Best grass seed mix

[dazza b]

What’s the best grass seed mix for fattening lambs on and getting early bite in the spring for lambing cheers daz

 

[M-J-G]

That's a question with many possible answers.

I have deviated away from convention a bit in the past 10 or so years and added Cocksfoot, Plantain and fescue to the mixes, I have found them much tougher in dry conditions and they allow the soil to cope better with prolonged rain and they are tough as boots when it comes to poaching.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Hybrid or Tertaploid Ryegrass ,with Clover Plantain and Chicory for lambs ,
Chicory and Clover will not be that early though so if you want early boost up the Ryegrass a bit
Chicory and Clover like a bit of room so do better with an upright grass
But forget Clover and especially Chicory if your going to poach it over the winter
I pressume if you want early grass the sheep will be off it for a while though

 

[M-J-G]

Hybrid or Tertaploid Ryegrass ,with Clover Plantain and Chicory for lambs ,
Chicory and Clover will not be that early though so if you want early boost up the Ryegrass a bit
Chicory and Clover like a bit of room so do better with an upright grass
But forget Clover and especially Chicory if your going to poach it over the winter

Why no clover if poaching?
Well keep cattle and sheep out quite a lot of the winter and the clover survives as well as most.

 

[upnortheast]

As important as the species in the mix is the fertility, or lack of in the ground.

Spend big money on seeds but if your ph is wrong & your P & K index are 0 production will be low

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Why no clover if poaching?
Well keep cattle and sheep out quite a lot of the winter and the clover survives as well as most.

The Fattening Lamb mix has a lot of Red Clover and Chicory, if you graze that to death all winter in a wet winter in will be gone almost
Look at NZ Rocket fuel mix
I was also taking sheep as the op asked ,cattle dont graze as hard
But it is hard to give avice with limted info ,we dont even know his soil type or where he is

 

[M-J-G]

The Fattening Lamb mix has a lot of Red Clover and Chicory, if you graze that to death all winter in a wet winter in will be gone almost
Look at NZ Rocket fuel mix
I was also taking sheep as the op asked ,cattle dont graze as hard

Oh I see, you weren't specific about which clover you referred to.
Last winter was our first year with red clover and I grazed it pretty hard with ewes to see if I could make it less dominant in the sward for this year, but it seems as strong as ever.
I also mowed it as short as I could last year for cuts 2 and 3 and it seemed to make no difference.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Oh I see, you weren't specific about which clover you referred to.
Last winter was our first year with red clover and I grazed it pretty hard with ewes to see if I could make it less dominant in the sward for this year, but it seems as strong as ever.
I also mowed it as short as I could last year for cuts 2 and 3 and it seemed to make no difference.

It does survive better than Chicory here , in a long wet winter but tack sheep here realy do bite it down