Improving a Re-Seed

[KennyO]

Got a field of young grass that isn't as good as I would like. Was established by undersowing spring oats last year. Had a dry start, then oats shaded it too much and finally was a late harvest and straw lay for ages.

Cattle were also on it in the back end when they shouldn't have been so it poached a bit

Field is green, some bit better than others. Worried some of it is just Annual Meadow Grass. There are some signs of clover.

Now we would normally silage first year grass but I was wondering what the collective wisdom of TFF was for improving the situation.

My current thinking is only give it a small amount of fert and graze it rotationally to try and give the clover a chance.

Thought about spinning some more seed on but not sure.

Might hire a spiker roller type think and give it a run if it ever dries up.

Over to you lot. Any good ideas?

 

[KennyO]

@Kiwi Pete what do you think.

 

[Sandy]

Anybody near with a vredo drill?

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Any photos?

It's probably a bit early to judge how much will come yet, your soil temperatures must still be pretty low.

 

[KennyO]

Any photos?

It's probably a bit early to judge how much will come yet, your soil temperatures must still be pretty low.

Will get photos but as you say it is hard to tell what will happen.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Had the same thing in a couple of undersown paddocks here, just a little patchy and open in places.
I had some plantain and clover and grass seeds left over for a job and broadcast them on, they did great things
Also I let one run, it looked like a baleage paddock by the time I grazed it, and the cattle no doubt knocked some seed out and trod it in.
If it works as well as it did here......

 

[KennyO]

Anybody near with a vredo drill?

Not sure on that one. Could try Ringlink.
A few old Moore drills kicking about. I'm liking some of the pictures of spiker/ splitters with seeders on them in @GTB thread.

 

[GTB]

Got a field of young grass that isn't as good as I would like. Was established by undersowing spring oats last year. Had a dry start, then oats shaded it too much and finally was a late harvest and straw lay for ages.

Cattle were also on it in the back end when they shouldn't have been so it poached a bit

Field is green, some bit better than others. Worried some of it is just Annual Meadow Grass. There are some signs of clover.

Now we would normally silage first year grass but I was wondering what the collective wisdom of TFF was for improving the situation.

My current thinking is only give it a small amount of fert and graze it rotationally to try and give the clover a chance.

Thought about spinning some more seed on but not sure.

Might hire a spiker roller type think and give it a run if it ever dries up.

Over to you lot. Any good ideas?

We have a similar situation here. Our undersown grass failed completely two years ago so we put barley in the same fields again last year without undersowing. The plan was to overseed with a guttler greenmaster after harvest but it got too wet and late in the year so we just spun on some IR. Been thinking all winter that it had failed too but it's showing signs of coming go life now. It may even provide a cut or two of silage before we dd some new ley into it. Not sure if I should dd it in early may before shutting out for silage or after taking a cut or two????

 

[Kevtherev]

We have a similar situation here. Our undersown grass failed completely two years ago so we put barley in the same fields again last year without undersowing. The plan was to overseed with a guttler greenmaster after harvest but it got too wet and late in the year so we just spun on some IR. Been thinking all winter that it had failed too but it's showing signs of coming go life now. It may even provide a cut or two of silage before we dd some new ley into it. Not sure if I should dd it in early may before shutting out for silage or after taking a cut or two????

Probably work better after an early cut of silage Dai if you put it in before I think the Italian might swamp I out ??

 

[Kevtherev]

Got a field of young grass that isn't as good as I would like. Was established by undersowing spring oats last year. Had a dry start, then oats shaded it too much and finally was a late harvest and straw lay for ages.

Cattle were also on it in the back end when they shouldn't have been so it poached a bit

Field is green, some bit better than others. Worried some of it is just Annual Meadow Grass. There are some signs of clover.

Now we would normally silage first year grass but I was wondering what the collective wisdom of TFF was for improving the situation.

My current thinking is only give it a small amount of fert and graze it rotationally to try and give the clover a chance.

Thought about spinning some more seed on but not sure.

Might hire a spiker roller type think and give it a run if it ever dries up.

Over to you lot. Any good ideas?

Einbock type Harrow to scratch some seed in would be a good idea and then roll.
Any pictures?
Have you done a soil test?

 

[KennyO]

Einbock type Harrow to scratch some seed in would be a good idea and then roll.
Any pictures?
Have you done a soil test?

Got 2t acres lime before oats as some low spots. P & K will be low but I apply plenty.

Ground was reclaimed from gorse moor 25 years ago. It is a bit wet but all drained.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Probably work better after an early cut of silage Dai if you put it in before I think the Italian might swamp I out ??

Yes that is how I would attack it, take the silage and then jam lots of sheep on to nail the regrowth, and they will set it well back.
The grass doesn't exactly dissolve its roots to make a new leaf but it will slow future regrowth down to snail pace if you eat it to the deck, enough time to get new seeds away at least

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I will add: don't put any N on if oversowing grass as it will just help the old grass to swamp the new seeds once your heatwave hits
You guys may have seen my pea experiment before Christmas, I oversowed it with herbs and clovers and it is just hard enough to keep the 17 year old pasture down to let some light in, mind you peas are an N overkill

I put cattle in one day per week just to keep it down at the moment, they won't nibble out seedlings the way sheep will hunt them out

 

[KennyO]

It is greening up. Some bits are better than others. Final photo is where straw had lain for for 3-4 weeks.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

View attachment 655974 View attachment 655976 View attachment 655978
It is greening up. Some bits are better than others. Final photo is where straw had lain for for 3-4 weeks.

Unless you are desperately short of land I'd wait and see how that does. It could thicken up quite a bit.

 

[KennyO]

Unless you are desperately short of land I'd wait and see how that does. It could thicken up quite a bit.

Be ok not bought as many cattle as planned due to the lack of grass growth. Think we will rotationally graze that field with another. Might shut it up for a second cut if it improved.

If dry in summer I might get my mate down with his bladed roller.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Be ok not bought as many cattle as planned due to the lack of grass growth. Think we will rotationally graze that field with another. Might shut it up for a second cut if it improved.

If dry in summer I might get my mate down with his bladed roller.

Could you let it seed and take hay? (might not work for you if your climate is difficult for hay) The shed seed would thicken it for free.

 

[puppet]

I would wait a bit. Keeping it well grazed maybe with some sheep will thicken it and the old stubble makes it look worse. Any really bare areas could have a scatter of grass seed from a spinner and the wee hooves will push it in.
We had similar after really wet September reseed and a year later could hardly see the gaps

 

[Kevtherev]

View attachment 655974 View attachment 655976 View attachment 655978
It is greening up. Some bits are better than others. Final photo is where straw had lain for for 3-4 weeks.

I think I’d leave that myself and maybe roll it lightly when conditions allow.
Surprising how that will get going now when it warms up.

 

[ollie989898]

Some of that is cereal volunteers for sure. I still can't see all the grass plants well enough despite trying all the zoom action I can get on my PC but I'm thinking a dose of it looks suspiciously like AMG/RSMG, can you pull a few plants up and line them up on a piece of A4?

If it has a shiny leaf one side, and a red/purple shoot/stem base its ryegrass.

Assuming what you have there is indeed mostly ryegrass or sown species, I would wait until you can travel without making a mess and obtain some actual tilth harrow/einbock more seed (10 kg/acre) into the areas you think are weak and then roll all of it with a flat roll if you can.

I will dig out some photos of various grasses in seedling forms or close up, so you will get an idea.