Seeding Procedure Advice

[Riddler]

Although I have had my NH TC45DA for a few years now, I have used it mostly for construction type work, and to brush hog. Now I am facing seeding a cover crop (a mixture of fescue, clover and brome) over an 8 acre area, which will be covered with 3" of staw, all for erosion control purposes.

I will be discing the area this weekend. After that, my plan was to rent a spinner type broadcast spreader for the seed. After the seed is broadcast, what, if anything, should I be doing before a I rent a straw blower and cover the field with a layer of straw mulch? Can I simply disc it again, or do I have to run some type of harrow over it, to get the seed buried a bit?

 

[RonR]

A lot of folks recommend dragging something to cover it up. A length of chain link fence, a harrow, your disk set at an inch or less and not aggressive. If you can find an old bed springs--the open metal kind, that would work.

Since it's for errosion control, if you have any way to roller it in, that might help. Say with a pulverizer with the scarifiers all the way up, so just the rollers impact the ground.

Hope this helps.
ron

 

[Dargo]

There is a very old implement made just for that. It's called a culti-packer. Mine was made in the 1920's and works just dandy.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Although I have had my NH TC45DA for a few years now, I have used it mostly for construction type work, and to brush hog. Now I am facing seeding a cover crop (a mixture of fescue, clover and brome) over an 8 acre area, which will be covered with 3" of staw, all for erosion control purposes.

I will be discing the area this weekend. After that, my plan was to rent a spinner type broadcast spreader for the seed. After the seed is broadcast, what, if anything, should I be doing before a I rent a straw blower and cover the field with a layer of straw mulch? Can I simply disc it again, or do I have to run some type of harrow over it, to get the seed buried a bit?

Grass seed DOES NOT need to be buried, nor does it do as well when buried. It needs to be pressed into the surface to get positive contact with the dirt though. Dargo's "cultipacker" is the ideal tool for the job. A drag will bury some (to most) of your seed effecting germination. Grass seed needs sunlight to germinate.

The best landscape seeders have a press wheel arraingment simular to a cultipacker. Grain drills with a grass seeder attachment merely drop seed on the surface and drag a chain that just BARELY touches the surface.


And IMHO, 3" of straw is WAY too much. Just enough to barely cover the ground is more than enough. 3" will cut off sunlight from your seed.

 

[RalphVa]

You got good advice from FarmwithJunk. Follow it. Don't disc. Don't use so much straw. Straw is put down as a method to help retain moisture to help the seed to germinate. If you get regular rains or heavy dews every morning, they should be enough without the straw.

I saw some fesuce coming up on some areas I'd broadcast seed onto about 2 or 3 weeks ago. I didn't put down any straw but had a bit of other weeds and stuff in there to kinda shade it. Plus, this was in a semi-shade area.

Ralph

 

[KB9UDE]

I use a harrow section if the soil is dry, then the cultipacker. When it is wet I only use the cultipacker and it pushes the seed perfectly in the ground.

 

[Egon]

In the area in which I grew up there were many an acre of grass sown using a disk drill followed by a diamond harrow. Many drills were also followed by a cultipacker type implement that was attached to the drill. The drills could be set for different depths.

Highway depts regulary spray staw over the side slopes as grass is beign established.

 

[Charolais]

I like to run the cultipacker, then seed and run the cultipacker again. Grass seed needs a firm seed bed.

 

[rdln]

If you do acquire a cultipacker type implement, run it on the ground perpendicular to the slope to avoid making thousands of tiny rivers

 

[HTWT]

Check out the rental companies around you, they may have a seeder that you can rent that has 2 set of cultipacker wheels. Brillant or Landpride are two brands that will be excellent for your needs. Both are drop seeders with the seeds droping between the two sets of cultipacker wheels. I have a Landpride primary seeder that I seed lawns with. I seed 2+ tons of seed each year. I have used it for alalfa, clover, and other small grain seeds.