When and Where to Plant Teff Grass Seed?

[carman_liz]

Has anyone planted Teff seed successfully? Not for hay but for forage and pasture grass? I have good grass right now but as I reseed/overseed I would like to have the lowest sugar possible in my fields. Idk if Teff will grow as forage though vs hay? As far as being able to take grazing and then regrowing and handling mowing and growing thru other established grasses?

If anyone has done this, when do you sow it? Tips and tricks to sowing depth or types of fertilizer to use with it? Do you sow it in fall or spring? Where in the US or what climate area are you in?

For reference, I live in the northeast corner of TN, I can be in Virginia in under 20 minutes. We get freezing temps but more cold nasty rain and sleet than actual snow in winter. This year we had two snows, less than 2in each. We mow thru end of September usually, I mowed once in late Dec/early Jan this year on a random 65 degree day at 4" height and I had clumps on the lawn it was still so tall and thick

Summers go up to the mid to high 90s and we either have no rain, or it gets unbearable hot and humid all day and then will pour rain for an hr or so in the evenings and cool down slightly. It is May and we have had 80 degree weather already, and this morning it is only in the low 40s. AKA Mother Nature hardcore PMS’s around here!!!

Really hoping people will chime in on this, I would have to order the seed and have only seen where Teff is grown for hay or is seeded in a completely re-tilled dirt field when I looked on google and youtube. Looking for real life experience with trying to use it as pasture. I’m thinking of tamaraintn but it will not let me tag her!

[NaturalSelection]

I have been thinking about planting teff in one of my rotational pastures as well. I understand teff to thrive in hot, dry conditions (good drought tolerance). Does not tolerate freezing, in my area (Wisconsin) it’s definitely an annual. I have pasted a link to U of MN Extension below.

Still not sure if I’ll try it this year, but I have time. Still too cold to plant teff up here! Edited to add that if I try teff, I plan to select the sandiest, driest pasture, drag pasture and overseed into cool season grasses.
https://extension.umn.edu/forage-var…estock-systems

[Leather]

I feed Teff hay and the common theme from the growers is that it’s a PITA! Well growing it for hay isn’t so hard as drying/baling it!

Natalie Shaw is a great resource on Teff for horses. One of the hay farmers I get my Teff from works with her.

She’s got an article on making a low-carb pasture, and talks about trying to use Teff and that it doesn’t really work:

http://www.lowcarbhorsehay.com/how-do-i-make-my-pasture-low-carb/

“Can I plant teff seed in my field to make it low carb” Nope. I appreciate your line of thinking, but there are several reasons why you must abandon the idea of planting teff grass in your horse pastures. First off, teff grass is an annual which means it dies off every year at the first thought of frost. You’d have to plant it every single year. Secondly, it will not compete with other grass species that are meant to grow here. Teff grass comes from the deserts of Ethiopia and loves the extreme heat. It must be planted and nurtured by a farmer.

So you’d have to factor in the cost of re-planting each year.

Also handling and planting depth is an art - the seeds are tiny so most often are coated so they’re easier to use. Also because it’s a newer crop there often aren’t established planter settings for it. Most farmers need to play around for a couple of seasons with their equipment until they find just the right combination.

[Calvincrowe]

I was under the impression that teff is actually a grain, like wheat,oats,quinoa, that must be planted annually as a crop. Teff hay is cut before the seed heads mature and it could be harvested as a grain. It isn’t a grass seed, per se, so not something you’d plant as a perennial grass for a pasture. It’s grown in NE Africa as a grain for making injera, the spongy pancake like bread eaten in Ethiopia.

[Equibrit]

More Natalie Shaw; https://hayandforage.com/article-2802-three-keys-to-making-low-carb-teff-grass-hay.html

[carman_liz]

Soo… if I wait till June and its dry. Your’e saying there is a chance!!! I think it would be fun to try maybe and see what happens.

[Equibrit]

Probably nothing if you plan on overseeding.

[carman_liz]

@Equibrit

Probably nothing if you plan on overseeding.

Darn… maybe i can super short mow a 20x20 area outside the pastures, almost like a garden patch and till it up, smooth it down and try a lb of the seed and see how it goes. If nothing grows, I put fescue and orchard back down, or start a garden there lol.

[carman_liz]

@Leather

I feed Teff hay and the common theme from the growers is that it’s a PITA! Well growing it for hay isn’t so hard as drying/baling it!

Natalie Shaw is a great resource on Teff for horses. One of the hay farmers I get my Teff from works with her.

She’s got an article on making a low-carb pasture, and talks about trying to use Teff and that it doesn’t really work:

http://www.lowcarbhorsehay.com/how-do-i-make-my-pasture-low-carb/

So you’d have to factor in the cost of re-planting each year.

Also handling and planting depth is an art - the seeds are tiny so most often are coated so they’re easier to use. Also because it’s a newer crop there often aren’t established planter settings for it. Most farmers need to play around for a couple of seasons with their equipment until they find just the right combination.

What area of the country are you in and do you feed round or square? What do you pay per bale in your region? Thanks!

[Leather]

@carman_liz

What area of the country are you in and do you feed round or square? What do you pay per bale in your region? Thanks!

I’m in MN. I only bought small squares (about 40-50 lbs) of Teff last year, and I think I paid like $7-8 for them.

My Teff round bale producer (a different person than who I get the small squares from) didn’t do any hay last year, but the previous years I got them for like $105 (they’re 4x5 so not huge ones). At the time that was an outrageous price for rounds around here, but this past fall due to a bad year for hay regular so-so hay rounds were going for well over $100 (usually you can find decent horse hay for $60/round).

I wish I could find a consistent source of Teff rounds. There is one guy who makes a lot of them, but he stores them outside. Teff absorbs moisture so easily that half the bale is wasted when stored like that. Even if they let them sit on the field for a while before storing inside the bottoms will get so much worse than regular hay.

[Pohney]

As a heads up - we were considering Teff vs. crabgrass as a summer annual and were advised that Teff can be finicky to plant. It is planted shallow and like a very firm seedbed - I was told “firm enough to dribble a basketball.” We are seeding recently cleared land with an overall poor soil profile (currently low in N/K/P and pH) so went with crabgrass since it is stupid tolerant, easy to broadcast, and makes tasty pasture.

[carman_liz]

@Leather

I’m in MN. I only bought small squares (about 40-50 lbs) of Teff last year, and I think I paid like $7-8 for them.

My Teff round bale producer (a different person than who I get the small squares from) didn’t do any hay last year, but the previous years I got them for like $105 (they’re 4x5 so not huge ones). At the time that was an outrageous price for rounds around here, but this past fall due to a bad year for hay regular so-so hay rounds were going for well over $100 (usually you can find decent horse hay for $60/round).

I wish I could find a consistent source of Teff rounds. There is one guy who makes a lot of them, but he stores them outside. Teff absorbs moisture so easily that half the bale is wasted when stored like that. Even if they let them sit on the field for a while before storing inside the bottoms will get so much worse than regular hay.

That sucks I am sorry!!! Maybe he could tell you when he js going to bale and you could come geg a few out of the field when they are baled? Around here rounds are only 40 or so bucks.

[buck22]

Teff is great hay and I love it, have been feeding it for years. I too wanted to overseed with it, especially during drought, but its root system is so shallow, it will not tolerate being walked on by horses at all.

It can be challenging to dry and round bale, even in small squares can be hard, if there is any humidity. Its a dessert plant, designed to pull in as much moisture as possible in its original arid environment. In a moisture-rich environment it impossible to dry. Farmers either love it or hate it, generally both, sometimes in the same year.

You’ll have a tough time sourcing teff in TN as you guys get a lot of humidity there, but maybe look to farmers in dryer areas of your state.