Annual Reseeding or Perennial Grain?

[SwampCat]

Is there any annual reseeding or perenial small grain plant like millet that reliably returns each year. I would like to convert some of my NWSG to something that provides more wildlife benefit. I have had some luck with browntop millet reseeding - but it is not reliable. Anything else to consider?

 

[yoderjac]

I can get WR to reseed pretty easily. I generally don't use it that way, but it surface broadcasts well as long as it gets good seed/soil contact. If you have weeds, I'd spray about 2 weeks before I want to plant. Of course you need to let the WR produce seed heads. Come fall planting time, I'd mow the WR to help distribute the seed than then cultipack to ensure better seed/soil contact. I've gotten pretty good volunteer crops this way.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Wild Thing]

Absolutely - Very much agree with yoderjac. Winter rye is about as easy as it gets.

Here is a plot with winter rye I seeded the previous fall. This was on July 31st and I mowed it within a week or so of that date:



Here is the same plot on Sept 8th - about a month after I mowed it. Keep in mind - all I did was mow the rye with my brush hog. I didn't cultipack it, fertilize it, reseed it or anything else - all I did was mow it:



Here is what it looked like on September 24th:



A buddy of mine prefers to disc his rye but gets the same results.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Most clovers in my region act like reseeding annuals.

Arrowleaf and crimson do well in my sandy soil

Agree with above re:WR......bout as easy as it gets

bill

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I have the same results. Just mow no need to spray or roll/pack. Mine is so thick it out competes everything. I terminated two patches of it that will be going into soybeans this week. The last time these plots were planted into cereals was over three years ago and it just kept coming back. I waited for it to mature and mowed it down to repeat the cycle.

 

[SwampCat]

I have some plots with arrowleaf that come back well. I have 15 acres of once fescue pasture that I have been converting back to nwsg. However, the areas that are now pure stands of nwsg are basically devoid of life. I would rather have those areas in some type of small grain crop to supply food for a myriad of birds than unused stands of nwsg. We have no quail or rabbits and plenty of other bedding areas for deer. The nwsg - with the exception of gamma - dont supply a preferred seed - so that ground with nwsg is basically barren when it comes to wildlife. Johnson grass stands - at least on my place - are used more by wildlife than nwsg. Will there be much of a returning stand of WR without mowing?

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I have some plots with arrowleaf that come back well. I have 15 acres of once fescue pasture that I have been converting back to nwsg. However, the areas that are now pure stands of nwsg are basically devoid of life. I would rather have those areas in some type of small grain crop to supply food for a myriad of birds than unused stands of nwsg. We have no quail or rabbits and plenty of other bedding areas for deer. The nwsg - with the exception of gamma - dont supply a preferred seed - so that ground with nwsg is basically barren when it comes to wildlife. Johnson grass stands - at least on my place - are used more by wildlife than nwsg. Will there be much of a returning stand of WR without mowing?

I doubt it but could be wrong.