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How to Seed Timothy Hay
How to Seed Timothy Hay. Timothy grass was introduced to North America by European settlers in the 17th century. It is a "cool season" grass with its most intense growth in the early spring and summer. There are two basic methods to seed timothy grass. You can prepare the area for seeding by disking and applying an herbicide to kill competing grass...
Timothy grass was introduced to North America by European settlers in the 17th century. It is a "cool season" grass with its most intense growth in the early spring and summer. There are two basic methods to seed timothy grass. You can prepare the area for seeding by disking and applying an herbicide to kill competing grass and weeds, then seed. You can also seed timothy grass by a method called "no-till planting" (interseeding) that is much less disruptive to the area. Herbicides are usually used to control competitors with no-till planting.
Things You'll Need
Tractor
Plow
Disker
Roller
No-till drill (optional)
Roto-tiller (optional)
Broadcast spreader
Conventional Tillage
Plow the area. Use the tractor and plow to plow the area. Smaller areas can be roto-tilled just as effectively. This should be done in the fall.
Apply an herbicide. Check with your local distributor for an appropriate herbicide that is not detrimental to timothy grass. Apply an herbicide if you get regrowth in the spring before you plant the timothy seeds.
If the area you are planting had tall grasses or grasses that grow in sods, apply the herbicide in the fall.
Disk the area. Use the tractor and disker to kill any remaining vegetation and further break up the soil. This should follow plowing in the fall, and should be repeated in the spring before planting timothy seeds if there is regrowth of vegetation.
Compact the area. Use a tractor with a roller (also called a cultipacker) to firm the soil before planting. This should be done in the spring prior to planting the timothy grass. The area is properly compacted when a footprint hardly shows up.
Plant the seeds. Depending on the local climate, plant the seeds from spring to early summer. Check with your local university agriculture extension or seed distributor for the best time to plant. Pure live seed (PLS) should be planted by broadcast spreader at a rate of eight to twelve pounds per acre.
Cool season grasses can also be planted in late summer, although spring plantings are usually more productive.
Tips & Warnings
No-till planting, also called interseeding, is generally less disruptive to an existing pasture or area. This offers a way of improving pasture productivity by seeding timothy or other grass into an existing pasture.
No-till planting involves opening the present sod with a no-till drill, placing the seeds in the shallow furrows, and covering the seeds.
