When to plant grass seed - Ask Extension
Hello, I’m seeking advice on when to plant grass in my pasture. I use the pasture for horse grazing in the summer, but no animals on it in the winte...
Knowledgebase
When to plant grass seed #817796
Asked December 27, 2022, 12:59 PM EST
Hello, I’m seeking advice on when to plant grass in my pasture. I use the pasture for horse grazing in the summer, but no animals on it in the winter. I have purchased a grass seed mix that is designed for equine forage suitable for high traffic. I live in cottage grove.
Lane County Oregon
Expert Response
Greetings,
Thank you for reaching out. Below are links to our resources that answer that question AND add additional foundational knowledge related to successful pasture management. Once reviewing if you have follow up questions, or want to run your specific farm plan by our faculty, please email Melissa Fery directly: <personal data hidden>. She will be returning from vacation on January 3rd.
Have you done a soil test? Do you know what weed pressure you have? The publications and online course below will help guide the answers to these questions which are all connected to how successful your seeding will be.
FREE online course: Pasture and Grazing Management
https://workspace.oregonstate.edu/course/pasture-and-grazing-management
Managing Small-Acreage Horse Farms in Western Oregon and Western Washington
Horses, grass, manure, soil and water are all interconnected. How you manage one affects the others. Following these seven steps can make your horse farm safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly. Learn more about horse grazing...
The following are excerpts from the above publication.
Pastures that have lost desirable forage species may be overseeded or completely renovated to provide quality pasture for horses.
Overseeding
To improve a pasture stand and fill in bare spots, broadcast 5 to 10 pounds of seed per acre over the pasture in late September or early October. Lightly harrow or roll seed into moist soil to ensure seed-soil contact. Alternately, allow horses to create seed-soil contact with their hooves. Perennial ryegrass is well-adapted to broadcast overseeding.
Renovation
Severe pasture damage may require complete pasture renovation. Complete renovation requires destroying the old sod with herbicides or tillage, preparing the seedbed and re-seeding. Pasture renovation is costly. Before you consider renovating a pasture, exhaust other means of improvement, such as grazing management, overseeding, increased irrigation efficiency and fertilization.
Delay grazing on a newly plowed and reseeded pasture until the soil is dry enough to support horses. Use the “pull test” to determine whether seedlings are sufficiently anchored by their roots to resist the pull of a grazing horse. This will ensure that plants become well established and firmly rooted in the ground. Don’t graze a reseeded pasture until the new growth is at least 6 to 8 inches tall, and graze lightly during the first season, leaving at least 4 inches of the leaf.
Manage pasture fertility to promote productive stands of grasses and other forages
Like horses, plants need nutrients in adequate and balanced amounts. Fertilizing pastures promotes strong stands of desirable pasture plants that are better able to compete with weeds. Fertilization also boosts forage production.
Fertilizers typically provide nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and sometimes sulfur (S) and calcium (Ca). These nutrients can come from synthetic or organic sources. Manure and composted manure can provide many required plant nutrients and improve the biological activity of soil. (See “Manage manure and bedding resources.”)
A soil test is the best way to determine which nutrients are needed for a pasture and in what amounts. See A Guide to Collecting Soil Samples for Farms and Gardens (EC 628) and Analytical Laboratories Serving Oregon (EM 8677) listed in “For more information.”
Always apply N just before an active grass-growing period — early spring and early fall. Apply 30 to 50 pounds of N per acre one or two times per year.
Pastures with a mix of grass and legume require less N fertilizer because legumes fix N2 from the air through a symbiotic process with rhizobia bacteria in root nodules. Plants can use this N for their growth requirements.
Do not over apply N; it increases the potential for N leaching into runoff. High N applications to forages and weeds may cause N toxicity in livestock, especially during dry years. Although N poisoning in horses is rare, excess dietary nitrogen can cause gastrointestinal irritation, diarrhea, colic and laminitis in horses. Over application of any fertilizer is a waste of money and a threat to soil and water quality.
Apply S at a rate of approximately 30 pounds per acre every other year. Apply P, K and Ca only according to recommendations based on soil test results
For more details see:
Pasture & Grazing Management in the Northwest
The comprehensive resource for anyone who manages livestock on pastures in the Northwest, this book offers pasture managers information and tools to enable their pastures and their livestock to reach their maximum production potentials. Seventeen chapters proceed from planning to budgeting. Black and white with color plates.
Thank you for reaching out. Below are links to our resources that answer that question AND add additional foundational knowledge related to successful pasture management. Once reviewing if you have follow up questions, or want to run your specific farm plan by our faculty, please email Melissa Fery directly: <personal data hidden>. She will be returning from vacation on January 3rd.
Have you done a soil test? Do you know what weed pressure you have? The publications and online course below will help guide the answers to these questions which are all connected to how successful your seeding will be.
FREE online course: Pasture and Grazing Management
https://workspace.oregonstate.edu/course/pasture-and-grazing-management
Managing Small-Acreage Horse Farms in Western Oregon and Western Washington
Horses, grass, manure, soil and water are all interconnected. How you manage one affects the others. Following these seven steps can make your horse farm safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly. Learn more about horse grazing...
The following are excerpts from the above publication.
Pastures that have lost desirable forage species may be overseeded or completely renovated to provide quality pasture for horses.
Overseeding
To improve a pasture stand and fill in bare spots, broadcast 5 to 10 pounds of seed per acre over the pasture in late September or early October. Lightly harrow or roll seed into moist soil to ensure seed-soil contact. Alternately, allow horses to create seed-soil contact with their hooves. Perennial ryegrass is well-adapted to broadcast overseeding.
Renovation
Severe pasture damage may require complete pasture renovation. Complete renovation requires destroying the old sod with herbicides or tillage, preparing the seedbed and re-seeding. Pasture renovation is costly. Before you consider renovating a pasture, exhaust other means of improvement, such as grazing management, overseeding, increased irrigation efficiency and fertilization.
Delay grazing on a newly plowed and reseeded pasture until the soil is dry enough to support horses. Use the “pull test” to determine whether seedlings are sufficiently anchored by their roots to resist the pull of a grazing horse. This will ensure that plants become well established and firmly rooted in the ground. Don’t graze a reseeded pasture until the new growth is at least 6 to 8 inches tall, and graze lightly during the first season, leaving at least 4 inches of the leaf.
Manage pasture fertility to promote productive stands of grasses and other forages
Like horses, plants need nutrients in adequate and balanced amounts. Fertilizing pastures promotes strong stands of desirable pasture plants that are better able to compete with weeds. Fertilization also boosts forage production.
Fertilizers typically provide nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and sometimes sulfur (S) and calcium (Ca). These nutrients can come from synthetic or organic sources. Manure and composted manure can provide many required plant nutrients and improve the biological activity of soil. (See “Manage manure and bedding resources.”)
A soil test is the best way to determine which nutrients are needed for a pasture and in what amounts. See A Guide to Collecting Soil Samples for Farms and Gardens (EC 628) and Analytical Laboratories Serving Oregon (EM 8677) listed in “For more information.”
Always apply N just before an active grass-growing period — early spring and early fall. Apply 30 to 50 pounds of N per acre one or two times per year.
Pastures with a mix of grass and legume require less N fertilizer because legumes fix N2 from the air through a symbiotic process with rhizobia bacteria in root nodules. Plants can use this N for their growth requirements.
Do not over apply N; it increases the potential for N leaching into runoff. High N applications to forages and weeds may cause N toxicity in livestock, especially during dry years. Although N poisoning in horses is rare, excess dietary nitrogen can cause gastrointestinal irritation, diarrhea, colic and laminitis in horses. Over application of any fertilizer is a waste of money and a threat to soil and water quality.
Apply S at a rate of approximately 30 pounds per acre every other year. Apply P, K and Ca only according to recommendations based on soil test results
For more details see:
Pasture & Grazing Management in the Northwest
The comprehensive resource for anyone who manages livestock on pastures in the Northwest, this book offers pasture managers information and tools to enable their pastures and their livestock to reach their maximum production potentials. Seventeen chapters proceed from planning to budgeting. Black and white with color plates.
