Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Rural Living overseeding?

Because of this drought, I have some places in the pasture that the grass is completely dead. Only a few acres.

We are getting some monsoon rain now. Should I disc it now and broadcast with some grass seed and oats as a cover, wait until fall or wait until spring and disc as early as I can and plant then?

The way the weather has been the last few years, early winter is dry, we get a little moisture late winter and early spring, then a dry late May, June and early July with no moisture.

I am at 7650 feet elevation, no means of irrigating.

Here in Kentucky, we reseed grass in the fall. That is usually the optimum time to do so.

I do quite a bit of that here.

Mostly I use a ridged harrow and overseed as I fertilize, then drag it with a panel drag to cover the seed a bit.

Have used a disc on certain placed that really needed it because of hard pan soil.

Here's the ridged harrow I use. It aerates, and scores the ground enough for seed in most cases. It also levels out rough pastureland.

Grass seed is very small so you do not want it buried in soil. Unless the soil is very hard a harrow should cover it.

I would agree with James fall or before the frost goes out would be my choice.

Depends on where you are, and what rainfall expectations are.

Down here, it's best case scenario to put it out with dry-ish conditions, followed by rain... Lots of rain in slow, soaking rains.

But then again, we sure haven't been working under ideal conditions for anything this year.

Frost seeding in late winter/early spring works well.

Thanks.Will have to put it on hold anyway. Suffered a stroke Friday.

Dang, Vince. Get better.

+1
Hope you overcome this setback.

Sure hate to hear that!

Praying you get recovered from that soon!

Prayers sent for a speedy recovery.

Sorry to hear about your health issue. Best wishes for a full recovery.

Hope the recovery is swift and fruitful!

Regarding when to seed, grass is best seeded in the fall/winter in most places. For a pasture, I'd sure not disk it. At most, scratch it up a bit and broadcast the seed. A cultipacker wouldn't hurt, but not needed. Freeze/thaw/weather should get the seed to the soil surface. If you have cheap/easy access to a drill, I'd use it, but I'd not worry about it. If plenty perennial grass species, I'd not be afraid to use some wheat/cereal rye/etc as a cover crop, especially if you'll need to use it sooner rather than later.

I guess different areas do different things.

Most hay farmers disk their hay fields at least every two years here, and some disc every year. They apply fertilizer after discing and drag it to cover and smooth.

Did a 12.5 acre hay field last year, and disced it hard, harrowed, fertilized and overseeded, and a couple months later he got 4 bales to the acre putting up hay.

Lots depends on rainfall too.

Rain is what I an worried about. Drought killed a lot of it this year. About the only thing left in spots is Brome. I have 4 ft wide toothed harrow I could drag around instead of the ten ft tandem disc.

I'd probably use oats as cover crop. Wheat I would worry about the mules eating the beards if it went to seed .Those can stick in their mouth and throat.

Hope you get on the mend soon.

Red clover and Timothy would be my choice here.

Late winter frost seed. Use a broadcast seeder.

No reason you couldn't plant red clover and oats in late summer/early fall as long as rains are I the forecast a day or 2 before seeding.

Assuming not worried much about overgrazing on new grass w a few mules.

FWIW, I'd treat a hayfield different than I would a pasture, especially a small pasture. Different goals and uses. Still not sure I'd disk and for sure wouldn't disk every 2 years, at least not long term. Too harmful (and anymore expensive) to soil building/health which can be a great hedge against things like drought. Hardly anyone around here grows hay on "good" ground. Most hay operations around here are on ground generally too hard/erosive to effectively raise corn/soybeans on.

Farming is done "right" a million different ways and those ways differ from area to area.

I would want any clover in the pasture. Mules go right to it and ignore the grass and get too fat. Although mules don't founder a much,they still will with enough green clover. Mules can't stand too much prosperity.

Above,I meant to say I WOULDN"T want any clover.

I am still working on this, so more questions.The spots that the grass has died, is not bare dirt. It has layer of dead sod on it. I have a small toothed harrow that I can drag, but don't know if that will get down deep enough and I don't know if seed will germinate laying on top of that dead sod. The only other implement I have is a 10ft tandem disc. It is too small area to have someone come into do it and I sure don't want to plow it up and completely reseed it. It is about 50% grass now.

This stroke has me limited on physical capability, so there is that too.

Any and all thoughts/advice will be deeply appreciated.

I knew what you were saying.

Need to get that dead stuff out of there somehow. You will want seed/soil contact.

Even better if you can seed it then run a cultipacker or a very light harrow to turn some seed in.