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I’m looking to order this years seed for planting in April and thought I ‘d ask the group what people are looking to put in this year, and what has been successful or not worked?
I was looking at doing a custom mix again but the Bells Pollinator Mix in combination with the Premium Mix at a ratio of 1:2 looks like it might be a cheaper option. Would just need to top up with some plantain and radish.
https://bellpastureseeds.com.au/product/bps-pollinator-mix/
https://bellpastureseeds.com.au/product/bps-premium-mix/
Last year I had success with the chicory, plantain, mustard, forage rape, radish, the annual rye grasses, the various clovers all came up across different times of the season.
Linseed and Buckwheat comes up but doesn’t offer much in terms of feed, but people keep telling me they are great for the soil.
All the cereals (wheat, barley, triticale, Oats, rye corn), peas and vetches just seam to struggle and get chewed out in the first graze.
Never had much luck with safflower, serradella, prairie grass, fescue, cocksfoot, phalaris, tedera, salt beet, faba beans, sunflower and the perennials just don’t like the competition.
I’m also consider putting in Lucerne as a single crop into the irrigation paddocks to try and get them established over winter and ready for summer.
Others on the list as a potential to try at some stage – soya beans, quinoa, fennugreek, turnips, sunn hemp.
2 Comments-
Hello Brett. What is the aim of the planting? There would be different recommendations based on purpose. Are you doing a cover, improved annual based pasture or looking to establish permanent perennial based pasture?
It looks like you have a fairly good handle on what to use in covers. I would probably not add a perennial species to a cover mix because they are expensive and don’t do well with the competition as you have observed. Also, and probably more importantly they are hard to manage from a grazing perspective in a cover crop. They need light grazing during the established phase.
Don’t be discouraged if some species don’t go past the first graze eg, vetch or cereals. These plants have still contributed below ground. I would consider holding off grazing the covers till the first species are beginning to flower to optimise root development of the cover.
Another source of multi species cover seed is through Goodies farm ( near MtBarker) advantage being, they grow their seed regeneratively and no seed treatments.
I was involved with the development of Tedera in WA. A great plant, but more suited to lower rainfall zone as a plant that can hang onto leaves during the summer and then grazed through autumn. Doesn’t like competition like most perennials in establishment…
Lucerne and chicory (5kg/1kg) mix really complement each other well and great when used for high quality lamb finishing pasture. Important to find a deep soil that is well draining and not acid at depth. Lucerne really struggles with wet feet and with pH <5 CaCl. If you have irrigation, I would recommend a spring sowing into a well prepared ( competition free) paddock.
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If you’re going to graze it I think the species you listed are about where its at (Last year I had success with the chicory, plantain, mustard, forage rape, radish, the annual rye grasses, the various clovers all came up across different times of the season).
Other traditional annual species like oats, peas, linseed, buckwheat etc… are only worthwhile putting in stockpiled paddocks that you aren’t going to graze over the green season. They do however provide excellent standing feed over the dry season and do a great job improving the soil.
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