# Fall pasture & hay field seeding



## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

I'm making plans to do some fall cover crop planting in a very over grazed and poor ground pasture. Been talking with "reed" about my plans and looking for all the input I can get.

We are so dry here I decided to use the disc plow to loosen the top few inches to give the seed somewhere lay, I will be using a 3pt spreader to throw seed then cultipack..

Hope to be ready and have seed here next weekend and be ready in case we get some rain..

Area is about 7ac, very rocky, somewhat steep, and poor fertility.. Their isn't much other than Common Bermuda & crab grass..

Not sure what the seed place has or can get yet, will be calling tomorrow to see...

Plan -

Fescue

Rye grass- type ?

winter wheat

turnips - type ?

radish - type ?

black oats ?

winter peas ?

What else might I plant/ask for at the seed place, just looking to help the ground and have forage to give my hay stack a break..

I also will be able to fertilize and keep the horses & cows off for a while until things get established...

That block of granite weighs around 1K lbs..

And my stallion has to be with me and help...

Chris


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Chris, I would plant fescue as it will take more grazing abuse and stay on a hillside better than anything I know of in this part of the country. It will readily germinate and is easy to locate. If you put down 200 pounds on your 7 acres and cultipacked after you loosed the top of the soil, you should get a good thick stand this fall. I would keep stock off of it until after it formed seedheads next spring. That way it should have deep roots to help with drought tolerance.

Regards, Mike


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

Well Mike, part of the problem is our summers and Fescue going dormant, and then theirs too many cridders on this field and I can't do anything about that at the moment except take them off form time to time...

i am going to throw Fescue but I need other things also that will grow some this fall for some forage later.. This WAS Fescue a few years ago but things being what they are it is all gone now...

Nothing will stay in this field for long yet, next spring I'm going to do the same thing, lightly plow and throw something for warm season, just trying to get organic matter into the poor soil and have some forage also..

Once I get caught up I have another field to fence in, then I will be able to rotate the fields but until then I gotta do what I can...

Chris


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