Seeding Procedure Advice

[hazmat]

Well............... You asked........................

Landpride seeders rent from "New Albany Tractor" (New Holland dealer), New Albany INDIANA. (Very southern end of the state, just across the Mighty Ohio River from Louisville Kentucky)

since you are on a roll, how about MA or southern NH/ME? I couldn't even rent a landscape rake at the 3 closest rental yards. All wanted to send them out with the tractor (@ $300/day). I found a used one at the deere dealer for 50% off ($600), so I bought it.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

since you are on a roll, how about MA or southern NH/ME? I couldn't even rent a landscape rake at the 3 closest rental yards. All wanted to send them out with the tractor (@ $300/day). I found a used one at the deere dealer for 50% off ($600), so I bought it.

Just call me Butter, 'cause I'm on a roll!

Well, that's just a tad bit out of my neighborhood. I work for a general contractor that occasionally does work in Indiana. That's why I've done some business with the dealer in New Albany. So far, they haven't sent me on any expeditions back east.

If I'm ever up your way though, I'll keep an eye out for your seeder

 

[Riddler]

Wow, all of the input is very helpful. Just to clarify, the 3" of straw is the county's idea of a BMP for "winterizing" (i.e., erosion control) in my neck of the woods. Personally, I like the idea of a thinner layer of mulch, especially if it will help the cover crop germinate more successfully.

Also, after spreading the mulch, I will be using a "crimper," which looks a heck of alot like the device you folks have been suggesting. It "knits" the staw into the soil a bit to help it stay in place. It sounds like it will also press the seed into good contact with the soil under the mulch. That seems to suggest that all I need to do is broadcast the seed, blow the staw (less than 3" thick), and then crimp. With 10 acres to deal with, I am very happy to skip the intermediate step of running a harrow or disc.

 

[AlanB]

The crimper I am familiar with will not replace or eliminate the step of the cultipacker (or whatever you care to call it)

We do the crimping to insure the straw cover does not wander off on slopes in the rain.

We cultipack or roll to get good seed contact with the soil.

 

[Riddler]

Alan, thanks for the clarification. I know that germination won't be as good, but won't the crimping process press a certain amount of the seed into decent contact with the soil? I can live with less than optimum germination because the cover crop is just there to aid in erosion control for one winter (the site gets planted to something else next Spring).

Also, I didn't mention it before, but until I mowed and disced the site a few weeks back, wild annual and perennial grasses had been growing undisturbed on the site for many years. Even with discing, I suspect that some percentage of the wild grasses will do their thing once the rains start, supplementing the part of the cover crop that germinates successfully.

I'll hunt down a cultipacker, roller or similar implement, and kill an extra day running it, if it's really necessary to get significant germination of the cover crop. If there is a decent chance I'll get the minimum result I need without that though, I'd love to skip it. Anyway, I appreciate the honest views, one way or the other.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Wow, all of the input is very helpful. Just to clarify, the 3" of straw is the county's idea of a BMP for "winterizing" (i.e., erosion control) in my neck of the woods. Personally, I like the idea of a thinner layer of mulch, especially if it will help the cover crop germinate more successfully.

Also, after spreading the mulch, I will be using a "crimper," which looks a heck of alot like the device you folks have been suggesting. It "knits" the staw into the soil a bit to help it stay in place. It sounds like it will also press the seed into good contact with the soil under the mulch. That seems to suggest that all I need to do is broadcast the seed, blow the staw (less than 3" thick), and then crimp. With 10 acres to deal with, I am very happy to skip the intermediate step of running a harrow or disc.

I can't imagine why you'd need a 3" "mulch cover" to protect grass from winter weather. I'm in Kentucky. We're about as hilly as anyone. (Just not as HIGH of hills as out west in central Kentucky) We have harsh "mid-west" weather. Around here, the MOST you'll ever see is a thin covering of straw, maybe 1/2" thick. With that comes issues of its own. Straw generally promotes weed growth. In a great many cases, we just seed and leave UNCOVERED. That promotes quick growth and germination. THAT is the best way to hold soil through the winter.

I'm learning quite a bit more on the subject myself. Just up the road from me is a 450 acre sod farm. I've grown pasture/forage grasses, and hayfields before, but now I'm getting an education (by observation) on turf grass. They NEVER mulch. Just direct seed and watch it grow.

 

[AlanB]

I imagine it will work without the cultipacker, and it would certainly save some time if you did not. We just work yards, and the cultipacker is readily available usually so it just does not take us too much time to do it.

You are going to get some of the same effect in a limited area just from your tractor wheels.

I guess I don't know, and there are probably as many opinions out there on the "right" way to do it as there are people. It seems to me that you just need to find that balance between an acceptable job and how much time / effort and money you are willing to put into it.

Something we do is too plant a Rye as well as the Fescue. The Rye will pop up quick and add some stabilization as well. (it also helps us as the customer see's "instant" green)

As FWJ said the sod guys don't use straw. When I asked it was because there area's were flat, and they did not want any outside contaminants (weeds)

One other thing that always sticks in my mind is one of the hydroseeders advertisements is that it can grow grass on a telephone pole. Some reason that always sticks with me. Of course in my area most of our customers want us to grow grass on rock and gravel in deep shade......

 

[Riddler]

With nearly 10 acres to cover, rice straw is the only cost effective material I can get right now. The county's guidelines say to cover at a rate of 42 bales an acre. I'll know in less than a week how close to sensible the county's estimate is

If rye gets going quicker, I'll make sure that my seed mix includes some percentage of it. There rest will be fescue and mixed clover, as well as some brome (aka chess) perhaps.

 

[rdln]

Which is it? 42 bales or 3" thick. My rule of thumb is 60 bales per acre hand shaken which in your case is a lot of work or a lot of workers. hand shaking keeps the straws intact and less prone to wind movement. I have never used a straw blower (one of those hard to find rental pieces ya know) but have heard it uses less bales/acre which might make the 42 bales right on!

so that we are talking apples=apples 30 bales wheat straw fit in regular pickup bed 3 high and top two courses over bed rails

As for time to cultipack 10 acres, I would guesstimate 2 hours with an eight footer.