Sprigging a hay field

If you want to develop land into a high protien, drought tolerant pasture or a production field for hay you can "Sprig" it with Coastal Bermuda Grass or Tifton-85 Grass. Either of these are a good choice to produce Horse Quality Hay. These two grasses were developed in Tifton, Georgia and are both in the Bermuda family. You can only propogate them by sprigging, since they do not produce seed.

Sprigging is the process of taking loose grass roots and tops and replanting them into prepared soil. The root part that goes under ground is called a Rhisome and the top portion is called the Stolen. The Stolens end up being runners that travel and put off new plants as they go.

In March of 2008 I took 48 acres of land and planted both Coastal and Tifton-85 in alternating ten acre tracts. By the grace of God, there was a good rain on the night after I sprigged them.
By now I am beginning to get what is known as a "stand". A "stand" means the grass you planted is actually covering the field. It can take up to several years to get a stand, in some cases. Because we have been in a drought since my plantings, I was surprised I got anything.
This just goes to show how drought tolerent both of these grasses are.

In the beginning you will get alot of weeds, sunflowers and Johnson Grass along with your desired grass. It takes a great deal of patience and alot of hard work to rid the field of these unwanted plants. That can be the subject of another post. I welcome your posts on this topic, since I am not an expert and we can all learn from each other.