Subsoiled pasture What comes next?

Converting bean field to pasture. Been fallow about 2 years. Subsoiled this morning ahead of 4 days of rain coming.

What should I do next few tasks to plant bermuda? Central Louisiana

I subsoiled my place about two years ago. Looked like I used a drill and planted weeds, especially nut grass. So my guess, get ready to spray.

If the field has weeds from fallow, you will need to knock them down before seeding. This tactic prevents the application of chem to your sprouting or newly emerged grass. Mechanical tillage might work to prepare a seed bed to a degree, but weed seeds will continue to sprout in the surface mixture. If it is pretty clean of weeds/seeds, prepping the soil (disk harrow) and drag might be all that is needed. Jim

I forgot to say, after I got the weeds under control, everything was fine, it does do good.

How deep was it subsoiled and what kind of soil? The reason I ask is you might have a rough pasture for years to come if it is subsoiled 12" deep and the soil is good and black. You might want to work it a couple extra times to do some leveling even though it might seem smooth now.

I seeded CRP filter strip a good twenty years ago. It is still in the CRP program and in the places where the soil is good and black it is still rough from subsoiling the fall before I seeded it down. The next spring after sub soiling I disked it twice with a fairly heavy disk and field cultivated, then drilled in the seed. If I would drive a tractor across that CRP in those rougher places today at 10 mph the tractor would be bouncing off the ground. Just a suggestion.

Perform a soil test & create a very good seedbed.

(quoted from post at 14:57:52 03/05/16) Converting bean field to pasture. Been fallow about 2 years. Subsoiled this morning ahead of 4 days of rain coming.

What should I do next few tasks to plant bermuda? Central Louisiana

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Soil test for fertility, bermuda grass needs a lot of potash. It uses about 60 units of K per ton of hay. When the early weeds start to grow, burn down with Roundup or equivalent. Bermuda needs a soil temp of at least 60 degrees to grow. Sow in loose soil and roll the seed in. Bermuda seed needs a firm seedbed to germinate. It's important to keep the weeds down the 1st year. Crabgrass is the hardest to control. There are a couple of different chemicals that do an OK job. I've used Pastora but it is a little hard on the bermuda and it's necessary to spray it about 10 days after cutting and before crabgrass has a chance to make seed. I've got 120 acres that I cut each year and this is how I got it started after being in soybeans and corn for over 40 years. North AR.

I would have left it alone, subsoiling will make it rough.

Sub soiling in the spring rarely does much good. For sub soiling to really work you need the ground to be dry so it shatters. I do not see how your ground would have been dry this spring. In wet ground all you do is cut slots in the ground which do little good for soil structure.

That being said you will now need to prepare a seed bed. It depends on how much trash/dead weeds you have on the top of the ground, which tillage method will work best. If the ground is fairly clean then a field cultivator will provide lose dirt without compaction in the root zone. If you have a lot of trash then your going to need to plow or disk the ground to get a seed bed. Your slope of the ground effects your tillage choices too. I think most of LA is pretty flat but not all of it is. So if you have much slope you will need to leave some residue to help control erosion until your grass gets established. To leave much trash disking lightly will do that.

So let us know how much trash you have and also what equipment you have. If you only have a disk then that is what you need.

Also you need to soil test to see what the fertility of the ground is. Your nutrient level and PH will need to be correct. This will help control some weeds and make you grass grow faster/better.

If you can rent a land roller after your grass is established, that would be a good way to smooth things out if it will be as rough as other posters suggested it will probably be.

If you can rent a land roller after your grass is established, that would be a good way to smooth things out if it will be rough as other posters suggested it will probably be.

(quoted from post at 19:31:41 03/05/16)

(quoted from post at 14:57:52 03/05/16) Converting bean field to pasture. Been fallow about 2 years. Subsoiled this morning ahead of 4 days of rain coming.

What should I do next few tasks to plant bermuda? Central Louisiana

Click to expand...

Soil test for fertility, bermuda grass needs a lot of potash. It uses about 60 units of K per ton of hay. When the early weeds start to grow, burn down with Roundup or equivalent. Bermuda needs a soil temp of at least 60 degrees to grow. Sow in loose soil and roll the seed in. Bermuda seed needs a firm seedbed to germinate. It's important to keep the weeds down the 1st year. Crabgrass is the hardest to control. There are a couple of different chemicals that do an OK job. I've used Pastora but it is a little hard on the bermuda and it's necessary to spray it about 10 days after cutting and before crabgrass has a chance to make seed. I've got 120 acres that I cut each year and this is how I got it started after being in soybeans and corn for over 40 years. North AR.

Click to expand...

I may not have been clear. The soil will need to be worked up with a disc at least 3" deep so smoothing out the sub soiler shouldn't be an issue. Depending on the variety you may only need 4# of seed per acre. Some of the hybrid varieties need more. I've found that less seed is better with common bermuda because it allows it to set runners that are more hardy than the seedlings. After sowing the seed it s very important to roll with a flat roller or cultipacker. With ample moisture the seed shouldn't be over 1/2" deep and most of the time rolling will get the seed deep enough. As said, weed control is very important and if you aren't cutting it for hay it should be mowed monthly.

Ground is a heavy topsoil over a dark clay. Subsoiled it as during the wet seasons, water s r ays between the layers. Makes the field mushy till it dries out


Worked it 12 to 18 inches deep. Ground was hard enough to choke down and STAND UP a 195 horsepower tractor pulling 7 points.

Picture is first pass north-south. Second pass was diagonal to first

Field was last chisel-Subsoiled on late '70's, and the hardpan was significant.

I have a lighter finishing disk, not a heavy breaking disk.

Should I disk before the coming rain or after. Most of you are correct that the ride would be very rough right now