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| have the opportunity to rent a grass field that is on muck (organic soil). I dont necessarily think I will have it for multiple years given the landowners age/health. I dont remember the field ever being seeded, owner assures me it was. Looking at the field there are areas where dandilions, thistles, nettles and other assorted broadleaves present. Not what I would consider overwhelming but there. Owner has been operating it and selling the hay off but he wants to exit the business and his equipment is wore out. it has to stay in hay. fertility is average, he did soil test and put some fertilizer down.
I hate to invest in working it up reseeding it to a better stand of mixed hay and then lose the ground. Rent is year to year. If/when it comes up for sale I am not sure I want to put the money it may bring into this ground.
So my thoughts are to spray with 2,4D to "improve" the hay and if possible frost seed or fall overseed some sort of legume into the field. not notil but broadcast
The hay will be a cash crop and if I can legit say it is grass alfalfa mix I can get more per bale from the horse buyers in the area. Clover, from my experience, turns dark and the buyers dont like this.
Am I thinking correctly in your experience? what crop would you seed, if any? I dont have a notil drill, so broadcast I am thinking. do I rent a drill?
thoughts are a vernal or cheap alfalfa.
this is a low budget operation. I could go thru all the above and NOT get the field next year if the land owner dies and the kids want to cash out.
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inter seeding legume into grass hay
