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Nancy Howell 07-25-2012 09:17:53 144.162.48.67 Report to Moderator	From what little I've read, its supposed to be the most drought hardy variety and has the highest digestiblility. After losing 4 years, big $$$, effort, sweat on Cheyenne II bermuda and having it be a total failure, I want to find out what others have to say before planting any. [Reply]   [No Email]
BCnT 07-25-2012 10:39:54 68.65.150.242 Report to Moderator	Re: OT- Tifton 85 bermuda in reply to Nancy Howell, 07-25-2012 09:17:53   buddy of mine here in Sheridan planted about 5 acres middle of march 3 years ago...he baled it middle of june...another mutual friend had a couple nice pastures and he just went out and made a couple passes with his sickle mower and loaded cuttings on a lowboy...they hand spread the 5 acres and disced it in...hit it with fertilizer about 3 weeks later and it went nuts...of course we had good rains at that time too...only bermuda i've seen that grows faster than tifton is some my dad brought home in a leaf bag...he called it king coastal...i still got it growing where my dad threw it out of bag...got a 4 foot cyclone fence along there and that stuff get 4 foot above fence in a good year...i gotta get a nurse plot going one of these years when weather is a lil more stable. as far as horses being picky...horses get spoiled real easy...horses and mules we had on farm when i was a kid ate same as cows or they didnt eat...we baled anything that was in front of baler including salt marsh grass...Dolly was half Tn Walker and half Clydesdale...she lived to be 29 so its hard for me to swallow the "horse quality hay" theories.   [Reply]  [No Email]
Nancy Howell 07-25-2012 11:47:25 144.162.48.67 Report to Moderator	Re: OT- Tifton 85 bermuda in reply to BCnT, 07-25-2012 10:39:54   Horse quality hay theories are due to the fact that many horses today are not nearly as hardy as they were 40, 50 yrs ago because the majority of horses now are pleasure animals and show horses. Some high dollar show horses have such delicate digestive systems, they colic if you look at them crossways. (JMO) While none of my horses are show horses, I did have all of my horses colic at one time because of hay. Vet came out, treated them ($$$$) and we started looking for the cause. Vet looked at the hay and it had singletary pea in it which is toxic to horses. I didn't know that at the time. So good quality hay is important even if you don't have show horses with fragile digestive systems. I don't coddle my horses, but obviously prefer good quality hay to avoid problems like what I mentioned above. I thank God that I have a wonderful husband who works very hard to help produce good quality hay for my horses.   [Reply]  [No Email]
Txsprigger 07-25-2012 09:37:46 199.157.206.21 Report to Moderator	Re: OT- Tifton 85 bermuda in reply to Nancy Howell, 07-25-2012 09:17:53   I've planted it for myself and others since 2000. It is the highest producing variety of bermudagrass in terms of quantity and protein. It makes excellent hay when cut at the proper stage. It can get rank and stemmy if not cut at the proper time, and is drought hardy. The drought last year did hurt it, but with good rains and fertilizer this year here in Central Tx it is making a comeback. The biggest knock on it is that it is slower to establish, slower than coastal or Jiggs. But with the right conditions, it will cover quickly as you have mentioned.   [Reply]  [No Email]
jackinok 07-26-2012 06:03:43 162.58.82.136 Report to Moderator	Re: OT- Tifton 85 bermuda in reply to Txsprigger, 07-25-2012 09:37:46   Hey txsprigger, How hard is this to get established in a area where you cant irrigate/water it? dry to very dry is the norm where I'm at,and thats where i have the most trouble getting anything to get started.really dry now of course,bluestem is hanging on but you have to look close to see any green at all.I'm going to be looking for something to replant in places where i had to plow to stop fires.   [Reply]  [No Email]
Txsprigger 07-26-2012 10:11:51 199.157.206.21 Report to Moderator	Re: OT- Tifton 85 bermuda in reply to jackinok, 07-26-2012 06:03:43   You have to have luck and catch the rains just right. We don't have irrigation here in Central Texas either. Have had some failures in the past when we don't get timely rains, just like anything else involved in agriculture, its a crap shoot.   [Reply]  [No Email]