DougMD

The guy planted it in my field and says deer eat it, but I've never heard of it myself. By the way, apparently some of that mixture of overseeding has sprouted despite no lime at all yet. Since it has sprouted, the lime guy doesn't want to put down any lime until after at least the first frost sometime in November.

Orchard grass???? He put it in there to grow quick so the deer would eat it and let the other stuff be able to grow in its shadow so the deer don't browse it off and kill it.

Dan O.

Doug; I think this guy is doing you in. You use a crop such as oats or wheat as a nurse crop. These are not persistent and don't show regrowth after harvest. The grass is a perennial that will take over your stand if you don't keep it mowed. Deer will eat grass, if it's young and tender or if they have to, but they prefer other crops.

Dan O.

DougMD

He is doing me in alright. I told him not to put seed down until after the lime truck went through, and then only rye. Instead, he put down orchard grass, clover, alfalfa, rye, etc. and overseeded before the lime was put down. Now I can't put lime down until after the frost. Worst of all is that he's billing me $327 for fertilizer and seed when I specifically told him to only do rye after the lime.

So is the orchard grass going to help let the other stuff (rye, alfalfa, clover) grow, or is it going to take over and be a pain in the a$$ for me by coming back and taking over the plot? Remember, my PH level is less than 4 and NO lime has been spread, and won't be until November sometime.

Thanks for the advice. This whole year for me has been full of bad service and stuff I buy that doesn't work. I told him to finish up and get out of there and mail me my keys back!





Edited by - DougMd on 10/03/2002 11:05:46

timbercruiser

Isn't this about the same guy that you posted about a few weeks ago? I don't know what orchard grass is, but I've never seen it referred to as a deer plot grass. Cut your losses with him and find a reputable farm center and see if they will help you. Even if you spread the lime now, you wouldn't get full benefit till your spring planting. You should have been able to have got a nice size plot limed, seeded and fertilized cheaper than that.

DougMD

timbercruiser,

Yes, it is the same guy. He might be padding the bill (ie. buying stuff for his own property and/or friends and charging me). In any case, it ticks me off to know I am getting the bill for something I clearly told him not to do ahead of time, and for orchard grass being planted that will take over everything, so it has to be killed just to bring me back to square one.

WV Hunter

The deer will eat the orchardgrass for sure(but it is not their preferred choice), but like Dan said...it's a perennial, and my guess based on what you are saying is you'll have a field full of orchard grass next summer, that'll probably be it. Orchard grass is usually used for grazing pasture land, and for making hay. Maybe you can get some cows <img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>



Edited by - WV Hunter on 10/03/2002 12:34:40

DougMD

Thanks for the heads-up. I guess I could spray and kill it, since most of the other stuff he planted is annual, and the alfalfa won't come back because of the PH level.

Poisoning the grass next spring won't screw up the lime's increasing the PH level, will it?

I wish I knew what I was getting into! I would have gone with someone else...

Dan O.

Roundup won't affect your pH. But; rather than starting over you may want to see how the plot goes next year. Mow it several times through the season to keep the grass down. If the grass is too thick, you can spray with a selective herbicide that kills the grass but leaves the alfalfa and clover.

Dan O.

farm hunter

Sorry I did not reply sooner, as the others have pointed out - Orchard grass is not a good thing when it comes to food plots. Do not kill it off this year, it will prove some nutrition as a young plant for deer - while its still digestable. Here is a link for nutrient levels of different types of Hay.

http://www.oxbowhay.com/art_nutrient_analysis.htm

On the outset orchard grass does not seem all that bad, but the nutrient chart fails to take into consideration the digestability of the forage, or that free ranging animals (deer) will choose more succulent (digestable) forbs when given the chance. Keep in mind that the chart is referring to cattle or horses, and what is undigesible to them - is MUCH different than what is undigestible for deer. Even if you can coax the deer to eat it, understand that it will take a deer with a full belly of orchard grass much longer (lets assume 2 times as long) to digest than clover, or even oats. As a result - a deer feeding on orchard grass alone, will only get 1/2 half the nutrients, that it would have - had it been eating clover - even though it is eating well.

If you are still using the same guy, tell him to put the lime down now - do not wait until the first frost - it serves no purpose, especially with a hay type forage.

Using Orchard Grass as a nurse crop for clover or alfafa might be a good idea for cow hay, but is Not good for deer - he should have uses an winter hardy annual cereal grain for that purpose.

DougMD

Farm Hunter,

He also planted clover, alfalfa, oats and rye, and overseeded. I would lime now if it were only orchard grass, but would hate to see the other stuff that's coming up get killed off too.