Teff grass, clover & lucerne

[cows sh#t me to tears]

Never heard of alsike clover, so a quick google showed up it causes strong photosensitisation in light skinned animals and can be toxic to horses even if fed as hay..If your feeding fat lambs this may be a concern?? Lucerne is best established on its own, then oversown in 2nd year with clover grass if that's what you want. A good seed bed (disc it till its fine then run a land plane over it) and a light harrow after sowing, super potash and moly and depending on your soil gypsum and a hit of lime doesn't go a stray. I've even had very good results broardcasting it with the fert then just harrowing.

 

[TelesnaAg]

Never heard of alsike clover, so a quick google showed up it causes strong photosensitisation in light skinned animals and can be toxic to horses even if fed as hay..If your feeding fat lambs this may be a concern?? Lucerne is best established on its own, then oversown in 2nd year with clover grass if that's what you want. A good seed bed (disc it till its fine then run a land plane over it) and a light harrow after sowing, super potash and moly and depending on your soil gypsum and a hit of lime doesn't go a stray. I've even had very good results broardcasting it with the fert then just harrowing.

Alsike will be part of mix if used....lucerne wont survive winter here exceot on rises etc...so it will be undersown with barley...seed will need to be cheap to make it pay...but 1 good cut of hay..some grazing and N building could make it worth while...i have trialled it before and its been good...

Cheers...

Ant...

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

No such thing as cheap lucerne seed...$11+ per kg for the good stuff. I did wonder why you were even bothering with it as i had doubted it would survive with your normal annual rainfall (We have friends at Corriemungle,so have heard how wet it gets). Costs at least $176/ha just for seed for me. So i like to get a good few years out of it to make it worth while. If your sowing really cheap stuff it may have something to do with the poor establishment, as will shading from the other species your sowing.

 

[TelesnaAg]

I sowed titan 9 in pasture trial. From SPS...all coated and $14 a kg....the winter actives do better in summer down here...ML99 loves it here...to undersow is seed cost only....i can get some around $6-7 at times...if it produces 1 cut of hay and some grazing its worth doing....no irrigation costs...red clover may yield better but you have to train the market to buy it...lucerne sells itself...all said and done probably more money than growing the growing the barley...

The clover and lucerne i raked into trial on boxing day is up and away...even the teff...so it doesnt have to be on top...can be harrowed in....the barley in the same dirt is suffering from lack of N and mang....the teff is nice and green and no colour issues to indicate ts lacking except on one spot which is a covereb hole half full of junk...funnily enough the teff is doing best i think on the worst dirt...where some gum trees were...half non wetting sand type crap...

I sowed fert underneath trial to run combine out....the teff is really showing the rows...not becuase of fert but because water sat a bit longer in the rows it got going first....so its not a silly idea to riadge roll a paddock to better capture moisture and get a higher germ %.

Ant...

 

[TelesnaAg]

Trial is 6 weeks old...

Teff needs N...you can see the green next to pale in first pic..that had soa spread on it...last week it ran short of moisture so its gone off a bit....

Clovers and lucerne doing welll...starting to come into its own...red.clover better than alsike...new lucernce seed sown has germinated so other seed was crap...

Interesting to see how all this goes...

Teff is an option for here for certain purposes...

Ant...

 

[TelesnaAg]

Well my teff is still hanging on...going into winter..been wet autumn...its a good option if your establishing ryegrass etc...you can keep using the teff...

The lucerne...red clover and alsike...really kicking...i thought red clover was for summer...it did f all during summer...lucerne grazed down and oats or barley sown with disc seeder good winter option...will see how it all handles winter..

The teff seed on ground is sitting there im hoping it will germ in spring...

Ant...

 

[TelesnaAg]

Now the teff has died from frost...lots of new seed underneath.

The red clover and alsike is doing well mid winter...lucerne gone to shite...

Will mow in spring and see what happens.

Red clover first pic...griwn better in early winter than summer ???

Ant...

 

[TelesnaAg]

Lucerne is diseased...heavyish dirt...wet...

Ant...

 

[TelesnaAg]

Alsike is doing well...struggled in summer but same as red clover ..late atumn early winter its motoring

This was all grazed bare by sheep early April...and i mean bare...

Ant...