# Organic matter and other grass growing building blocks



## Redrock (Jan 2, 2012)

Using my fellow Texan's post as reference Need help getting hay field started-clicky I too need some help getting my small pastures into shape for grazing. I'd like to get them capable of supporting about 4 or 5 head of cattle as soon as possible.

My acreage is much smaller though, only 22 with at best 16 able to support grass. I too would love to sprig with Tifton 85 but I'm not so sure my soil quality will support it just yet and I don't want to waste the money trying unsuccessfully. With this little land, making hay for the winter is likely a pipe dream. My question goes a little deeper though. What's a cost effective way of introducing more organic matter(OM) into this sandy North Texas soil I have? From what I've read, it all begins with the OM and what I found after tilling last year is that even though my NPK levels look pretty good...








there doesn't appear to be much OM in the soil making it pretty drought intolerant and unable to support much mycorrhizal fungi. Look here at what last years drought left me with, ... only a handful of teeny stands of bermuda after investing over $200 in Buckaroo Blend of bermuda from Turner seed.










I've done a little investigation on introduction of beneficial bacteria such as Terra-One but they want $1,100 for 1 gallon that treats 32 acres, drop in the bucket I'm sure for bigtime ranchers but not for small operation like I'm planning.

I planted some annual rye last fall just to keep the wind from blowing away even more topsoil (if you can call it soil) and it's not looking too bad, but I don't want to till it up before my second try at grass planting unless there's a good reason*, it's not looking too bad(pic taken in November) 









So from this picture you can see that of the 22 total acres, I have 7 or 8 acres cumulative of wooded areas with blue lines showing fences (I do plan to cross fence)









I'm thinking of mulching leaves from these areas, bringing grass clippings from my residence, etc. and distributing it but obviously this is a lot of labor that won't cover much even in a years time. So I have a few follow on questions:
Should I just mow the rye come springtime and overseed it with some common bermuda? Or should I till it under, user my roller over it and then seed with bermuda(rolling again of course)? Should I let the neighbor's cattle come in and graze it? ...not sure they'd leave enough manure to make a difference. Based on my soil analysis, am I close enough to just start planting grass seed or sprigging Tif85? Should I seed something else such as clover or hairy vetch, that if left alone, over time, might add enough OM to the soil? Any suggestions/advice from you pros would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
My Google Earth coordinates are 33° 47'28.92" N - 96°53'19.95" W .


----------



## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

I grew up in South Texas (Medina Co) where parts of our place looked like a beach. But we did get stuff to grow in that sand, however that was with irrigation. This latest drought was an extreme event that hopefully will not repeat itself. We had a minature version of it every year. Your ground looks a little firmer as it supports cracks.

Other than many truckloads of manure, I'm not sure that you can really add much OM. That typically comes from plants growing over time. Spray the ryegrass, so it doesn't compete with the bermuda. I would just lightly disk it, roll it and broadcast Common Bermuda. I don't like tillers, they fluff the soil too much. Your soil sample looks pretty good, so I'd just broadcast with a little Nitrogen. Have them mix the seed and spread it with the fertilizer applicator buggy and then roll it. We usually did many many small fertilizer applications as my father was concerned that larger amounts would migrate past the root zone without getting taken up by the plants. It did work. Anyway, the soil bugs will eat a percentage of the N breaking down the ryegrass. I'm not a big fan of "all-natural microbial liquid blend" like Terra One or Medina. If you want to make the soil bugs happy add a couple of gallons of molasses per acre to your spray, it's a lot cheaper.

If we get rain, you'll have grass. Graze it for a couple of years and you'll have plenty of OM. I love Tifton-85, but it takes rain and it's more of a gamble to sprig than to seed. All the other steps would be the same, just sprig instead of broadcasting seed, and hit it with N 3-4 weeks after sprigging.

That's my two cents, there are others on here that have more experience in your neck of the woods. Good Luck!


----------



## dubltrubl (Jul 19, 2010)

I'm by no means an expert, but I'll second what Mike says, and also add something to consider. In your shoes, I think I'd look into something like tillage radishes. I've never used them but do know folks that have, and they've had varying degrees of success. Personally, I would probably try some good red clover. It would accomplish almost the same effect as the radishes, but also give your some forage in the meantime. Mixed with some grass, you might be surprised with how fast your field would improve. Just a thought.
Best of luck!
Steve


----------



## Redrock (Jan 2, 2012)

Thanks, exactly the kind of feedback I'd hoped for. I'll likely try all of the above, including father time and a few rain dances here and there. By the way, I misspoke, I meant Disc not till , I only own a disc so I'm all set. I appreciate it guys, I can tell I'm going to love this forum


----------

