# teff grass first field!



## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

This is my first Teff grass field. Really liking the way it grows on my worst ground. Approximately 20 inches tall and pretty thick. Planted August 1st. Had no rain till 2 weeks ago and has only had 1 inch of rain altogether. Was planted with low soil moisture. Field prep was that it was disced twice.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Just disked? What equipment did you plant it with. Everything I've read said it needs a firm seedbed. Unless your ground is different then mind disking doesn't leave a firm seedbed. That's a pretty nice looking field. Looks like it is starting to head out. Better cut it. As soon as the this rainy spell here is over I'm going to cut my 4th cutting of Teff.


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

John Deere 3800 planter (neighbors)
Rolled over it after I planted it with the cultimulcher.(tines up)
I'm going to let it grow as much as I can because I only expect one cutting I'm one month from a frost chance and I might graze it. Not sure tho


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

sethd11 said:


> John Deere 3800 planter (neighbors)
> Rolled over it after I planted it with the cultimulcher.(tines up)
> I'm going to let it grow as much as I can because I only expect one cutting I'm one month from a frost chance and I might graze it. Not sure thIf.


If you are sure one month from frost as long as it stays warm you could cut bale this cutting then have pretty good growth in the next month. I found where I am that I cut every 25 days or so after the 1st cutting.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

yep, 25-28 days here also in Va. I suppose that had I put some N on it after 1st cutting that would have helped. I killed mine so it is ready to plant timothy if we ever get any rain-ground is like concrete now. Teslan- what are you putting in after teff? Do you have time this fall?


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Hayman1 said:


> yep, 25-28 days here also in Va. I suppose that had I put some N on it after 1st cutting that would have helped. I killed mine so it is ready to plant timothy if we ever get any rain-ground is like concrete now. Teslan- what are you putting in after teff? Do you have time this fall?


I'm going to plant alfalfa in the spring. I couldn't this fall as we sprayed with Latigo to get the broadleafs earlier this year and the carry over (I can't remember right now the days) was to long to plant alfalfa this fall. In two seasons I'm taking back over a farm we have cash leased out to a neighbor that is currently 145 acres of orchard and brome grass. I'm thinking of ripping up 70 acres of it and planting teff for 2-3 years before planting alfalfa. Currently it has some alfalfa in it and has had issues with stem nematode.


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## Waterway64 (Dec 2, 2011)

I have a neighbor who grew up in Ethiopia. I guess teff seed made into flour and used in place of wheat flour makes for some tasty treats. Mel


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

http://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-24-Ounce-Packages/dp/B000EDI0X2

Here you go. Teff Flour


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

It's a different variety of Teff.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Teslan said:


> I'm going to plant alfalfa in the spring. I couldn't this fall as we sprayed with Latigo to get the broadleafs earlier this year and the carry over (I can't remember right now the days) was to long to plant alfalfa this fall. In two seasons I'm taking back over a farm we have cash leased out to a neighbor that is currently 145 acres of orchard and brome grass. I'm thinking of ripping up 70 acres of it and planting teff for 2-3 years before planting alfalfa. Currently it has some alfalfa in it and has had issues with stem nematode.


You used Latigo on the teff? I thought it was too sensitive for herbicides-or at least I thought that was what I read. I suppose you could do 4 cuttings here and follow with OG in spring early but you would not get much og the first season.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Sethd11:

That's some beautiful pictures. Can you give us more details--planting rate, soil type, when you planted, etc.?

My experiment didn't turn out as well. Mine never got that rich green like yours. That 4" rain right after planting washed a lot of seed down the hill.

But what was left turned out to be a good forage crop. I had 9 horses on 6 acres and they couldn't keep up with the growth. It does need to be shredded or you get eye problems.

Tried it as a cover crop over a OG/pasture mix--didn't work--too competitive.

Back to the drawing board.

Ralph


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## discbinedr (Mar 4, 2013)

Eye problems? Please elaborate.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Hayman1 said:


> You used Latigo on the teff? I thought it was too sensitive for herbicides-or at least I thought that was what I read. I suppose you could do 4 cuttings here and follow with OG in spring early but you would not get much og the first season.


Yes Latigo is recommended for weed control on Teff. I also had quite a bit of alfalfa still growing in the field after one ripping, and two discings. So I needed to get that out of there as there might have been to much toxicity left from it next spring if I hadn't. This particular field has lots of weed seed in the soil from an owner 20 years ago that let weeds grow rampant. Still amazes me how a lousy landowner letting a field go for just one season can affect it 20 years down the road.


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

Rjmoses, seeding rate was 8 lbs and acre or so. Planted august 1st. I'm pretty happy with it. Next spring I'm going to plant 30 acres of it all on clay ground. Ground is drained with old field tile but still holds moisture pretty well. The funny part is that it germinated with barely any moisture and grew with no rain for about 24 days. Then with the 1 inch exactly of rain it shot up to where its at now. However weeds are starting to poke through.


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

Oh forgot. It was coated seed.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

sethd11 said:


> Rjmoses, seeding rate was 8 lbs and acre or so. Planted august 1st. I'm pretty happy with it. Next spring I'm going to plant 30 acres of it all on clay ground. Ground is drained with old field tile but still holds moisture pretty well. The funny part is that it germinated with barely any moisture and grew with no rain for about 24 days. Then with the 1 inch exactly of rain it shot up to where its at now. However weeds are starting to poke through.


That's great it germinated without rain. I had about 3-4 acres that I planted in the spring that didn't germinate as it didn't have moisture. But then I think when we don't get any moisture to germinate seeds it's a bit different then when you in Illinois don't have any moisture due to humidity.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

discbinedr said:


> Eye problems? Please elaborate.


The seed stems will poke a horse in the eye and scratch/irritate the cornea.

Ralph


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

sethd11 you've sparked our interest in trying some Teff next season. You field of Teff looks great. I've been researching a bit this afternoon. Looks like about 8 lbs. per acre and 1.3 million seeds per lbs. I found the site, I'm certain they're trying to sell seed but looks like a lot of good info nonetheless :

http://teffgrass.com/

Teff Grass Manual in .pdf form:

http://teffgrass.com/wp-content/themes/tg/downloads/TeffGrassManagementGuide.pdf

BTW: What is a JD 3500 planter? Everything I've read recommended a Brillion type small seed planter. We only have a broadcast spreader and a JD BD1108 Box Drill with no small seed box. I believe our local JD dealer rents a Brillion type planter.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Grateful11 said:


> sethd11 you've sparked our interest in trying some Teff next season. You field of Teff looks great. I've been researching a bit this afternoon. Looks like about 8 lbs. per acre and 1.3 million seeds per lbs. I found the site, I'm certain they're trying to sell seed but looks like a lot of good info nonetheless :
> 
> http://teffgrass.com/
> 
> ...


I don't think teffgrass.com is selling seed at all. It's a great site. If you want seed message swmnhay here on haytalk.com. He sells Producers Choice Tiffany Teff. I bought mine from him. He was more affordable then any seed dealers around here for many kinds of Teff. Plus most seed dealers here have no clue about Teff at all. I planted my Teff with a Great Plains Solid Stand drill with a small seed box and it worked fine. You probably would want to rent that Brillion one though if you don't have a small seed box on your drill.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

sethd11 said:


> Rjmoses, seeding rate was 8 lbs and acre or so. Planted august 1st. I'm pretty happy with it. Next spring I'm going to plant 30 acres of it all on clay ground. Ground is drained with old field tile but still holds moisture pretty well. The funny part is that it germinated with barely any moisture and grew with no rain for about 24 days. Then with the 1 inch exactly of rain it shot up to where its at now. However weeds are starting to poke through.


I used 10 # and did not have any weed issues. However, I had chiselled, disked, and harrowed the ground to get rid of weeds and wiregrass. I had germ in about 3-4 days after I rolled it in but got some moisture on it shortly thereafter and it took off. May timeframe


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

The field I planted had been in hay for 10 yrs. The seeder I used had a small seed box was pretty worn out measuring wise.


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

Hayman1 said:


> I used 10 # and did not have any weed issues. However, I had chiselled, disked, and harrowed the ground to get rid of weeds and wiregrass. I had germ in about 3-4 days after I rolled it in but got some moisture on it shortly thereafter and it took off. May timeframe


Wiregrass or what I assume is Ryegrass, my late FIL always called Ryegrass, Wiregrass, seems to be one tough cookie to get rid of in these parts. We asked my farming neighbor where the heck all the Ryegrass around here came from and he jokingly said y'alls place. He said it's darn near impossible to get rid but his first suggestion is extensive soil test to see how the fields test out.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Grateful11 said:


> Wiregrass or what I assume is Ryegrass, my late FIL always called Ryegrass, Wiregrass, seems to be one tough cookie to get rid of in these parts. We asked my farming neighbor where the heck all the Ryegrass around here came from and he jokingly said y'alls place. He said it's darn near impossible to get rid but his first suggestion is extensive soil test to see how the fields test out.


Wiregrass and ryegrass are two way different animals. Wiregrass is like bermuda-has long runners and when you plow it up, you can see long white runners everywhere. Just takes over. It is a real pita in a garden because it loves fertility and thrives. RU at high rates is effective on it but kills everything else as well. Some call it crabgrass. At any rate, its presence is always someone elses fault. It is not a fertility issue or lime, just gets there and proliferates. I though we were on the northern edge of its territory but not sure about coastal areas north of here.

Rye grass isn't a problem for me. It is just fodder adn goes along with whatever else I have in the field. I cut my hay before it goes to seed so any ryegrass that is there from seed planted usually goes away fairly quickly.


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

Gotcha. We have plenty of Crabgrass too. Not sure why my late FIL always called it Ryegrass Wiregrass but he also called Cornflower, Raggedy Robin. Most of his farming was self taught and he was a good farmer. He ran a Dairy for about 60 years. He lost his Father when he was 17 and his only brother when he was about 30. Even after having a stroke as long as my wife could get him in or on his tractors he could still do a full days work.


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## goldenpennyelk (Sep 28, 2009)

Enjoying the wealth of knowledge here. My question is about the season following Teff. I understand multible cuttings on year it is planted and it will freeze out over winter so how are you handling the ground preperation for the following year? Do you chisel plow and disk late fall? Wait untill spring to break old teff ground up? Is the sod an issue for next season crop wether it be hay or grain? I am nearly convinced to try teff next spring but need to think about the next year out to. One more question, has anyone tried teff followed with teff?


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

If my field of Teff was smoother then it is I would just drill in alfalfa next year without doing anything. But it is rough so I have to rework it. If I was replanting teff and it wasn't rough I would just drill it in also with no ground prep.


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Wire grass and crabgrass are two different grasses. Great looking stand Seth. Congrats to you. Let us know how it does and yield. Didn't know this many guys on here were planting teff. I was thinking about planting it behind wheat. I have a 50 acre field thata buddy of mine gave me for free. I planted beans on it after wheat this year and could tell very quickly that it had been sprayed with Grazon, milestone or something else. Looks like no beans for 5-10 years, so double crop teff might work.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

NDVA HAYMAN said:


> Wire grass and crabgrass are two different grasses. Great looking stand Seth. Congrats to you. Let us know how it does and yield. Didn't know this many guys on here were planting teff. I was thinking about planting it behind wheat. I have a 50 acre field thata buddy of mine gave me for free. I planted beans on it after wheat this year and could tell very quickly that it had been sprayed with Grazon, milestone or something else. Looks like no beans for 5-10 years, so double crop teff might work.


thanks for the correction- looked it up and we have wiregrass with runners that won't die.

BTW- I did teff this year because of a toxicity problem with herbicides and timothy. Deep tilled with hopes of dilution if nothing else on the carryover issue. Did you till before the beans or go min or notill? I plowed, disced etc. We will know in several weeks if the timothy just planted germinates or not.


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

Quick update, Teff got hit with with windstorm and a lot laid down. My dad cut it 3 days and tedded it and rake it today hoping to bale. Too wet, maybe tom? I'm on my honeymoon in Wyoming. Hopefully he can bale tomorrow. Will post pictures tomorrow.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Well we had two nights of temps of about 30-31 degrees. It sure killed the Teff. So what they say is true. It can't handle below freezing temps.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Teslan said:


> Well we had two nights of temps of about 30-31 degrees. It sure killed the Teff. So what they say is true. It can't handle below freezing temps.


Must not be doing too well in the Dakotas with 3 feet of snow on it either!


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

Alright. Sry to take sinking to get final update on it. I will be planting more next year. Horse customers love this grass. I guess their horses can't get enough. I got 5$ bucks a bale for it and it baled beautifully. We had a really hard time getting it dry though so that may be an issue next year. Other serious issue was that it was a b**** to now down because we had a windstorm that layer it down. I set the header at 4 inches or so and it mowed great after that.

Yield was about 40 bales to the acre at about 50-55 lbs a bale. Regrowth on field is about 10-12 inches average. I will either cut or graze not sure yet.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

sethd11 said:


> Alright. Sry to take sinking to get final update on it. I will be planting more next year. Horse customers love this grass. I guess their horses can't get enough. I got 5$ bucks a bale for it and it baled beautifully. We had a really hard time getting it dry though so that may be an issue next year. Other serious issue was that it was a b**** to now down because we had a windstorm that layer it down. I set the header at 4 inches or so and it mowed great after that.
> 
> Yield was about 40 bales to the acre at about 50-55 lbs a bale. Regrowth on field is about 10-12 inches average. I will either cut or graze not sure yet.


the trick is getting them to accept and feed it. Once they do, horses don't want anything else-must be intoxicating! Go figure with low sugar. I really like to make it, very predictable and it sets up a no-till reseeding to regular grass or alfalfa like nothing else I have seen.


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