April is drill season. Since last fall, Brendan has delivered drills across the Piedmont Soil and Water Conservation District. If you own a tractor of suitable horsepower, you can (for a nominal fee of $150 at time of writing) rent a 7 – or 10 – foot seed drill from the district to plant your legumes, grasses, or grains. The rental includes up to 10 acres and this year we slid in without about 8 acres that were cleared and ready for seed.
Preparation – On April 8-9, 2021 we finished stick picking the area to be seeded. The days before we purchased 200 pounds of oats and 150 pounds of Kentucky fescue. We calibrated the drill and then Brendan settled into the work.
We seeded the Kentucky 31 at a rate of 25 lbs per acre and the oats at 100 lbs per acre. We learned from trial and error that the drill wastes some of the larger grains and had to purchase an additional 150 pounds of oats from Southern States on the 9th to finish the work.
After a long two day’s work we crossed our fingers for rain and settled in to wait. With a little luck the seeds will grow, our soil will build, and the land will be ready for the big pasture planting next year. Stay tuned for a summer update on germination rates and establishment!