Spreading grass seed rate

[Eric_Phillips]

I am seeding my pasture finally. This is going to be for several horses. I bought a pasture mix from the Country Max store. The packaging does not say anything about coverage rates. Now the Pasture mix at TSC says 50lb should cover 2 acres. I have an Agri-Fab 125 broadcast spreader. It says at 3mph to set it at 4-5 for coarse seed and 3-4 for fine seed. I though this pasture mix with Fescue, timothy, bluegrass and some clover would be coarse seed. Well I started spreading and used 50lb in less than half an acre. At this rate I cannot afford to seed the whole 4 acres. What should be the coverage rate for grass seed?

Thanks,
Eric

 

[LoneCowboy]

Most pasture mixes are 25lbs/acre

I tend to lay it down heavy (labor is spendy, grass seed is cheap) to about 35lbs or so.

But 25lbs per acre for most types of seed (including what you mentioned)

 

[Cottonhawk]

If you spread the seed on the bare ground with a spreader (vs seeder) I think that it'll take way more than 25 lb/ac. I seeded a large meadow with Orchard/Horse Pature Mix last Fall and it took about 75 lb/ac. At that rate the grass was not as thick as I expected.

 

[Eric_Phillips]

So it sounds like 25lb/acre is the minimum rate. I think spreading 25lb in a 400' long 8' wide is a bit heavy. I think I will just have to close down the spreader a lot and make one run over the area. If I have a lot of seed left over then make a second pass. It seems the settings on the spreader are not correct.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Sully2]

So it sounds like 25lb/acre is the minimum rate. I think spreading 25lb in a 400' long 8' wide is a bit heavy. I think I will just have to close down the spreader a lot and make one run over the area. If I have a lot of seed left over then make a second pass. It seems the settings on the spreader are not correct.

Thanks,
Eric

You can find the spred rate on the internet and it varys WIDELY depending on the TYPE of seed your laying down. The wife and I just finished a back yard I have been working on ( and im dammed glad we are finally done with THAT phase) for almost 13 months now ( rain last year..etc..etc..everything you can dream of was a stumbling block for us)

We spred 22 lbs in 2000 SQUARE FEET of "lawn". We used a "fine fescue" in a deep shade mix ( and I do mean DEEP shade) that suggested coverage was 10 lbs per 1000 sq feet.... The problem is that "fine fescues" dont "tiller" worth a darn...so ( basically..??) 1 blade of grass per seed ( not exactly..but you get the idea)

KY31 fescue will spred ( tiller) about as fast as posion ivy does...lol....so it spreds at a totaly different rate.

400 x 8 is 3200 sq feet and your spreding seed at the rate ( about) of 8 lbs /1000 sq feet...so..bottom line is your NOT using "too much" ( at least not too much to amount to anything)

If you want good pasture..Id keep right on spreding and just "dig deep" for more seed!

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Most grasses will do best at the 25lbs per acre rate as mentioned. Clovers and alfalfa are seeded at a much lower rate when seeded by themselves.

 

[Sully2]

If you spread the seed on the bare ground with a spreader (vs seeder) I think that it'll take way more than 25 lb/ac. I seeded a large meadow with Orchard/Horse Pature Mix last Fall and it took about 75 lb/ac. At that rate the grass was not as thick as I expected.

At that rate..you were spreding seed at the rate of ".6 lb" per 1000 sq feet. MIGHTY skimpy for solid first year grass growth..IMHO ( based on spreding it on BARE earth...)

 

[hazmat]

Seems every spreader I've ever used from $15 Scotts to $500 landpride was inaccurate with their settings & requires user testing & adjustment.

I like to apply in two directions at 1/2 rate each for better coverage.

 

[rifflerunner]

I seeded my pasture last year in the fall with a pasture mix and also mixed in some oats. I used the 25 lbs bags that said they covered 1 acre. I tried to follow that guideline as I was seeding about a 3 acre portion of new pasture. This new pasture had been bulldozed and disced also limed and fertilized after the soil was tested. By following the guidelines, the spread was too thin and I was left with bare patches all over. I had to reseed those bare patches this spring and am now on my 6th bag of pasture mix (25lb bags). So in reality, I got about half the coverage the pasture mix stated. Spend the extra money and get more seed now, because take my word, it is easier to do it now than have to reseed later in the summer.

 

[OldMcDonald]

I have sowed quite a few paddocks over the last 30 odd years in different parts of the world, although not in USA - and always with a fertiliser spinner, never a seed drill. I go heavy and like Hazmat like to cross spread if possible. It is imperative to calibrate your machine by putting say a 25lbs bag in, spread over a measured distance, verify the width of spread, weigh the seed still in the hopper and do it again if necessary. A pain to do first time, but keep a note of the seed mix used and the setting, and you will not need to do the job again. A decent wind gust in the middle of a run can push the seed all to one side of the run and leave gaps, and hopefully cross spreading counteracts this. By heavy I mean around 35lbs, maybe up to 40lbs an acre if the seed bed is not as good as I would like. 22lbs in 2000 sq ft is just ludicrous in a field situation. Most seed suppliers will recommend around 25 to 30 lbs an acre, but a lot depends on seed numbers. Tall Fescue (eg KY31) is quite heavy at close to 200,000 seeds to the pound, whilst Cocksfoot (?Orchard Grass in US?) is more like 450,000. They are similar grasses in growth habit, tillering to form clumps but not spreading by rhizomes. A good seed bed and really accurate spreading or drilling and 25lbs would give you a good stand of pasture grasses and clovers in the first season. Like other posters I prefer to spend a wee bit more on seed and get a decent take first time. When sowing a ley (pronounced LAY) the seed bed should be fine and reasonably firm. There is an old UK farming expression that the secret of a good ley is a firm bottom. If you read more into that than intended then so be it! I always run over the paddock after sowing with something flat that just rubs the surface and puts the thinnest cover on the seed. I currently use a couple of chains joined with spreader bars but a sheet of concrete reinforcing mesh or heavy weldmesh is just as good if you have it. Old McDonald.

 

[Eric_Phillips]

Thanks for all the help. I was planning on using the cultipacker after spreading the seed. I also have a chainlink fence panel that I use as a drag to help level the ground. Should I use the drag instead since it would actually put some dirt over the seed or should I pull the drag behind the cultipacker?

 

[oliver28472]

Either would probably work but it would be best to drag after you seed then cultipack. If you have the cultipacker definitely use it. When are you going to seed? If soon, you will need to be able to water it.

 

[Eric_Phillips]

I wanted to get it in this past weekend but too many things went wrong so it didn't get done. This weekend the wife is braiding at a horse show so I need to look after the kids. I am hoping she is home early enough on Sunday to get it done. I am hoping it will be wet enough to not have to water. It needs to get in so I can get horses on it this fall or next spring.

 

[oliver28472]

Be prepared to overseed in the fall unless you can keep it all watered. With no root system the summer heat will kill it unless you either water it or get enough rain. I lucked out on a little patch in the yard a couple years ago when we had a lot of spring and summer rain. Wouldn't work this year, we are dry, dry, dry.

 

[OldMcDonald]

Sorry I cannot comment on the use of the cultipacker. It depends on your ground (eg does it crust when dryingso preventing seedling emergence or would the crumbling effect of the chain link counteract that) so obviously only you can decide. Also unable to comment on the need for irrigation because I do not know your weather patterns. It might rain here in the next few days - quite likely in fact, and then just about 100% guarantee there will be no more until the last few days in September, so seeding grass here now would be stupid, on the other hand my last place was in Northern Scotland and this week would be ideal - if the land was dry enough! Old McDonald.

 

[mudcat]

Be prepared to overseed in the fall unless you can keep it all watered. With no root system the summer heat will kill it unless you either water it or get enough rain. I lucked out on a little patch in the yard a couple years ago when we had a lot of spring and summer rain. Wouldn't work this year, we are dry, dry, dry.

I can relate on this point. Late Feb. I turned over and reseeded about an acre. It has rained three times since. Something green is growing and it sure doesn't look like what put out.