# Fertilizer question



## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

All,

My grandfather who has been my biggest help in the hay fields over the years had a stroke last Saturday and it doesn't look promising for his return to tractor duty. I've decided to cut back on the number of acres I'm going to cut hay off of moving forward. I've already been able to talk one customer whose field I cut for hay into letting me put calves on it instead. I'm going to try and only round bale enough hay for my own needs and maybe those of one or two of my best customers. With this in mind I'm going to really focus hard on improving my planted orchard fields that I square bale as much as possible. I normally only fertilize these fields every other year but I do spray every year. My new plan is to fertilize every year and possibly top dress after each cutting. I'm also going to overseed every fall as well as spray and wipe for weeds. Here are a few questions I have.

I just finished my first cutting. Would it be ok to fertilize and lime per a soil test analysis right now or should I simply apply nitrogen and wait till the fall on the other?

When I overseed the fields this fall should I consider drilling some rye grass into it to act as a cover crop or would that have a negative effect on the orchard grass? I've also considered drilling some Timothy into it as well. Thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Kyle


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## blueridgehay (Dec 25, 2012)

Nothing wrong with going 'head and puttin down lime now. And yes you can fertlize now, but be careful. Now that it has turned hot, you stand a better chance of losing the nitrogen after you spread due to violatolty. Basically the heat makes the nitrogen evaporate, unless it gets some rain fairly quickly, especially if the nitrogen is not ammoniated. If it were me , I'd top dress with some with a light rate with some type of ammoniated blend that is high in nitrogen, and hope for rain. This fall I would lime, if you ain't already done it, and fertlize early next spring.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

Where I farm I have seen lime between 1st &2nd where guys put it on and Not so much rain ,,but the 2nd cutting came quickly they raked and baled up a lot of the lime


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

I'm just getting into a regular fertilizer/lime program myself and currently do a soil test early in the spring to see what is needed. Then I split the fertilizer up into two applications with one going on in early spring and the other being applied after the first cutting is off. I also put the lime on with the 2nd dose of fertilizer. This limits the amount of traffic on the field in the spring when the ground is soft so I don't end up with ruts in the field.


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## Texasmark (Dec 20, 2011)

I never top dressed because of two things. First I like to cover my fertilizer so putting it down before seeding is my best bet. Also, even though I spray, this gives the seeds time to compete with the weeds that go nuts when they sense the fert.

Second, when you cut the first cutting, you are probably into the summer months and the rain has pretty much died off. The fert sits on the top and you loose half of it besides the plant can't take it up very well without water to get it into the soil.

I don't fall dress for the same reason.

I top dress my pastures in the spring after the weeds have pretty much died out and before i loose the rains, and try to time it just before a front. I have had fert. that I put down one year not activate till the second or third year depending on water allowing the plants to take it up or just leave it in the soil till it gets wet.

Farming is like DNA. Every situation is different.

Mark


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Kyle,

What does the soil test show for pH, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur? Did you fertilize with P, K, and S before the first cutting? Without knowledge of these test results, it is difficult to advise what to apply to your orchard grass hay meadow except for N that usually is deficient in soils seeded to grass for hay production. Add the N fertilizer according to how much more hay or grazing is needed.

To clarify a previous comment, you may have access to only fertilizing with urea, a 46-0-0 N source. This N source contains two NH2 molecules (amine molecules) per molecule of urea. When added to soil, an enzyme called urease reacts, in the presence of moisture, with the amines to convert these to ammonium hydroxide that causes a temporary rise in soil pH in the immediate vicinity of the urea granule. Some of the ammonium converts to ammonia gas and is lost in a process referred to as volatilization when the urea is not incorporated into the soil mechanically or by rainfall or irrigation soon after application. Urea ammonium nitrate (UAN, 32-0-0) and ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) can also lose N by volatilization of ammonia gas. Even ammonium nitrate can volatilize some N, but not as badly as does surface applied and unincorporated urea.

Unincorporated urea can volatilize N at any temperature, but as temperature is increased, the reaction that causes ammonia volatilization increases so there is a greater chance of N loss at higher temperatures.

Apparently your soil test indicated that your soil needs lime to correct soil pH for orchard grass. The reaction of surface-applied limestone is not immediate. So, if the pH is sufficiently low to require limestone application, get it applied as soon as possible to adjust the pH for optimum growth of your grass hay now and in the future.

If you overseed orchard grass with ryegrass (a high protein content cool-season annual), you can expect competition to occur between the two grasses. Ryegrass in your area likely will actively be growing when you want to cut orchard grass hay. Ryegrass can make good hay, but if it is to be stored outside without cover, it will not last as long as other grass hay. mtcw

Vincent


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