Fertilizing fields

[VAcrafter15]

Hi all, just need to know when is it best time of the year to lime and fertilize 10 acres of pastureland in middle Tennessee. I am currently raising feeder calves and want optimum grass productivity to feed my small range feed herd....Looking for advice and opinions. Thanks a bunch for any replies...John

[Cabin Fever]

The best time to lime and fertilize a pasture is right before you plow down the "old" pasture and prepare the "new pasture" for re-seeding. The reason for this is that lime and phosphate are very insoluble and therefore will not "work" there way down into the soil to the rooting zone when simply broadcast over the surface of an existing pasture. Nitrogen and potash are more soluble and can be broadcast on an existing pasture.

In regards to liming, if your pasture is extremely acidic and you have an acid-sensitive legume in your seed mix, I'd recommend applying the lime, plow-down the old pasture, and grow an annual feed crop the next year. And then, seed your new pasture the year after that. The reason for this is that it usually takes a year for regular aglime to affect soil pH. An alternative would be to use a more soluble (albeit more expensive) form of lime and plant the new pasture immediately after the lime application.

[MississippiSlim]

If it is like Mississippi and we are talking about perrenial like bahia or bermuda we broadcast lime, fertilize early spring and again later in the summer especially if we cut hay. The best thing to do is take a soil sample to your ASCS office or county agent to ave it tested. They will tell you what you need and when you need to do it

[agmantoo]

I am a grass farmer selling grass through beef cattle here in NC. I never plow an established pasture. I apply lime anytime I need it to keep the PH not less than 5.8. My main grass for rotaional grassing is Fescue. The fescue is fertilized twice per year spread over the top. My cattle get nothing but pasture and I have to keep the grass growing the best I can. Right now (end of Aug. and early Sept) I will be applying a balanced fertilizer such as 19-19-19. This is a good time to overseed the pasture especially with clover (Apache arrowleaf). I need to get some top growth from the nitrogen as the need for the grass to grow in order that I can stockpile it for winter. . The roots need fed in order to keep a good stand of grass and to build reserves. The main growth spurt in the Spring will be April and May, therefore I will apply nitrogen only in Feb or March depending on weather(wetness) for this growth. Come July the fescue will go dormant so I will not be applying for root maintenance.