Rolling Grass?

[Tha Ulsterscot]

I have Italian ryegrass which is a good 6" long, as it has been very wet here, I haven't got it rolled . Would it harm the crop to roll at this late stage, even it is a bit on the wet side, or would you leave well alone?

 

[Great In Grass]

Do you have stones/mole hills in the ley?

 

[Tha Ulsterscot]

Do you have stones/mole hills in the ley?

A few stones, we don't have them other critters.

 

[Great In Grass]

Sounds as if the new seeds were well established (you did roll the seed in after sowing?), I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[balerman]

Rolling when wet can do much damage,unless a really well drained field.

 

[Tha Ulsterscot]

Sounds as if the new seeds were well established (you did roll the seed in after sowing?), I wouldn't worry too much.

One field was over-seeded last autumn, and rolled in, the other is on it's second year, and has a few stones.

 

[Great In Grass]

If the stones are going to cause a problem at cutting you'd need to squash them flat.

 

[roscoe erf]

found this the best way

 

[DB67]

found this the best way View attachment 38638

Hahaha :lol:

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Grazing will do it the world of good then get it rolled when dry

 

[Tha Ulsterscot]

Grazing will do it the world of good then get it rolled when dry

No way, want hay or haylage.

 

[Tha Ulsterscot]

found this the best way View attachment 38638

Is that Italian ? looks more like perennial

 

[Guiggs]

found this the best way View attachment 38638

Those were the days!! Not Rolled grass like that for a while!

 

[roscoe erf]

Is that Italian ? looks more like perennial

Lebanese

 

[M-J-G]

If you do decide to roll it, go for the "function not fashion" option and do it round and round the field to save hammering the grass on the headlands like what happens when you stripe it.

 

[sleepy]

I have Italian ryegrass which is a good 6" long, as it has been very wet here, I haven't got it rolled . Would it harm the crop to roll at this late stage, even it is a bit on the wet side, or would you leave well alone?

I had some 2 weeks ago that was exactly the same situation as yours but even longer, more like 12 inches in places

Rolling it was an excruciating experience, felt like I should have had the mower on not the roller

However it was either that or rush having stones going through machines, I decided stones were a worse thought

2 weeks later and the grass has 80% recovered, it seems to have come back thicker than it was before. It still looks a bit sad on the areas where it was double / triple rolled, I went round in circles

 

[neilo]

If you do decide to roll it, go for the "function not fashion" option and do it round and round the field to save hammering the grass on the headlands like what happens when you stripe it.

WHAT! Why on earth would you roll a field if it didn't leave those pretty stripes?

But yes, agree with other posts. If there are stones that will cause a problem for the mower, then better done now than not.

 

[neilo]

No way, want hay or haylage.

If it's not been grazed this year, will it not just be dead, stemmy stuff of little feed value by the time you cut for hay? Old shite hay has no better feed value than straw, IME, even if it looks green.

 

[Kevtherev]

Don't bother wasting diesel rolling unless you really have too.

 

[M-J-G]

Don't bother wasting diesel rolling unless you really have too.

I wouldn't be so concerned about the fuel cost, a normal sized tractor will use a tiny amount of fuel pulling a roller.

I'd say it's more about getting a balance between damaging grass and damaging machinery.

Also worth bearing in mind that if you get wrap it as haylage or silage, if there are stones directly under the plastic they will broach the film in the areas where they come in contact with bale lifters, trailers etc...