Establishing small pasture - help please!!

[Zookeeper]

We have a milk cow and right now we have to purchase all her hay because the "pasture" she is in (about an acre and a half) is all weeds. We have already researched what types of plants we're going to grow (we'll be using tall fescue, common bermuda, ryegrass, and clover) but everything I've read says we will have to drill in seed.

Is it possible (or probable) to have success with starting a small pasture from seed by simply clipping down the existing weeds, killing them off, using an aerator to loosen soil, and then just broadcasting seeds? It doesn't seem like it will be enough preparation of the soil to me. DH says it will work. I don't want to waste our efforts or money spent on seed and renting an aerator.

Also it is impossible to even GET anyone here to do such a small job, even if we wanted to do drilling. So we don't feel we have much choice but to do it ourselves.

Any thoughts, suggestions on how we can do this ourselves and make it work, or improve on our plan?

Our pregnant cow thanks you in advance!!

[Razorback21]

Assuming you live in a Zone 6 or higher since Bermuda is an option for you, one thing you can do is broadcast white clover if your soil test shows the proper ph. It will also build nitrogen back into your soil as well. You can frost seed it in late winter. I have mixed in rye and fescue when frost seeding in the past with mixed results.

[agmantoo]

I have most of the plants growing that you referenced. I do not like drilled pastures and I have a sod drill. It takes too long for the spaces between the rows to fill. All of my pastures are broadcast planted. As a matter of fact I am about to broadcast 300 lbs of Alice clover within the next few days. You can establish a pasture without drilling but there are a few things that I suggest. Not knowing exactly your location makes for a more difficult tasks in my recommendations. If it were me I would broadcast the fescue and I would not use the endophyte free variety using 40 lbs/acre. Then I would have the area brush hogged immediately. The debris would be my mulch and cover for the seed. This practice would be implemented at the end of summer, September in zone 7. I would not graze the pasture until Spring. At that time my recommendation would be to create small paddocks to rotational graze to give the grass a chance to establish. As you move the cow from paddock to paddock, by hand broadcast some clover in the paddock the cow is going to graze. She will walk the clover seed in and it will grow. Then this time next year start broadcasting at the rate of 30 lbs /acre Marshall rye grass into the paddocks. At this point you should have enough grass and clover established to do year around rotational grazing if you are in zone 7. Properly utilizer and cared for this past should carry the cow hence forth with little or no hay. If I am unclear feel free to ask questions. The area in the foreground was treated as I described. This is prior to any clover being sowed.

[Zookeeper]

I am also in zone 7 (N. Ga.).

I follow what you're saying but have a couple of ?'s to clarify...are you saying we should NOT plant the ryegrass this Sept., at the same time we plant the fescue? We were thinking it could be here for this winter, while the fescue gets established. Since it is an annual we'd have to plant it again this time next year anyway. But will it interfere with the fescue getting started if we plant some now?

Also, would you not want to kill off the weeds before planting any seeds? (We're talking KILLER weeds, some are over my head!) I understand using them for cover/mulch while the seeds take hold but what happens next spring when they come back, if we don't kill the roots now? Will fescue kill them all and not allow them to regrow next spring?

It's good to hear you have successfully broadcast planted all your pastures! How much do you have?

Thanks for your help!

[Sammy]

I think she is in Zone 7. But her profile don't say so.

[agmantoo]

The fescue needs to get the roots established or it will perish next summer when a dry period hits. I understand you are anxious to get the pasture established but it does take time to get a lasting pasture. If you graze too early the cow can and will pull the young grass root and all as she grazes. I have pasture that has not been reseeded to fescue in more than 10 years because I look after the plants. What you can do is to get a bag of pearl millet and plant that next summer to extend the fescue once it goes dormant. The fescue will return this time next year and you can graze it until Christmas. In Oct/Nov of next year you can overseed the fescue using about 40% more seed than recommended for drilling and let the cow walk that in and it will be ready to start grazing after the first of the year. Since the rye is an annual it does not matter if the cow pulls some of it up.

[Zookeeper]

Trying to add my location to my profile...let's see if this works.

Okay, it doesn't show the zone here but it's on the profile page now

[agmantoo]

Zookeeper
Have you ever noticed a small area in the shade or on the north side of a building that in zone 7 will have thick volunteer rye grass starting to emerge in Sept/Oct? Where do you think this seed came from and it is obvious that it is not drilled?

[Zookeeper]

Do you think the bermuda can co-exist with the fescue, if we plant the Bermuda next spring/summer (so we'll have both warm and cool weather perennial grasses)? This is what is recommended by the UGA ag folks.

What do you have planted for summers?

[agmantoo]

Bermuda and fescue will not coexist where I live in zone 7. The Bermuda will stifle the fescue and the Bermuda we have is more difficult to establish and is less productive. I get a lot of grazing off fescue. Prior to lasts years drought I had not fed a single bale of hay for 4 1/2 years to the herd (100 plus) I am now back on my pre drought schedule. I am getting ready to start stockpiling fescue for Winter feeding. I get by during the summer by stock piling fescue in the late spring also and I do plant some pearl millet. If I have enough fescue stockpiled to get through July/Aug then I can make it on fescue and clover. I do have arrowleaf and will have alice clover for next summer.

[Zookeeper]

NICE pasture, BTW.

Maybe I misunderstood what I read about having both fescue and bermuda.

You can't argue with success...I am going to show this to DH as you have obviously got this down to a science

We are at a disadvantage since the small pasture we're trying to establish is at the moment, the only place we have that is not forested, so limited on where to put the cow while all this is going on. Also we don't have any way to cut/bale hay for winter.

But this will help us get started. I know it will not happen overnight. We're working with land that has never been cultivated before, so maybe in a couple of years, it will look like something...

[agmantoo]

Your Quote
Also, would you not want to kill off the weeds before planting any seeds? (We're talking KILLER weeds, some are over my head!) I understand using them for cover/mulch while the seeds take hold but what happens next spring when they come back, if we don't kill the roots now? Will fescue kill them all and not allow them to regrow next spring?


Land that will not grow weeds will not grow a crop! The tall weeds need to be mowed as tall as the bush hog will run then they need to be cut a second time about as low as the machine will run. You are going to get a heavy stand of fescue and you are going to keep all paddocks clipped high. This will curtail the growth of the undesirable plants and promote the fescue and clover. You will get the weeds under control and rotational grazing will let the desirable plants thrive. You do not see a lot of weeds in the pic I posted do you? The only spraying I do is at the fence lines and that is minimal.

[haypoint]

Getting a good stand of grass/clover mixtures depends on weather, but broadcasting is a good way to start.

I think the difficulty is not with getting the pasture growing, but in getting the weeds out. Weeds often produce lots of seeds and those seeds will germinate thru the next decade. How will you handle that?

What does the soil need? You'll need a soil test so you can provide everything the pasture needs. Sometimes providing the nutrients to the desired crop will allow it to become established and compete with the weeds. Other times, the already established weeds enjoy the added nutrients and flourish.

[vicker]

Winter is a great time to broadcast pasture seeds. Do it when there is fresh snow in the ground and you can see how thckly you are seeding. The freezing and thawing of the ground will help the seeds get down in there, and in the spring the clover should come right up. followed by the grassses. I would mow it regularly as soon as the early clover has gone to seed and not let the weeds go to seed. Let the grass go to seed in the late summer.

[Drizler]

Best place to get the true and free local skinny on how to successfully farm is right at the local Cooperative Extension office. They should be able to give you all the details you need as well as the options that the local farmers use. Another way is to just talk to a couple of the local farmers one on one. You never know what can come of that. Possibly they can offer to hog it for you in exchange for your excess crop or something similar, you never know. That is what many people do around here.