Seeding pastures

[Rockin'B]

I have two small pastures of about 4 acres each that I need to over seed. I just about choke when I see seed drills for sale. Does anyone know of relatively inexpensive seed drills? Maybe designed with the small acreage owner in mind?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Bill

[big rockpile]

No more area than that I would just wait before a rain and broadcast it.Or broadcast it on the snow.

big rockpile

[unioncreek]

You can frost seed it when all/most of the snow is off the ground and it's still freezing. Since your in IL, I'd suggest late March or April as long as you have frost cracks in your soil you can do it. Works best with round seeded legumes, but I've done it with some orchard, timothy and fescue and it's worked pretty good.

Bobg

[TulleyJohnMyers]

would chech with the conservation dept I have rented a no till drill here in missouri for $5.00 a acre why I do not own a $5000 drill....tjm

[furholler]

Good advice. I'll keep it in mind myself.

[RosewoodfarmVA]

If you have cattle, wait til the ground is damp after a rain....not sopping wet, just damp, then broadcast the seed and let the cattle mash it in for a few days or a week, then remove them until the grass has taken hold (a year or so). You'll get better germination when the seed has been pressed into the soil than when it's just resting on top. You could also wait until the frost has "honeycombed" the ground and broadcast on top, but you risk less germination because the seed isn't packed down well. If you broadcast on frozen ground then when it has thawed, run over it with a cultipacker or other such heavy roller, it'll come up better.

If it was me I'd use the animals to pack it in. Just make sure the soil is not too wet. When a cow steps and makes about a 1/2 inch dimple it's about right.

[Rockin'B]

Thanks all.
some additional info might help, I should have added this in the original post. I'm soon to be in between cattle. I have three right now that are soon to head off to freezer camp. I was going to hold a heifer back, but have decided that we are going to change over to Dexters and highland cattle. Since we are in between soon, I'm planning on a complete renovation. We are going to replace all the fencing and clean up some brushy areas. This pasture used to be riddled with bad weeds, but we have gotten that mostly under control. This in between time will be a great opportunity to over seed and upgrade the forage quality.
So we won't have cattle to walk the seed in and I really didn't want to do the scatter on snow thing with such expensive seed. I guess I'll have to do that since I'm lacking a drill.

[RosewoodfarmVA]

Why not seed BEFORE you butcher the cows, and use them to walk it in, then allow the grasses to get a good hold before buying new calves?

[genebo]

For pastures the size of yours, you should look for a used Befco Green-Rite seeder. It's a 3-point landscape seeder that has rototiller-like blades to cut a slit in the soil. That's followed by the drop seeder, then a roller to close the slits. It cuts slits every 3" apart instead of 7" apart like a grain drill.

I've used one for 2 years now. It makes seeds sprout in heavy clay or sand. I now have grass in places I never could get it to grow before.

I paid $500 for mine, in need of some repairs. It cost less than $100 to fix it up.

The nice thing about it is that it does a great job of seeding lawns, too. That's what it's meant for. You can pay for it seeding other people's lawns.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[Rockin'B]

Originally Posted by RosewoodfarmVA

Why not seed BEFORE you butcher the cows, and use them to walk it in, then allow the grasses to get a good hold before buying new calves?

Up until the past two days it has been below freezing and covered with snow. The cows have been moved into a paddock up by the barn. They are on hay and grain to finish.

[Rockin'B]

Genebo,

That's what I had in mind. I was hoping there was something like that out there.

Thanks!