# New orchard grass stand



## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Hey guys,

So I planted 10 acres of orcahrd grass last year and I'm now beginning to figure out that it's not as easy as I thought it would be. LOL. I worked the ground up last fall and spread it with a broadcast seeder. I assume either I missed some spots or just did not have my RPMs up high enough at times as I had some spots that had a really good stand and others that were not so good. I was considering trying to overseed again this spring however I also needed to spray for weeds (I have had a bad invasion of Henbit this spring in it) and knew I couldn't do both. I have decided just to wait and spray at the same time I apply the liquid fertilizer so I will only have to make one trip over the field. Since this is my first year and the stand is not that great I was told by a friend of mine that I should wait till the grass goes to seed before I cut it this year. I know this will hurt the quality of the hay and probably only allow me to get one cutting but was told it would pay huge dividends for next year. I had planned on just cutting it at least twice this year and then no tilling it this fall but now I don't know. Any suggestions would be appreciated? Thanks guys.

Kyle


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Kyle, I had the same problem. Although I planted some fields with a press wheel drill and some with a no-till drill, the results is the same in all fields. Mostly good stands but some spots in some fields just hardly came up. I am going to run over my spots with a regular drill as soon as I can get on them. Needs to dry a bit first. I will not let mine over mature, no matter what. I'll take my chances and if that doesn't help, then I will no-till in Sept. Mike


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Mike,

I thought about running over the fields with a no-till drill this spring as well however if I did this then I would not be able to spray the field with 2-4d till later on in the year due to the fact that the 2-4d would kill the young seedlings. This has been the hard part to figure out for me as to which is the lesser of the two evils, either to re-seed and not spray for weeds or to wait and re-seed this fall and spray for weeds now????????

Kyle


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Kyle, I think that I would spray now and clean it up and then no-till in the fall. Might check to see what else you could use this spring in that particular field. I usually clean mine up both spring and fall on most fields with horsey hay. LOL Mike


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Mike,

Thanks for the info. I think I will wait till fall to re-seed and do like you said and spray this spring. I'm also considering planting a few more acres this fall in orcahrd grass as well however I think I will just spray the field to kill everything and then no-till the seed into the ground. Seems like less work than plowing and discing and hopefully I will get better results! yeah this "horsey hay" is definitely gonna be harder to raise than I thought. It makes those 7 dollar bales not look so expensive now!!!! LOL


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## hayray (Feb 23, 2009)

I wouldn't worry too much about henbit, that is a fall annual, very common in a fall seeding. Easy to spray some 2-4D Ester on that to control broad leaves. I would go out and now and broadcast or no-till some more seed on the bare spots and maybe consider putting in some Italian ryegrass on the bare spots, a little more aggressive there. You can get 2 cuts this year. Most of it is not going to head out very well the first year so I would not wait too long. Orchardgrass is pretty hard to hurt.


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## hayray (Feb 23, 2009)

tnwalkingred said:


> Mike,
> 
> I thought about running over the fields with a no-till drill this spring as well however if I did this then I would not be able to spray the field with 2-4d till later on in the year due to the fact that the 2-4d would kill the young seedlings. This has been the hard part to figure out for me as to which is the lesser of the two evils, either to re-seed and not spray for weeds or to wait and re-seed this fall and spray for weeds now????????
> 
> Kyle


2-4D won't kill your seedlings.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

I learned the hard way that broadcast spreading light seeds is tricky. My spreader throws orchardgrass/fescue and other big fluffy seeds about 8 feet, running the PTO at 540 RPM. And a little breeze really screws things up!

I will often spread 1/2 one way, then 1/2 at a 90 degree angle. Twice the work. For the last couple of years, I just rent the Brillion seeder from the FSA office for anything over 2 acres--just easier and better results.

Henbit doesn't seem to harm OG yield too much and acts as a fair ground cover while a new field is getting started. Spraying with 2-4D takes care of it. I like to throw about 5# of mammoth red clover out to provide ground cover and weed competition. It dies off in about 2 years and provides a little nitrogen in the meantime.

Ralph


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

I am definitely going to go with the no-till this fall to overseed this ten acres as well as any new stands I may plant. So even if I did overseed now and decided to spray a month from now the 2-4d would not kill the new seedlings that would come up after over-seeding?????

Kyle


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

tnwalkingred said:


> I am definitely going to go with the no-till this fall to overseed this ten acres as well as any new stands I may plant. So even if I did overseed now and decided to spray a month from now the 2-4d would not kill the new seedlings that would come up after over-seeding?????
> 
> Kyle


2-4-D is a broadleaf killer.Shouldn't hurt grasses at all.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

2-4d will not hurt established grass, but will absolutely kill seedling grass. (See warning label) Just about too late in the mid-south to establish grass before the heat comes. 82 degrees HERE today! Regards, Mike


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## hayray (Feb 23, 2009)

I wouldn't wait until fall, I would get going on those week spots to keep weeds down.


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

You guys that advocate spring seeding must have a better track record than here.... An orchardgrass stand that would be planted now in this area would stand a 99% chance of dying till fall. I have allowed for the freak year when it rains every other day, other wise it would have been 100%.

The OG might suprise you - A thin stand might not look too bad till it comes time to cut it, but if there are no plants at spots, then those areas will only grow weeds. Does it ever get hot and dry where you live? Maybe a week or two without a rain in the summer? Can a young OG plant survive that? You might think about killing the entire stand and planting another crop for this season if you really need the production. Maybe even like was suggested, the Italian Ryegrass, or maybe some (gasp!)teff. Otherwise, the fall seeding would be my choice. If it were here, I'd kill the whole thing and plant something else.

Rodney


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