Seeding With Small Grain

Categories: GRASS SODS

The usual custom is to sow grasses with

small grain, and there is much to commend it. The cost of preparing the

seed-bed rests upon the grain crop, and the conditions are favorable to

fall growth and winter protection, if the seeding is made in the fall.

Wheat and rye are good crops with which to seed. In the case of fertile

land there is the danger that the timothy will establish itself too

well in a warm, moist autum to permit clover to get a foothold the

following spring, and clover should always be seeded for the sake of

fertility. In northern latitudes clover cannot be seeded successfully

as late in the season as wheat should be sown, as it fails to become

well rooted for winter. The overcrowding of clover by timothy is met in

part by reduction in amount of timothy seed sown with the wheat.



The oat crop is less satisfactory for seedings to grass and clover. The

leaves near the ground are too thick, shading the young plants unduly,

and the late harvest exposes the grass and clover when the season is

hot, and usually dry. Some reduction in the amount of seed oats used

per acre helps to save from injury.