I completely agree. I've developed such a hate for fescue that when our retirement home is complete, we won't have a yard. Bunch grasses are fine, but when the percentage gets high, it is time to rotate. I find most (but not all) broadleaf weeds in a plot to be an asset.
@Native Hunter yup, listen to what yoder says about Kentucky 31 fescue, even a sheep could tell you, it's baaaad stuff
Clover and grass are in a constant battle, clover eats carbon and raises nitrogen to a point that it weakens from lack of food and grass takes over because grass eats nitrogen and raises carbon to a point that it weakens from lack of food and clover takes over, repeating the cycle.
At this time of year, I would be getting ready to plant a mix of winter rye and either an annual clover or a perennial clover. How to go about this depends on your soils. I have heavy clay. It compresses easily with heavy equipment. When I reclaim logging decks, I first had to use a sub-soiler to relieve the compression. With the topsoil removed, they are low fertility. I would rotate, winter rye and crimson clover in the fall. I'm in zone 7a. Crimson clover is an annual that acts as a reseeding annual in my zone. Winter rye grows in soil with poor ph and low fertility. The crimson clover would cover the following spring. In mid-June, I would then plant buckwheat. You can also use a 50/50 mix of buckwheat and sunn hemp. Sunn hemp is an annual legume that fixes a lot of N into the soil. I would then rotate back into the WR/CC mix for fall. In the second year of this rotation, I would replace the crimson clover in the fall mix with a perennial clover like Durana.I have a new spot to deal with. I was not expecting this to come up. In the process of clearing for the new house, the bulldozer guy cleared off a fenceline for me that had grown up with red cedar. I had not expected this much disturbed, but I now have 150 yards of old pasture opened up running out to the pond.
It stretches from the pond back to the existing house. It has one problem: it is filled with a lot of rock at the surface, probably too much to roto-till.
I'd like some suggestions on what to plant in it. Ideally, I'll just make it another food plot for now. I've promised it to the wife as a butterfly garden, but it'll be a year or so before that will happen.
Many thanks in advance.
. Fescue the devils grass that Natives ancestors spread thru out the states.
I agree. I find that for deer management, alfalfa and perennial clover fill a very similar niche. Clover is much easier to grow and tolerates much less fertile soils. I thing alfalfa is great for guys with naturally fertile soils, but for many of us on more marginal soils, clover is a better fit.
Agree 100%. That being said for some reason I decided to try some alfalfa for about the 3rd or 4th time. Have not had any great success with it yet but so far this year it seems to be doing pretty good. I think we've had just about the perfect growing conditions so far this year. Have been getting timely rains all spring and summer and I think my soil has improved enough to support alfalfa now. Threw alfalfa,radishes,kale,and some strawberry clover in a couple of plots this year. I have been doing the clover and chicory combo for years and it's been working with mowing being the only maintenance. Time will tell on the alfalfa. I broadcasted 2 kinds of alfalfa and can't remember what they were now so if it does work I won't even know what it was. Guessing that it will work and then I won't be able to duplicate it in the future because I still for some reason will think that I'll remember what I did. Slow learner I guess.
