Growing Orchard Grass/Timothy

[feraltydreaming]

Good afternoon, everyone.

Last Fall, I seeded a 10x10 ft plot of orchard grass and timothy. This was my first attempt at growing grass intended for hay, so I have a few questions.

1. When do I need to harvest this "crop" to ensure that I get the optimal amount of nutrients as hay?
2. Do I need to feed this mix to the rabbits as grass or can I feed it as hay? I was hoping to feed it as hay.
3. How will I know when to harvest this "crop" a second or third time?

Both the orchard grass and timothy are about 2 ft tall right now.

As I said, I have never done anything like this before, so please forgive my newbieness *laughs*.

I am currently feeding 3 French Angoras and 4 Satins (meat rabbit variety, not Angora). They are all on pellets and orchard grass hay (bought from someone). The goal is to switch the rabbits over to a natural feed mix, but I wanted to see how this grass/hay project worked first, so I am in no rush.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Respectfully,
-FD-

 

[MaggieJ]

I'm no hay expert, but most hay plants should be harvested just as they begin to flower. In the case of timothy, as the "brushes" are forming but still young. You can feed it fresh or as hay. You'll know when it is time to make a second cut because it will again begin to flower.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

I'm no hay expert, but most hay plants should be harvested just as they begin to flower. In the case of timothy, as the "brushes" are forming but still young. You can feed it fresh or as hay. You'll know when it is time to make a second cut because it will again begin to flower.

:yeahthat:

 

[feraltydreaming]

Thank you, MaggieJ, for your informative reply.

2. What can I look for with Orchard grass to know whether it should be harvested? I know that, once it goes to seed, it is not really nutrient dense so I would like to avoid that happening.

Just to make sure that I am going to do the harvesting correctly...Do I cut the Orchard Grass and Timothy about halfway up from the ground, let it lay to dry, fluff it up in the next 1 or 2 days, and then allow it to dry to hay consistency?

*laughs* I appreciate you all bearing with me through these questions. I have owned and trained a lot of horses so I know my way around a bale of hay (Timothy, Orchard Grass, Alfalfa, and mixes of those three), but I have never been up close and personal when the cutting and drying happened...only the baling.

Respectfully,
-FD-

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Lookf for the flower heads-- JUST before they open is when the leaves have the most nutrition ion them-- so, cut and dry at that point--
Cut in the morning, just after the dew dries-- You want to leave about 6 to 8 inches intact to the root for new growth. With your plot being so small, you can rake it right up, and spread in a net to dry-- yu w ould want to fluff. Turn it a few times-- you should have, on a dry,sunny day, good hay by 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I helped Amish put up hay several times-- no baling, though-- the cutter was started at about 7 a.m., and by noon, we were lifting it into the barn lofts... Rabbits really like oat hay!!!

 

[feraltydreaming]

Good morning.

Thank you for the information, Frosted Rabbits. So, just to make sure that I am understanding this correctly, Orchard grass will have flowering heads as well? I know that Timothy does, but I was not sure about the Orchard grass.

Respectfully,
-FD-

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Every grass has a flower head-- to get the most nutrtition in each harvest, you will want to cut just before the earlier blooming grass starts to open up the flower heads... you want to cut in the morning, whern the plant's sugar levels are highest, as well. Do not let the cut grass get rained on-- it affects the final quality, increases risk of mold and fungus after you store it.
About a day or tow after you cut, sionce your plot ios snice and small-- put some manure tea down as fertilizer-- that will increaase the nutritional level in the subsequent cuttings.

there are farms out here that grow some interesting mixtures-- and each harvest has a different ratio of the blend, because the farmers make the first cutting before all the plants have reached a certain height- so, the first cutting may not have clover in it, but the second one will. They do that on purpose in order to maximize their hay production.

 

[Big Tom]

Just as answered already, you want to cut hay in the boot stage. This is when you can peal back the upper most leaf and see the seed head inside the curl of the leaf. Since you have no way to crimp the stalk, I would let it lay at least 2 full days before I tried to put it up. You will need to scratch the stem with your finger nail to see if there is any moisture still in it. You can cut about three inches from the ground. I would try to rake it lightly into small windrows to let more air get into it after the first day. If it's still wet be careful where you put as it will heat and cause a fire. We make and sell around 12000 bales of orchard/timothy mix hay every year. Your second and third cuttings won't have a seed head, we cut it when it is around the middle of your calf high or about 45 days. I live in Pa and see your in Florida so it may dry faster for you. Good luck!

 

[Marinea]

Oh, one thing to keep in mind. It is like an unwritten rule that the day you plan to cut the hay, it will rain. So be prepared

 

[Big Tom]

Oh, one thing to keep in mind. It is like an unwritten rule that the day you plan to cut the hay, it will rain. So be prepared

This is so true. I'm glued to the weather forecast all summer long. I even DVR the news to catch the weather, but with a 10'x10' plot you could always throw a tarp over it. Not so easy to do when knock down 30 acres at a time.

 

[feraltydreaming]

Thank you all very much!

I am in Tennessee now actually...lots of humidity and lots of rain...fun *laughs*.

I will let you know how it goes *grins*.

Respectfully,
-FD-

 

[LauraNJ]

Where did you buy the seeds? How much dod you buy/use for a 10 x 10? We have a huge garden and are not going to plant as much this year as the weeds got out of control and took over but I was thinking I could easily plant some hay for the bunnies and if I plant it densely then weeding shouldn't be necessary. At least that would be hope (I really, really dislike weeding).

Agway here only has pounds of seed. I was looking to buy some online and there are so many varieties of even Timothy hay and different mixes of orchard grass. I think I am over thinking the whole thing.

 

[Big Tom]

I would go with Penn Late orchard grass, It will mature a little later than most varieties. I seed at about 10 pounds to the acre for orchard grass and mix in about 3 pounds of whatever timothy is cheapest. So for a small plot you wouldn't need much. You are always going to get weeds mixed in with it as it grows. If you harvest it before the weeds go to seed you can get ahead of the weeds and eventually in theory be weed free.

 

[feraltydreaming]

Well, I was looking at my small patch of Orchard Grass and Timothy about 3 hours ago, and I came up with another question or two.

1. When you are speaking of the "boot stage" on Orchard Grass, what does the plant look like at that stage (pictures?). The same for Timothy (pictures?).
2. Someone mentioned that one can test for moisture content in grass hay via a microwave; is this true? If so, what is the process? Also, what moisture percentage am I looking for as the absolute maximum for the appropriately dried hay?

I have searched Google but cannot seem to find any pictorial examples for the first question, hence my asking here.

Thank you all again for your help!

Respectfully,
-FD-

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Do you have a copy of Carol Kkarius' "Small Scale Livestocvk farming? It tells how to measure Hay yield/ weight Using a microwave-- HAs to do with the amount of water you remove from the grasses... ( The
Hay Equivalent of the potential harvest)

 

[LauraNJ]

I would go with Penn Late orchard grass, It will mature a little later than most varieties. I seed at about 10 pounds to the acre for orchard grass and mix in about 3 pounds of whatever timothy is cheapest. So for a small plot you wouldn't need much. You are always going to get weeds mixed in with it as it grows. If you harvest it before the weeds go to seed you can get ahead of the weeds and eventually in theory be weed free.

Thank you for the information, that helps alot actually.

My FIL, who grew up on the family farm, and my husband kept telling me last year that at some point I should get ahead of the weeds but I think our weeds are on steroids, they grow fast and multiply like crazy.

I am making tractors for the rabbits between rows this year so they can weed for me. That is my brilliant idea for keeping weeds under control in the main veggie garden.

Last year I did plastic and the weed cloth. The plastic was a pain to pull up, the weed cloth wears out fairly fast, probably from all the deer traffic we have. I am determmined to have a relatively weed free garden and be able to actually harvest veggies without bite marks in them this year. Our weeds are safe weeds so worse case they become part of the hay. It would be nice to have a patch of hay and not worry too much about the weeds within it.

 

[Big Tom]

Grass grows with a leaf coming out of the center of the plant, it will point straight up to the sky. Then the first leaf will peel back and another will be coming out of the center and so on until you will eventually see the seed head starting to come. That's the boot stage and that's when you want to cut it. The timothy will boot later than the orchard grass.<br /><br />__________ Tue Apr 23, 2013 8:02 pm __________<br /><br />

I would go with Penn Late orchard grass, It will mature a little later than most varieties. I seed at about 10 pounds to the acre for orchard grass and mix in about 3 pounds of whatever timothy is cheapest. So for a small plot you wouldn't need much. You are always going to get weeds mixed in with it as it grows. If you harvest it before the weeds go to seed you can get ahead of the weeds and eventually in theory be weed free.

Thank you for the information, that helps alot actually.

My FIL, who grew up on the family farm, and my husband kept telling me last year that at some point I should get ahead of the weeds but I think our weeds are on steroids, they grow fast and multiply like crazy.

I am making tractors for the rabbits between rows this year so they can weed for me. That is my brilliant idea for keeping weeds under control in the main veggie garden.

Last year I did plastic and the weed cloth. The plastic was a pain to pull up, the weed cloth wears out fairly fast, probably from all the deer traffic we have. I am determmined to have a relatively weed free garden and be able to actually harvest veggies without bite marks in them this year. Our weeds are safe weeds so worse case they become part of the hay. It would be nice to have a patch of hay and not worry too much about the weeds within it.

Weed seeds can last a long time in the soil. That's why it's important to not let weeds go to seed.

 

[feraltydreaming]

Good evening once again, everyone.

I was looking over my little grass hay patch today and noticed that, over the last 4 days, the seed head of the orchard grass seems to have started.

1. In the attached picture, is this the stage that the Orchard grass should be harvested at? Or is this too late?
2. If this is the stage is too late and the nutrition is gone, can this still be fed to the rabbits? Would I be better off feeding it as grass or hay if this stage is too late for good nutrition?

Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,
-FD-

 

[Big Tom]

That's about as close to boot stage as you are going to get it. I think true boot stage would have been when the head was still in the leaf that is just below the head in the picture. I would cut it now if the weather is going to stay nice for the next 3 days. It will still make really good feed and will be much better now than waiting another week or so.

 

[feraltydreaming]

Well, I got my hay cut this morning. It has been a bit sunny today but not as much as I would have liked. I have the hay laying in shallow pans (similar to the kind that that are under dog crates). With this small patch, I thought it best to put it these pans vs. leaving it in its growing patch due to the amount of rain that we have had for the last two week and will have for the next week. I have been turning the hay every few hours and have been keeping it in the sun as long as the sun will stay out.

Any advice from this point forward would be great. Am I turning it too much under these less than ideal conditions? Not enough? Are these pans alright to use or should I find grates of some kind? How long should I expect this drying process to take?

Respectfully,
-FD-