# teff disaster???



## IAhaymakr (Jun 4, 2008)

I planted teff grass about a month ago into a perfect seedbed following alfalfa that had been killed with round up. I seeded about 9 lbs per acre with a brillion sure stand. A few days after seeding it got 3 tenths and then was dry, really dry, until last friday when it got over 2 inches. So far nothing is growing except some foxtail. Our temps have been unusually cold, some high 80's for a few days, but more frequently high 60's and nights near 40. I am worried it may have started then died, although I understood it to be very drought tolerant. I am hoping that it has just been too cold, but I am tired of waiting and will plant beans soon if it doesn't grow. Any ideas????


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## Diamondgfarm (Feb 12, 2009)

Mine did the same. But we've had close to 6" of rain in the last month and nothing. Got frustrated and over seeded with sorghum-sudan. We'll see what happens.


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## 2255 (Dec 15, 2008)

Soil temp. was too cold. Needs to be 60 degrees and stay above that.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

IAhaymakr said:


> I planted teff grass about a month ago into a perfect seedbed following alfalfa that had been killed with round up. I seeded about 9 lbs per acre with a brillion sure stand. A few days after seeding it got 3 tenths and then was dry, really dry, until last friday when it got over 2 inches. So far nothing is growing except some foxtail. Our temps have been unusually cold, some high 80's for a few days, but more frequently high 60's and nights near 40. I am worried it may have started then died, although I understood it to be very drought tolerant. I am hoping that it has just been too cold, but I am tired of waiting and will plant beans soon if it doesn't grow. Any ideas????


Hopefully it didn't germinate with the first 3/10ths of rain and layed in dry dirt until you got the 2".I would think if it is alive yet it would be emerging soon.3-7 day germination plus a few more to get it out of the ground,as cool as its been prly closer to the 7days.Hopefully it pops out in the next couple days.
Kinda in the same boat with some alfalfa/annual ryegrass seeded about same time.Weatherman was predicting 1-2" an got the .3" than the dry blast furnace of heat and wind.I have a thin uneven stand but hoping seed didn't germinate with the first .3".And now that we got a soaker the rest comes.
Oh the joys of hay production.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Maybe reseed with Teff?


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## kingranchf350 (Dec 13, 2009)

We planted 15 acres of Teff in June of this year at a rate of 15 lb./acre, needless to say the first cutting was less than I had hoped for - found armyworms in it the day we started cutting - usually they move on after cutting - but these did not - we had to spray after we baled it. We fertilized it three days later - only to see that within a week half of the stand had died. The grass performed so poorly the rest of this year that we were unable to get a second cutting - needless to say this was our first and only year with Teff.


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## Barry Bowen (Nov 16, 2009)

When it comes to teff, this is not something that you try. Teff is something that you make a decision to do, and then do what it takes to get it done. Did you get a perfect stand the first time you tried orchard, or alfalfa, or what ever is best suited to your climate? I have been doing teff for several years now in Maryland. I have some fields that were a great success, and some that were a disaster. I learned from each experience what works and what does not work for teff. It does take rain to get it going, and it does have to be 60 in the soil and stay above 60 in the soil. If you learn what teff needs, it will reward you with one of the best horse hays ever made. But, the more farmers that give it a bad name, the more I can charge for it, because fewer of us will be growing it. Thanks guys.


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## Ridgerunner (Jul 10, 2009)

swmnhay said:


> Hopefully it didn't germinate with the first 3/10ths of rain and layed in dry dirt until you got the 2".I would think if it is alive yet it would be emerging soon.3-7 day germination plus a few more to get it out of the ground,as cool as its been prly closer to the 7days.Hopefully it pops out in the next couple days.
> Kinda in the same boat with some alfalfa/annual ryegrass seeded about same time.Weatherman was predicting 1-2" an got the .3" than the dry blast furnace of heat and wind.I have a thin uneven stand but hoping seed didn't germinate with the first .3".And now that we got a soaker the rest comes.
> Oh the joys of hay production.


If your wondering if the seed is still alive, pick a small 2ft x 2ft area and irrigate it. If it comes up, then the remainder of the field is just waiting for rain.


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## MikeRF (Dec 21, 2009)

Have grown Teff here in Ontario for the last two years and have struggled in both. First year we made every mistake in the book including the biggest which is having too soft a seedbed. 75% of the acres never did germinate well enough for us to persevere with. The remainder showed enough promise for us to try again this year.
Having learned a few lessons we managed to get a good establishment (even in a cool, wet June 09) only for heavy mid July rains to knock it all over. For me lodging is the single biggest drawback to this crop and the one which has made us decide unfortunately to stear clear in the future.


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## leo (Apr 29, 2009)

hey mike where in ontario do ya hail from, im 40 min south of hamilton


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## MikeRF (Dec 21, 2009)

A couple of minutes north of Guelph, Leo. 
Barry, have you got any tips on how to deal with Teff when it does go down. I'm sure you have had experience of heavy summer rains in your part of the world.


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## Barry Bowen (Nov 16, 2009)

When the teff goes down it is always a problem. Best solution I found was to cut the field in one direction where it is down. I know that can be a waste of time, but we did manage to get the entire field cut and baled. Next cutting we cut perpendicular to what we did first cutting and that seemed to help with loosing plant stand in the first cut tire paths.


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## MikeRF (Dec 21, 2009)

Thanks Barry. As you say a painful solution to a painful problem. 
I may yet succumb and try and find a few acres to plant to Teff for 2010. The prospect of having a break crop to T/A with good margin potential which makes use of all existing haying equipment is still attractive.


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## SouthField (May 11, 2010)

IAhaymakr said:


> I planted teff grass about a month ago into a perfect seedbed following alfalfa that had been killed with round up. I seeded about 9 lbs per acre with a brillion sure stand. A few days after seeding it got 3 tenths and then was dry, really dry, until last friday when it got over 2 inches. So far nothing is growing except some foxtail. Our temps have been unusually cold, some high 80's for a few days, but more frequently high 60's and nights near 40. ....Any ideas????


Ouch, soil was too likely way too cold. Teff may have the nutritional qualities of cold season grasses but it is not a cold season grass. Soil temps should be above 60 though preferably closer to 70.

Whatever your seeding depth, we've found that 1/8 inch is about as far down as you want to go. We generally broadcast and drag a chain link harrow behind the broadcaster and it does a great job. Doing it just before rain is forecast will kickstart your field nicely and you'll have emergence generally 2.5 - 3 days after any sort of moisture. Once the grass builds up it's reserves a bit it has pretty good drought tolerance but remember that the root system is pretty shallow. If there is anything chewing on it before it gets really established the animal will most likely pull it out of the ground. I know that seems like common sense but you'd be surprised what we've seen people do


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