It grows in bunches and is quick to establish itself in most locations, and is best-suited as a cool season grass. As always, consult an animal feed expert, veterinarian, or other qualified professional before initiating any feeding regime. Note that sowing in mid to late August or later may not give young starts enough time go become stable for the oncoming winter. A well-prepared seedbed will help to promote higher quality orchardgrass. This should be done 6 months or more prior to the expected planting date to ensure that added amendments have significant time to react with soil.
Ideally, the soil should have a pH between 6. Soil can be amended with lime limestone if needed to raise pH. Do not sow if pH is not 6. Amendment with organic fertilizers rich in nitrogen is recommended. For grazing, orchard grass is best sown with legumes to provide a more balance nutritional profile and to assist with nitrogen fixation.
Avoid sowing with other grasses. Seeds sown deeper may not be able to break through the surface of the soil. Gently pack soil to ensure good seed to soil contact. Like most seeds, they require warmth and plenty of water to germinate. Do not start in arid or excessively dry locations or conditions.
If sowing in fall, do not sow later than one month prior to the first average frost of the fall. Orchardgrass is often considered suitable for a wide range of livestock. If growing for pasture, orchardgrass pairs well with clover varieties for balanced nutrition and nitrogren fixing from the legume. This will also help to promote and ensure healthier stands.
Rotating orchardgrass with other forage crops is recommended, to promote more balance nutritional intake by livestock, and to allow orchardgrass and other plants adequate time to recover from grazing.
Do not allow livestock to overgraze orchardgrass-ideal height for grazing is 6 inches or more. Grazing below inches can cause damage to plants, retarding future growth and delaying future grazings. Additionally, grass taller than 10" or so can become unpalatable and less nutritious. If growing orchardgrass in the absence of legumes, fertilization with nitrogen is recommended.
This is not necessary if growing with legumes as they will fix nitrogen naturally in the surrounding soil. Periodic fertilizing with organic sources of phosphorus and potassium is also recommended.
It is a good idea to periodically check the pH of stands-ideally this should remain between 6. If pH drops, top dressing with lime can be used to correct. Seed Resources. Organic Orchardgrass Seed. Heirloom Orchardgrass Seed. Organic Seeds. Organic Vegetable Seeds. Organic Herb Seeds. Organic Sprouting Seeds.
Heirloom Seeds. Heirloom Vegetable Seeds. Heirloom Herb Seeds. Seed Catalogs. Heirloom Organic. The performance of the orchardgrass varieties was quite variable among the five locations. In other words, a specific orchardgrass variety often exhibited different performance characteristics from one location environment to another. This finding makes selecting a high-performance orchardgrass variety for a specific region more difficult unless you happen to be near a variety-testing site.
Most orchardgrass varieties are marketed nationally, but not all may be adapted as such. What we do know about orchardgrass is that there are huge differences in performance among varieties.
We now also know that those differences get shuffled from region to region. The oddities of orchardgrass. By Mike Rankin. Event "blur" ;n. Thank you for your submission! Home Orchardgrass. Orchardgrass Dactylis glomerata L. Table 1. Characteristics of perennial cool-season grasses in the Northeast. This will depend not only on species but also variety.
Adapted Varieties Several varieties of orchardgrass have been tested and were high-yielding in Pennsylvania variety trials. Establishment Orchardgrass is usually easy to establish in either early spring or late summer. Table 2. Seeding rates for timothy and a single legume in mixture. If orchardgrass or orchardgrass-legume mixtures are seeded with a small grain companion crop, removing the small grain at the boot stage minimizes competition with the forage seedlings and increases the chances of obtaining a good orchardgrass stand Harvest Management For highest quality and high yielding hay, orchardgrass should be harvested in spring during boot stage.
Table 3. Yield and persistence of perennial cool-season grasses when the first harvest was taken at different stages of grass development and fertilized at two rates of N, averaged over three production years.
Management and Productivity of Perennial Grasses in the Northeast. West Virginia Agric. Prejoint High 3. Nutritional value of perennial cool-season grasses at first harvest.
Stn Prejoint Table 5. Performance of cows and calves grazing orchardgrass and tall fescue during a three-year period. Orchardgrass Tall fescue Adapted from V. Lechtenberg et. Calf performance Average daily gains, lb 1. Fertility Maintain soil pH between 6. Summary Orchardgrass is a bunch type grass which establishes rapidly and is suitable for pasture, hay, or silage.
Prepared by Marvin H. Hall, associate professor of agronomy. Authors Marvin Hall, Ph. Why do we need this? Entering your postal code will help us provide news or event updates for your area.
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