Spring Re-Seed - Too dry

[SierraLima]

Evening all,

Another dry spring, following on into summer we are finding it difficult to establish a good re seed in the spring following on from turnip ground grazed by fattening hoggs. The grass isn't getting away and in turn the weed burden is becoming a problem. It's a medium/long term ley for grazing going back in so having to spray the weed out obviously hits the clovers etc as well.
What methods or alternatives could anyone recommend that may help the situation as the ideal conditions for a spring re seed seem like a distant memory? One obvious solution is to bite the bullet and spray out weeds and stitch in clovers there after but open to any other ideas.

 

[SierraLima]

I should add, all fields are analysed and appropriate action is taken to rectify anything lacking so I think the ground should be in good heart. Thanks

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Is it last years patchy reseed or this years .
Some sprays you cant put legumes back in for a good while after spraying so check what you use
I've got 50 acres ready to reseed but seeds staying in the bags for now

 

[Chae1]

Evening all,

Another dry spring, following on into summer we are finding it difficult to establish a good re seed in the spring following on from turnip ground grazed by fattening hoggs. The grass isn't getting away and in turn the weed burden is becoming a problem. It's a medium/long term ley for grazing going back in so having to spray the weed out obviously hits the clovers etc as well.
What methods or alternatives could anyone recommend that may help the situation as the ideal conditions for a spring re seed seem like a distant memory? One obvious solution is to bite the bullet and spray out weeds and stitch in clovers there after but open to any other ideas.

Why is the weeds getting away and not the grass?

Have you considered a stale seedbed? I'm trying that this year. Just ploughed power harrowed and rolled. Going to wait till I get a good flush of weeds, spray with roundup then put grass in after. Don't know if it will work! Never done it before.

Not even weeds growing here at moment.

We undersow a fair bit too. Then stitch in clover following spring. This doesn't help your weed problem though.

 

[SierraLima]

Is it last years patchy reseed or this years .
Some sprays you cant put legumes back in for a good while after spraying so check what you use
I've got 50 acres ready to reseed but seeds staying in the bags for now

Last years re seed I sprayed out with leystar, the remaining grass sward is lovely and thick now although obviously no clovers etc. Likewise with this year's re seeds it's just too dry to think about it atm.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

My advice for what its worth . Dangerous thing giving advice. But I'm waiting until I see a good wet spell forecast. Its strange how the weeds seem to grow the same , I only ever spray if there is chickweed. The other weeds I can control by early grazing ,but you need quick germination for that

 

[SierraLima]

Why is the weeds getting away and not the grass?

Have you considered a stale seedbed? I'm trying that this year. Just ploughed power harrowed and rolled. Going to wait till I get a good flush of weeds, spray with roundup then put grass in after. Don't know if it will work! Never done it before.

Not even weeds growing here at moment.

We undersow a fair bit too. Then stitch in clover following spring. This doesn't help your weed problem though.

Yes perhaps a stale seedbed will give us the opportunity to hit weeds again. Some years the grass comes away tidy enough although we are never really left with a clean ley that will last the duration without having too much of a weed burden.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I did sow some a week ago , I put 2 kg of Westerwolds in that hoping it will get going quicker and provide some shade

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Yes perhaps a stale seedbed will give us the opportunity to hit weeds again. Some years the grass comes away tidy enough although we are never really left with a clean ley that will last the duration without having too much of a weed burden.

I sprayed some fields twice with roundup last year and still the weeds came .. they are quite easy to get rid of by grazing out as soon as the grass will take stock . Just they don't seem to eat chickweed

 

[Chae1]

I sprayed some fields twice with roundup last year and still the weeds came .. they are quite easy to get rid of by grazing out as soon as the grass will take stock . Just they don't seem to eat chickweed

Field I'm trying it ins grass to grass. Was a mess with docks and ragwort. That's reason it was ploughed up.

 

[SierraLima]

I did sow some a week ago , I put 2 kg of Westerwolds in that hoping it will get going quicker and provide some shade

Would you adding the westerwold in on top of the grass ley then? 15/16kg a acre ish combined? It's interesting, a friend of the family runs a groundscare company, they provide groundscare for a few league football and cricket teams and he can can't belive how low a seed rate is applied to agricultural land compared to re seeding football pitches etc.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Field I'm trying it ins grass to grass. Was a mess with docks and ragwort. That's reason it was ploughed up. [emoji2357]

We don't have Ragwort but plenty of docks. First time I've ever put a ley in without clover, so I can hit the docks if they come back

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Would you adding the westerwold in on top of the grass ley then? 15/16kg a acre ish combined? It's interesting, a friend of the family runs a groundscare company, they provide groundscare for a few league football and cricket teams and he can can't belive how low a seed rate is applied to agricultural land compared to re seeding football pitches etc.

Yes they put masses on . Down to cost , yes on top so a good 16 kg . But I've always gone with strong seed rates especially in a dry time or late in the year , im going in at 20 kgs on one small field this week as I know it will be a gamble

 

[Great In Grass]

Would you adding the westerwold in on top of the grass ley then? 15/16kg a acre ish combined? It's interesting, a friend of the family runs a groundscare company, they provide groundscare for a few league football and cricket teams and he can can't belive how low a seed rate is applied to agricultural land compared to re seeding football pitches etc.

Amenity grasses are sown at a higher rate for a couple of reasons. One it to produce a thick sward & secondly for quick growth to green up particularly in the "off" seasons.

 

[M-J-G]

Field I'm trying it ins grass to grass. Was a mess with docks and ragwort. That's reason it was ploughed up.

I'd always burn off docks pre ploughing, I've seen too many grow back up out of the ploughed ground.
I'd say your method would help annual weeds of there isn't too much disturbance when the grass goes down.
Will you graze with sheep after?

 

[Chae1]

I'd always burn off docks pre ploughing, I've seen too many grow back up out of the ploughed ground.
I'd say your method would help annual weeds of there isn't too much disturbance when the grass goes down.
Will you graze with sheep after?

Yes. Will be grazed. It's a herbal ley. It's just a 6 acre paddock not a big area but want to do it right. The grass harrow won't disturb much when I put grass in.

I agree would have been better burning off docks pre ploughing.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Use a direct drill into the turnip ground. Roll with both a Cambridge and a heavy flat immediately.

 

[serf]

There's a lot of moisture under the old turnip stubble, moved some today and its capped off preserving it well , till I let the light in ......

 

[michael N123]

Field I'm trying it ins grass to grass. Was a mess with docks and ragwort. That's reason it was ploughed up.

I’ve just ploughed up 2 fields that had been our direct drilling experiment was endless trips with the sprayer and weeds and when it went back to grass it just looked shite

 

[Derrick Hughes]

There's a lot of moisture under the old turnip stubble, moved some today and its capped off preserving it well , till I let the light in ......[emoji849]

Dont plough it you will lose all the moisture