding information wanted #23  
Frost seed red clover and ladino clover. This may increase hay drying time but will end up bringing more grass on.

I would NOT seed grass. There is enough grass seed in your soil to last till kingdom come. Check your fertilizing effect by taking a soil sample. It is possible you are not fertilizing enough or are using too much nitrogen. Generally hayfields need phosphorus and potassium. And to maintain clover, shift your inputs to those two elements and eliminate nitrogen or cut it way back.

It sounds like your grass is being cut when it is tall, fostering these bunching grasses, such as fescue and orchardgrass, to bunch. So when the hay guy cuts everything within an inch or two of the ground, you see bare spots. Unless and until grass is cut more regularly, this is what you get, and tall grass shades out clover. Which is why I recommended taller clovers: red and ladino instead of lower white clovers.

There will be some creeping grasses, such as bluegrass, that would be encouraged by more frequent cutting. But it sounds like the field is being managed for hay, so that will result in a looser turf. If you started mowing it like a lawn every week, it'd convert to bluegrass.
 
   / re-seeding information wanted
  • Thread Starter
#24  
I did countact the county agent, and the conservation office, he said he would come out to look things over after the beginning of March(some sort of government deadline). Curious to see what he says.
 
 
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