Biodiverse Polyculture (USDA 8a Zone Pasture) - sounds better than "My Acres of Weeds"

[U_Stormcrow]

Bahia, definitely Bahia. For the goats, not the chickens. Thank you @Florida Bullfrog ! Though it looks like I will have to wait till May to plant that.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

A couple of videos I’ve done on bahia over the years. I love the stuff.

I don’t think I have footage of how animals utilize the seed heads, but chickens and other poultry love to eat the seed heads.

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

YES. I have fescues, St. Augustine, bluestem, orchard grass, have tried several bunch grasses, and little bits of others besides. and that's just the grasses. Have (or had) four different clovers, sedges, worts, flax, sorrels, have tried buckwheat, sorghum, sudangrass, rye (annual & perennial), numerous flowering plants, and more other things than I can quickly recall.

are you sure they’ll all perish in the cold? i live in a cold place and often the cold stratification is needed for a lot of seeds to germinate. you may end up okay, no? we definitely have perennial sorrel, sorghum, rye, and lots of flowers that will return even after months of below freezing. i hope your pasture is ok!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

are you sure they’ll all perish in the cold?

No, I'm not. I have no confidence at all - not at all like me - and I haven't a clue. That's something else I hate.

We don't get weather like this. I've been buying peach trees that require few chill hour - 200 -300 because that's all we've been getting for years. Having 6+ inches of snow on the ground for days, and patches still on the ground five days later is not a condition any of my plants were designed for. Some of it, certainly, will come back. But it was already sparse and patchy in places.

I am very worried that so much damage has been done that, in combination with my (too many) goats and the rest of my critters, it simply won't recover this year and provide much benefit in bending my feed cost curve.

But yes, since I initally posted, I'm seeing some greening in one of my low grasses, plus the subterannean clover, meaning the other clovers likely made it, and a few other things I recognize (mostly the near zero value things). I know from past years that the wild flowers will come back in one location. So its not a complete loss - but its still a shock.

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

No, I'm not. I have no confidence at all - not at all like me - and I haven't a clue. That's something else I hate.

We don't get weather like this. I've been buying peach trees that require few chill hour - 200 -300 because that's all we've been getting for years. Having 6+ inches of snow on the ground for days, and patches still on the ground five days later is not a condition any of my plants were designed for. Some of it, certainly, will come back. But it was already sparse and patchy in places.

I am very worried that so much damage has been done that, in combination with my (too many) goats and the rest of my critters, it simply won't recover this year and provide much benefit in bending my feed cost curve.

But yes, since I initally posted, I'm seeing some greening in one of my low grasses, plus the subterannean clover, meaning the other clovers likely made it, and a few other things I recognize (mostly the near zero value things). I know from past years that the wild flowers will come back in one location. So its not a complete loss - but its still a shock.

oh gosh yes, if you aren’t used to it that could be devastating. Please keep us posted what starts to pop up in the spring. I’d be curious what makes it through extreme weather events like that for your area. Sending hope!

 

[allenw]

The snow should actually be a benefit to you. It would have insulated your plants from the cold and held some of the ground heat. I wouldn't give up hope yet.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Seed ordered - will overseed later in the year.

Hancock's Pensacola Bahia Fall & Winter Grass Seed Mix

Hancock's Fall & Winter Food Plot Seed Mix

90# of seed between the two. Should adequately seed 2 acres.

The ingredient list (subject to seasonal variations) is:

Pensacola Bahiagrass (Coated)
Gulf Annual Ryegrass
Brown Top Millet
Grain Rye
Winter Pea
Oats
Crimson Clover
Chicory
Radish
Turnip
Sugar Beet

Will put some lime and some fertilizer down first - seperately sourced, shipping on fertilizer is crazy!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Will overseed with the warmer crops - Teff, sunn hemp, lab lab.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

800# of pelletized lime - 1/2 the amount recommended for my soil - incoming. As well as 150# of 10-18-10 fertilizer, because my soil phos levels are so low. Will have to drop 10-10-10 in the fall.

First time I've fertilized the pasture. By the end of this year, we'll have real results. Worth it??? or Not???

 

[Sally PB]

By the end of this year, we'll have real results. Worth it??? or Not???