# Plant Timothy in North East Ohio



## 560Dennis (Jun 1, 2015)

New , I want grow Timothy + BirdsFoot Trefoil. How many pound to the acre? 
Should I till a Seed bed and just plant it with or without winter wheat. I don't have a clue. 
If I plant in the fall will I have a hay crop in the late spring?


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I plant 15 pounds an acre of timothy for a pure stand.....probably could get by with a little less like 12 pounds but I like to seed a little heavy to ensure a thick stand. Not sure on the trefoil.....no experience with it but if it's anything like clover a couple pounds goes a long ways. I prefer a worked seedbed when planting timothy but if your ground is in good shape and smooth no till will work also. I would not plant wheat with it.....the wheat will mature before the timothy and will turn to straw before the timothy is ready to cut for hay......planted in fall timothy will give a good cutting in the spring/early summer.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

I have heard it said that Birdsfoot is hard to establish.....Timothy is very aggressive....not sure if that would be a good mix.

Regards, Mike


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## Bgriffin856 (Nov 13, 2013)

Birdsfoot trefoil timothy mix is a common mix around here. Your best bet would be to buy the seed already mixed and seed it to the seed companys recommendation. Northeast Ohio is rather similar to Northwest Pennsylvania so I would seed into a fully tilled seedbed for best results. I'd forget the wheat too much competion. I'd seed sometime in August. We tried seeding some timothy reedcanary clover mix in September last year with winter wheat as cover and there was lots of winterkill. Gonna reseed it


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

My first question would be what is your market? If you are aiming at people with pleasure horses, then you have a good mix. If you are looking at higher end race/polo horses or dairy, you may want to consider alfalfa if your land will grow it.

To answer your question directly, I put in a 2:1 mix of timothy/birdsfoot at around 10 lbs per acre with no cover crop. I plant in mid-August with a brillion seeder on tilled ground. This lets the seeding come up and get established a little before the frosts hit. Usually any weeds that come up are killed out by frost before they go to seed. You shouldn't have any problem getting a cutting off it the next year, but I tend to let it wait a little longer into the summer than usual before I mow so the ground can firm up nicely before I run equipment over it. I prefer tilling the field before seeding it in order to get the best possible surface without ruts, bumps, etc. If there are any there, you will have to live with them until you refit the field or clean them out after your seeding has already been established and then reseed that spot.

Bgriffin's idea of having it premixed is good, but make sure to check the seed when it arrives. The last time I ordered seed premixed, I opened the bag and it looked like they had just dumped one seed in and then the other without actually mixing it. I ended up putting it into pails and hand mixing it myself. One other recommendation would be to soil test the field and figure out what you may need as far as lime or fertilizer. There are folks on here with a lot more experience/knowledge than me when it comes to that stuff, but from what I have learned, it will probably help the stand get established if you can incorporate the lime/fertilizer that is needed into the soil during the tilling process. If you do get a soil test, the folks on here can help with recommendations if you post the results.


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## 560Dennis (Jun 1, 2015)

Thank you all for the help. It's been 50 years since I farmed . So I ask questions first, get few do overs in farming.

Tell me you definition of till seed bed .

This is what I vaguely remember. 
1. August next to last put the roll over (bottom plows) on and plow it. 
2. Hook up JD 12 Disk Harrow disk it 2 times
3. Hook up drag to smooth i out good . I don't have a drag Harrow any more rotted away 
4. Set up Oliver Superior Drill to 15 Lbs . 
5. I drop seed from hose on seeder to ground and drill disk cover . Or should I put the seed down the tubes to drill disk , may be confuseing if you no fimilar with the Oliver. Oh I did drag a chains off the back of the drill . How deep should the disk be set? 
Oh we still have Dunham cultimulcher , the cultivator as of now are not functional , lets say 
I think thats what I remember 
I remember the smoother the field the less strain on the legs when loading hay on the baler and wagon. alot less. 
thanks any tips on the above steps will greatly improve the success of this project . 
We have about 60 acres to plant.

edit Good Qustion on the market , we have a year to find a market before we plant. 
WHY Timothy and Birdsfoot 
We are inthe process of converting the farm to organic. We need a crop we can manage over that 3 year transition. and hay is our best option. We feel Cause it fits , from my past I remember it producing great hay , the timothy was as tall as the rear wheel on a Farmall C mowing . And that New Idea mower had to work o get through it. But that was 50 years ago. I remeber the Ih 50t baler stalling out if it was in the heavy hay going to fast. 
After we took the hay off the second cut was heavy with birdsfoot and we would combine it for seed and that was very worthwhile, the birdsfoot seed was very good money. Again that was then , this is for real today. not sure what market is now . 
Need to make sure we have a market is paramont. You are so Right , that's why I ask. 
Thanks
Oh ,have never had good luck with Alfalfa, I know nothing about it , no experience means longer learning curve and mistakes, I'm great for costly mistakes .


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## Farmerbrown2 (Sep 25, 2018)

Sounds like a good plan to me just sprinkle timothy on top of ground no more then a 1/4 inch coverage on timothy. What works well for me is to plant 3/4 to 1 bushel of oats per acre when fall seeding timothy . The oats will come up and hold the soil, you could even do a 1/2 bushel oats this really helps if you are worried about washouts . Oats will die out till spring and by then timothy will hold the soil. Oats are cheap, greens field up quick and gives me piece of mind about washouts and ruts and so far has not held up the timothy. Just my 2 cents.


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## Bgriffin856 (Nov 13, 2013)

Trefoil seed isnt cheap by no means, so if you can harvest seed it might be worth it. Another thing I have read about Trefoil is to cut a minimum stubble height of five inches when cutting to ensure stand longevity.


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

Bgriffin856 said:


> Trefoil seed isnt cheap by no means, so if you can harvest seed it might be worth it. Another thing I have read about Trefoil is to cut a minimum stubble height of five inches when cutting to ensure stand longevity.


Bgriffin, you are sure correct on the price. I forget how much I paid last time, but I remember I was a little bit shocked. I typically cut it at about 4 inches (with the timothy mix) and the stand seems to do well.


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