Bought Pature Grass Seed Today

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Have about 4 1/2 acres of pasture that was recently cleared of cedar. Seedland has a new variety of forage Bermuda that unlike Coastal is started from seed rather than sprigs and produces better than all the varieties other than Tifton 85 Bermuda. Its called Cheyenne and Cheyenne II. Its only in a blend called Ranchero Frio from Seedland. Ranchero Frio has giant Coastal and Mohawk in addition to the Cheyenne. Tests indicate that by the 4th or 5th year the Cheyenne has chocked out the Giant and most of the Mohawk. Giant is in the blend to give more grass the first couple of years. Only Tifton 85 Bermuda beats it for yield.

I have 50 lbs coming UPS ground - its pretty expensive for pasture grass - 50 lbs costs $406.00 including shipping.

Now if we could just get some rain!!!!!

[MELOC]

wow...that does seem pricey. my sister was pricing 25 lb. bags of a pasture mix at tractor supply. i have no idea what the mix was, but it was $98 for 25 lbs.

[agmantoo]

That is d*mn expensive for pasture seed! How many seed are to the pound? I sometimes splurge and pay $3 to $4/lb for some clovers but never that much. PS......How much cold can that Bermuda tolerate?

[Liese]

Meloc, Before your sister buys seed from TSC tell her to look at the label for purity #'s; the horse pasture mixture I looked at didn't have anything higher than 38%! I'd like to know what else is in there! I have never seen anything on a label less than 80-90% but then I wasn't looking at TSC seed either.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Pricey - well not if you look at the cost of Bermuda grass lawn seed. Bermuda grass seed is like alfalfa seed - sort of like sand. This seed is hulled and Penncoated too. Regardless, if I get good stands of Bermuda grass pasture, it is cheap as opposed to hay - and this grass can be harvested as hay. With sufficient water and fertilizer it grows fast enough that if you were cutting it for hay you cut every 28-32 days.

Cold tolerance is good for this area up into Oklahoma or so it says in the advertisements at Seedland.com. Remember Coastal type Bermuda is a Southern grass. I live in South Central Texas, better known as the Texas Hill COuntry - just NW of San Antonio.

Hee is the link to Seedland on Ranchero Frio:

http://www.bermudagrass.com/info-pdf...ro_frio_ts.pdf

[speshuled]

i usually broadcast mine when it's a little soft , then go over it with a 48" lawn roller . we've had pretty good luck with cheyenne . we are doing another 5 acres this year , trying that wrangler . it's suppose to handle the cold a little better . we have several tying the bermuda here (so. illinois) , with pretty good yields

[Rowdy]

Yeah, Bermuda is not cheap! I have been looking at pasture seed as well. I'm probably going to by from Turner Seed. They are a Texas company I found on the internet that is acutally less than 100 miles from me.TurnerSeed

As for anyone thinking about pasture seed from TSC, every bag I have seen there has mostly rye grass. Don't get me wrong, Rye Grass is okay, but if you are in a warm area, rye grass is only going to work during the winter/early spring. If you are okay with rye grass it would be cheaper to buy a bag of rye grass seed for $25 a bag.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Bermuda is a FOREVER grass in your pasture once it is established. Doubt me - just have you neighbor have a bermuda lawn and you something else. In short order you both have bermuda.

Rye Grass is a annual. You will have to plant it EVERY YEAR.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

"we've had pretty good luck with cheyenne . we are doing another 5 acres this year ,"

Unless you have the seed already from last year you won't be doing pure Cheyenne this year. There is no pure Cheyenne seed available. Its only available in the Ranchero Frio mix which is Giant, Mohawk and Cheyenne and Cheyenne II.

[Rowdy]

Originally Posted by YuccaFlatsRanch

Bermuda is a FOREVER grass in your pasture once it is established. Doubt me - just have you neighbor have a bermuda lawn and you something else. In short order you both have bermuda.

Rye Grass is a annual. You will have to plant it EVERY YEAR.

Well, there is a perenial Rye, but it is not what is sold in the mixes. And, if you have any type of warmth during the summer the Rye is toast.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Rye of any kind in the Hill country (south Central texas) is an ANNUAL. Summer heats gets all of it.

[Rowdy]

Originally Posted by YuccaFlatsRanch

Rye of any kind in the Hill country (south Central texas) is an ANNUAL. Summer heats gets all of it.

Oh, I know, I don't live far from you, in Texas figuring. I was just pointing out that someone farther north could have a long-term stand of Rye.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Where are you at Rowdy??

Txgypsy just moved from East Texas to Lajitas area south of Alpine. I'm around Kerrville. Maybe we should get a Texas get together going.

[chukashtamoa]

Just for a note, be sure to lime. Newly cleared land needs calcium.

[Rowdy]

Originally Posted by YuccaFlatsRanch

Where are you at Rowdy??

Txgypsy just moved from East Texas to Lajitas area south of Alpine. I'm around Kerrville. Maybe we should get a Texas get together going.

I'm up around Abilene. There are a couple of others in this area too. The milage would be in your favor, but I'd not mind a get together in Junction, eat us some BBQ!

Ever been to Camp Verde? We used to stop in there on the way to my grandmother's place every summer. Last time I was in there, I was sad that they've made it into a two story junk store.

[Rowdy]

Originally Posted by chukashtamoa

Just for a note, be sure to lime. Newly cleared land needs calcium.

Well, really a complete soil test is in order. I have some sandy land that is actually on the other side of the PH scale and needs adjusting.

[agmantoo]

I try to open up some new land for pasture each year. Getting new ground to be productive has always been a problem. I have attempted to improve such soil by liming, adding manure, applying rotted hay and sawdust, planting a nurse crop, feeding cattle so their droppings fall on the area, etc. None of these work as well as I would like. For me, the best thing that I have done is to fertilize with phosphate and to apply chicken litter. In so doing, the land goes into production promptly. Otherwise, it takes several years for the land to convert from wooded to productive fields.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

"Ever been to Camp Verde? We used to stop in there on the way to my grandmother's place every summer. Last time I was in there, I was sad that they've made it into a two story junk store."

The junk store is still there, at least it is higher class junk than average. I can be at Camp Verde from my house in less than 20 minutes.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

"Just for a note, be sure to lime. Newly cleared land needs calcium."

Chucastamoa - where on earth do you live??? East of a line from I35 in Texas and due North from there what you say MIGHT be true. West of that line (it is the western edge of the Texas Piney Woods) the soil is so alkaline that only someone who desires chlorosis in all of his plantings would ever increase the alkalinity with lime. The only other place that MIGHT need lime would be in the Pacific Northwest where the constant water has leached calcium from the soil. All of the rest of us in the west have all the calcium that we need and we fight it daily.

[turtlehead]

Speaking of seeding pasture, when you guys put out seed, do you disk under the old growth or do you throw out seed on top of whatever's already growing there?