GS4 seed

[lou]

Morning all,
Has anyone got any opinions on gs4 seed mixes, particularly if your grazing sheep and cutting for hay.
Are there any mixtures better than others?
Any particular "must haves" in mixture from a grazing and cutting perspective?

Thanks

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Soil type ?

There are things you must have if your claiming , if that's your intention ?

 

[jack6480]

I’ve put some in with the hope to make hay of it and graze. Oliver seeds mix, less of the herbs especially chicory and red clover and more grasses suited to hay. It’s looking really good

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I’ve put some in with the hope to make hay of it and graze. Oliver seeds mix, less of the herbs especially chicory and red clover and more grasses suited to hay. It’s looking really good

Did you claim on that , Chicory is one that I would say is a must have to the opp , Red Clover is not that hard to make hay of either

 

[Porkchops57]

Get a bog standard gs4 mix and then add a kilo or two of red clover extra.

 

[hally]

Popular gs4 mix around here

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I’ve put some in with the hope to make hay of it and graze. Oliver seeds mix, less of the herbs especially chicory and red clover and more grasses suited to hay. It’s looking really goo

I’ve put some in with the hope to make hay of it and graze. Oliver seeds mix, less of the herbs especially chicory and red clover and more grasses suited to hay. It’s looking really good

make sure the sward has a minimum 10% cover of red clover
3 species of legume (including bird’s-foot trefoil) and 5 species of herb or wildflower

 

[jack6480]

Yes I’m really pleased

 

[lou]

Thanks for the replies

Applied for mid tier last summer to start this year.
Reseeded to make the ground eligible.
Agent that sorted the paperwork ordered half the gs4 seed. No longer use the agent, now the ground is slowly starting to dry up looking to do the last half of sowing and comparing gs4 mixtures.
No chicory was included in the first mixture but a lot of herbs.

So was looking for any advice regarding a good mixture for hay.
I fully understand it has to have so many different types of herbs etc to satisfy rpa claim.
Started looking through a few bigger named seed suppliers and there seems to be a few variations of gs4 mixtures, so thought the TFF minds would be a good place to start.

Thanks again

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Can you grow Lucerne

 

[lou]

Can you grow Lucerne

I think only reason lucerne wouldnt do particularly well here is how wet the ground gets here. Usually flood a few times in a wet winter.
Does it tolerate grazing ok? All fields will be grazed at some point over the season.

Thanks

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I think only reason lucerne wouldnt do particularly well here is how wet the ground gets here. Usually flood a few times in a wet winter.
Does it tolerate grazing ok? All fields will be grazed at some point over the season.

Thanks

Sainfoin and Lucerne won't tolerate water logging , I would look at the heavier land mixes

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I think only reason lucerne wouldnt do particularly well here is how wet the ground gets here. Usually flood a few times in a wet winter.
Does it tolerate grazing ok? All fields will be grazed at some point over the season.

Thanks

This is the mix we sell , pretty bomb proof ,fits the scheme , should make some nice hay easy enough


2.20 kg PARDUS Meadow Fescue

2.65 kg TODDINGTON Perennial Ryegrass Late Dip

1.85 kg COMER Timothy

1.00 kg LOFA Festulolium Hybrid

1.00 kg KORA Tall Fescue

0.20 kg Sweet Vernal Grass (ltd mix may change)

1.40 kg MERULA Red Clover

0.40 kg AURORA Alsike Clover

0.25 kg Yellow Blossom Clover

0.20 kg LEO Birdsfoot Trefoil

0.70 kg ALICE White Clover

0.40 kg MERLYN White Clover

1.00 kg CANDY Common Vetch

0.25 kg CHOICE Chicory

0.20 kg TONIC Plantain

0.10 kg Yarrow

0.10 kg Sheeps Parsley

0.10 kg Sheeps Burnet
14.00 kg per acre

 

[Man_in_black]

Morning all,
Has anyone got any opinions on gs4 seed mixes, particularly if your grazing sheep and cutting for hay.
Are there any mixtures better than others?
Any particular "must haves" in mixture from a grazing and cutting perspective?

Thanks

Over a year now lou, how have you found gs4? Was it for ewes or lambs?

We're taking on some rented land which is gs4, intend to keep ewes on pre & Post tupping but all this talk of red clover is concerning me - does the mix have to contain red to qualify?

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Over a year now lou, how have you found gs4? Was it for ewes or lambs?

We're taking on some rented land which is gs4, intend to keep ewes on pre & Post tupping but all this talk of red clover is concerning me - does the mix have to contain red to qualify?

What's concering you
The amount of Red Clover in a GS4 ley will be irrelevant to sheep at any time , unless it completely takes over ,then just avoid it at mating

 

[sheepdogtrail]

I think only reason lucerne wouldnt do particularly well here is how wet the ground gets here. Usually flood a few times in a wet winter.
Does it tolerate grazing ok? All fields will be grazed at some point over the season.

Thanks

There are a couple of flood tolerate lucerne varieties out their. If you want to know them let me know. I will point you to them. Perhaps you can get them in the UK.

In general, they work well for about 5 years. So they are a short lived perennial.

Regrading Sainfoin, I have not found a cultivar that will last more than 2 years in flood plains. It will grow the first year well. In the second year only about 1/2 of it will be around. I don't know if I have ever seen a sainfoin plant in its third year in flood plains. On none flooded lands, it last a couple more years. It is a hard seed so self seeding is difficult to complete.

Sub clovers do well in flood plains. And they have a hard seed as well. To me it has something to do with the genetics. Genetically, sub clovers are better at establishing a population base in flood plains.
For what ever reason.

 

[sheepdogtrail]

What's concering you
The amount of Red Clover in a GS4 ley will be irrelevant to sheep at any time , unless it completely takes over ,then just avoid it at mating

If you use a low phytoestrogen variety of Red Clover, you may not even half to move them during mating. If I feed bales of red clover hay in the winter past day 57 of tupping, I lamb over 200%. That is good enough for me.

Why the sweet vernal grass in your mix. I realize it is a tiny amount. Is it more to tick a box in a required formula or does it have some sort of magic powers that I am unaware of?

 

[In the pit]

If you use a low phytoestrogen variety of Red Clover, you may not even half to move them during mating. If I feed bales of red clover hay in the winter past day 57 of tupping, I lamb over 200%. That is good enough for me.

Why the sweet vernal grass in your mix. I realize it is a tiny amount. Is it more to tick a box in a required formula or does it have some sort of magic powers that I am unaware of?

It’s all about ticking boxes in the uk ,whether any thing grows or not doesn’t seem to be of a concern

 

[Derrick Hughes]

If you use a low phytoestrogen variety of Red Clover, you may not even half to move them during mating. If I feed bales of red clover hay in the winter past day 57 of tupping, I lamb over 200%. That is good enough for me.

Why the sweet vernal grass in your mix. I realize it is a tiny amount. Is it more to tick a box in a required formula or does it have some sort of magic powers that I am unaware of?

Use Sweet Vernal in hay mixes a lot , it gives hay that nice smell. It's very expensive but don't need much in a mix

 

[Man_in_black]

The amount of Red Clover in a GS4 ley will be irrelevant to sheep at any time

That's what I want to hear!