# seeding and overseeding No till



## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

As there have been multiple threads dealing with using no till for overseeding grass hay, thought I would post my results in multiple scenarios from 2015 and 2016.

Scenario 1. New og seeding in teff stubble. Seeded Aug 22, 2015. unfortunately, the spray job to kill the teff was a failure. So the areas where the teff died from lodging (was dead when planting og) germination was fine, where the teff was vigorous no germination or establishment and thus the need for overseeding those areas in early 2016. Photos:
































Scenario 2. Overseeding og in established og to thicken stand. overseeding was done 8-23-15.








Scenario 3. Overseeding KY31 fescue in paddocks.




















The image at the bottom is mislabeled, it is KY31 fescue overseeded in paddock. sorry, could not edit at this point.

All the overseeding worked well and I am pleased with the stands obtained. The drill is a GP 1007NT and seeding rates were 22-25# og, and 50# KY31. I did not put a pic of the timothy experience as there was nothing to show-I think it was just planted too deep. The og and fescue were planted deep as well but that worked out as that helped survive a dry spell in the fall seedings and a cold spell in the spring seedings, depth delaying emergence in spring avoiding 22 degree nights on the new seedlings and a dry top 1/2 inch in fall.


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

Nice!

So do you feel this is a path forward to maintain a hayfield long term vs killing off and starting over every few years?

As I've indicated I some of my posts, I struggle with the notion that one needs to replant (mostly speaking of timothy) every 3 or 4 years. I keep thinking that late summer/fall overseeding every year ought to be part of the field maintenance just like lime, fertilizer and herbicide. There should to be a way to keep a hayfield thick with grass long term. I believe timothy and orchard grass as a pure stand are very competitive and I should think keeping the stand populated via overseeding would go along way to keep out undesirable grass and weeds, in addition to prolonging the stand.

Did the drill damage any of the existing grass - probably a moot point since whatever gets sliced by the drill also gets replanted.

IMHO - overseeding is a great idea.

Bill


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## dirtball08 (Jun 26, 2011)

^^^^^^^^^^^ I was thinking the same thing. Overseed grass every couple yrs and spray what weeds get theoughz


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

On, timothy:

I have gotten very little from overseeding timothy on three separate tries with three different pieces of seeding equipment including the brillion till and seed which I know was not planted too deep. One of the efforts (last fall) i know was too deep. When seeded at the right depth about the end of august, you still have to knock the competition from foxtail and crab grass back and they are in their prime at that point, especially if there is any moisture. Of course, if there is no moisture your timothy won't germinate either. I think the competition needs to be knocked back with paraquat to allow the timothy to germinate freely without competition. Maybe I am dreaming but that is what I am seeing. If you put timothy in a bare spot along side of the overseeded areas it grows like mad. That looks a lot like competion to me.

Orchard grass:

I have had mixed success with orchard grass overseeding. If there are bluegrass and fescue spots or cheat or little barley the orchard won'[t germinate and take it over. Where it was flourishing as overseeded in old stands it is where I mow a walking and riding trail, meaning I am keeping the grass cut low so the new seedlings can compete. The overseeding in the new OG field was on bare ground that had been teff that was not killed by the bad spray job last fall. Once hit by frost, the teff died but the grass had been too thick to allow much in the way of Winter annual development thus those patches were still bare in march when I overseeded.

Fescue paddocks

What I see in the paddocks was over graze (never hard in a shoestring horse operation), then seed in august and remove the animals to let it go through the winter without pressure. new stand is so thick I can walk on top of the newly cut grass (lol) but you get the idea. Still have to figure the best approach timing wise to get the dreaded buttercups.

So, in short, it worked but there were special circumstances. I am still going with good kill and re-establishment just going to do it no till and probably use a intermediate teff crop for one cutting during summer. At least I am trying that approach in two fields this year and see how I like the results. I have high stubble shoes on now so all of it will be cut high.


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## Swv.farmer (Jan 2, 2016)

I have a frind ever couple years runs a disc over it lightly about 20 arcers of orchard then spins on about 25 pound of orchard to the arcer he has a beautiful stand ever year weed free I've thought of doing it myself.


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